Before I discuss the numerous problems in the article, it’s worth going back to the actual available evidence. The following is composed entirely of quotes culled from the various sources.
Charles allen Cross …
“left home at half past three”
“got to Buck's-row, by the gateway of the wool warehouse”
“saw on the opposite side something lying against a gateway”
“In the dark he could not tell at first what it was.”
“it looked in the distance like tarpaulin”
“walking to the middle of the road he saw it was the figure of a woman”
“At the same time he heard a man about forty yards away coming up Buck's-row”
“He stepped back and waited for the new-comer, who started on one side, as if he feared that the witness meant to knock him down.”
“said, "Come and look over here. There's a woman."
“having felt one of the deceased woman's hands and finding it cold, said "I believe she is dead." The other man, having put his hand over her heart, said "I think she is breathing."
“He (Paul) suggested that they should "shift her", meaning in the witness's opinion that they should seat her upright.”
“"I'm not going to touch her. Let's go on till we see a policeman and tell him."
“The other man tried to pull her clothes down to cover her legs, but they did not seem as if they would come down.”
“her legs were wide open, and the toes were turned outwards."
“Did you touch the clothes? - No, Sir. Did you notice any blood? - No, it was too dark. I did not notice that her throat was cut. I then left her, went up Baker's-row, turned to the right, and saw a constable.” “
“coming out of Montague-street”
I said to a constable - the last witness - "There's a woman lying in Buck's-row. She looks to me as though she was dead, or drunk." The other man then said, "I believe she is dead."
“The policeman answered, "All right."
“There was nobody in Buck's row when we left. The Coroner - Did the other man tell you who he was? The Witness - No, sir. He merely said that he would have fetched a policeman but he was behind time. I was behind time myself.
“From the time I left my home I did not see anyone until I saw the man who overtook me in Buck's-row. The Coroner - Did you see anything of a struggle. Witness - She seemed to me as if she had been outraged.”
“The other man left witness at the corner of Hanbury-street and turned into Corbett's court. He appeared to be a carman, and was a stranger to the witness.
“A Juryman: Did you tell Constable Mizen that another policeman wanted him in Buck's-row? The Witness: No; because I did not see a policeman in Buck's-row.”
Because Robert Paul’s story is so frequently misrepresented I’ve done the same with his actual evidence.
“I am a carman, and on the morning of the murder I left home just before a quarter to four. As I was passing up Buck's-row I saw a man standing in the roadway.”
“As witness drew closer he (Cross) walked towards the pavement, and he stepped in the roadway to pass him. The man touched witness on the shoulder and asked him to look at the woman”
“Witness went with him, and saw a woman lying right across the gateway. Her clothes were raised almost up to her stomach. Witness felt her hands and face, and they were cold. He knelt down to see if he could hear her breathe, but could not, and he thought she was dead. It was very dark, and he did not notice any blood. They agreed that the best thing they could do would be to tell the first policeman they met. He could not see whether the clothes were torn, and did not feel any other part of her body except the hands and face. They looked to see if there was a constable, but one was not to be seen. “
“Her clothes were raised almost up to her stomach.”
“While he was pulling the clothes down he touched the breast, and then fancied he felt a slight movement.
By the CORONER. - The morning was rather a chilly one. Witness and the other man walked on together until they met a policeman at the corner of Old Montagu-street, and told him what they had seen.Up to that time not more than four minutes had elapsed from the time he saw the body. He had not met anyone before he reached Buck's-row, and did not see any one running away.”
Before we begin, it’s also worth noting that amongst the main protagonists in the Buck’s Row drama, Cross, Paul, Neil, Thain and Mizen, only one of them is known, beyond any doubt, to have told an untrue version of events, Robert Paul.
It’s strange then that the Lechmerian theory revolves around the version of Paul’s account we know to be untrue.
Charles allen Cross …
“left home at half past three”
“got to Buck's-row, by the gateway of the wool warehouse”
“saw on the opposite side something lying against a gateway”
“In the dark he could not tell at first what it was.”
“it looked in the distance like tarpaulin”
“walking to the middle of the road he saw it was the figure of a woman”
“At the same time he heard a man about forty yards away coming up Buck's-row”
“He stepped back and waited for the new-comer, who started on one side, as if he feared that the witness meant to knock him down.”
“said, "Come and look over here. There's a woman."
“having felt one of the deceased woman's hands and finding it cold, said "I believe she is dead." The other man, having put his hand over her heart, said "I think she is breathing."
“He (Paul) suggested that they should "shift her", meaning in the witness's opinion that they should seat her upright.”
“"I'm not going to touch her. Let's go on till we see a policeman and tell him."
“The other man tried to pull her clothes down to cover her legs, but they did not seem as if they would come down.”
“her legs were wide open, and the toes were turned outwards."
“Did you touch the clothes? - No, Sir. Did you notice any blood? - No, it was too dark. I did not notice that her throat was cut. I then left her, went up Baker's-row, turned to the right, and saw a constable.” “
“coming out of Montague-street”
I said to a constable - the last witness - "There's a woman lying in Buck's-row. She looks to me as though she was dead, or drunk." The other man then said, "I believe she is dead."
“The policeman answered, "All right."
“There was nobody in Buck's row when we left. The Coroner - Did the other man tell you who he was? The Witness - No, sir. He merely said that he would have fetched a policeman but he was behind time. I was behind time myself.
“From the time I left my home I did not see anyone until I saw the man who overtook me in Buck's-row. The Coroner - Did you see anything of a struggle. Witness - She seemed to me as if she had been outraged.”
“The other man left witness at the corner of Hanbury-street and turned into Corbett's court. He appeared to be a carman, and was a stranger to the witness.
“A Juryman: Did you tell Constable Mizen that another policeman wanted him in Buck's-row? The Witness: No; because I did not see a policeman in Buck's-row.”
Because Robert Paul’s story is so frequently misrepresented I’ve done the same with his actual evidence.
“I am a carman, and on the morning of the murder I left home just before a quarter to four. As I was passing up Buck's-row I saw a man standing in the roadway.”
“As witness drew closer he (Cross) walked towards the pavement, and he stepped in the roadway to pass him. The man touched witness on the shoulder and asked him to look at the woman”
“Witness went with him, and saw a woman lying right across the gateway. Her clothes were raised almost up to her stomach. Witness felt her hands and face, and they were cold. He knelt down to see if he could hear her breathe, but could not, and he thought she was dead. It was very dark, and he did not notice any blood. They agreed that the best thing they could do would be to tell the first policeman they met. He could not see whether the clothes were torn, and did not feel any other part of her body except the hands and face. They looked to see if there was a constable, but one was not to be seen. “
“Her clothes were raised almost up to her stomach.”
“While he was pulling the clothes down he touched the breast, and then fancied he felt a slight movement.
By the CORONER. - The morning was rather a chilly one. Witness and the other man walked on together until they met a policeman at the corner of Old Montagu-street, and told him what they had seen.Up to that time not more than four minutes had elapsed from the time he saw the body. He had not met anyone before he reached Buck's-row, and did not see any one running away.”
Before we begin, it’s also worth noting that amongst the main protagonists in the Buck’s Row drama, Cross, Paul, Neil, Thain and Mizen, only one of them is known, beyond any doubt, to have told an untrue version of events, Robert Paul.
It’s strange then that the Lechmerian theory revolves around the version of Paul’s account we know to be untrue.
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