Maria,
The term suspect seems to be very fluid in Ripperology. The fact that Barnett was associated with a victim and investigated but still cleared tells me there was no suspicion attached to him then and should be none now. Unlike Hutchinson, Barnett did not behave in a manner that a rational person would call suspicious. To my mind a 'suspect' is someone whom the police viewed with true suspicion, and that list is short - Tumblety, Koz, Druitt, Chapman, and now Le Grand. That's your 'first tier' suspect list. Second tier would be the Bury's and Kelly's and possibly Hutchinson (since he was at least attached to the investigation in some manner). The third tier would be the crank suspects, ie Sickert, Royal Conspiracy, etc.
Regarding his alibi, men of the LVP, and even unemployed ones, had to sleep. Barnett was not a lazy man and would have been searching for work each day. There's also the matter of curfew when renting a room. Something tells me you wouldn't be satisfied with any alibi he offered short of beling locked up in jail the entire night of the murder.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott
The term suspect seems to be very fluid in Ripperology. The fact that Barnett was associated with a victim and investigated but still cleared tells me there was no suspicion attached to him then and should be none now. Unlike Hutchinson, Barnett did not behave in a manner that a rational person would call suspicious. To my mind a 'suspect' is someone whom the police viewed with true suspicion, and that list is short - Tumblety, Koz, Druitt, Chapman, and now Le Grand. That's your 'first tier' suspect list. Second tier would be the Bury's and Kelly's and possibly Hutchinson (since he was at least attached to the investigation in some manner). The third tier would be the crank suspects, ie Sickert, Royal Conspiracy, etc.
Regarding his alibi, men of the LVP, and even unemployed ones, had to sleep. Barnett was not a lazy man and would have been searching for work each day. There's also the matter of curfew when renting a room. Something tells me you wouldn't be satisfied with any alibi he offered short of beling locked up in jail the entire night of the murder.
Yours truly,
Tom Wescott
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