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The "Murder of Julia Martha Thomas" was Wikipedia's featured article today, because it is it's anniversary.
Kate Webster, a 30-year-old Irish maid, murdered her employer, a widow, after a quarrel.
From the confession of the murderess: "I determined to do away with the body as best I could. I chopped the head from the body with the assistance of a razor which I used to cut through the flesh afterwards. I also used the meat saw and the carving knife to cut the body up with. I prepared the copper with water to boil the body to prevent identity; and as soon as I had succeeded in cutting it up I placed it in the copper and boiled it. I opened the stomach with the carving knife, and burned up as much of the parts as I could."
A box with some remains of the victim was found washed ashore at the Thames. Wikipedia: "The newspapers dubbed the unexplained murder the "Barnes Mystery", amid speculation that the body had been used for dissection and anatomical study."
The case has some resemblance to the Ripper case. As it happened in 1879 and caused much excitement, it must have been still present in people's minds in 1888, and probably influenced their perception of the Ripper murders.
Who knows, it could have even influenced the Ripper himself.
Kate Webster, a 30-year-old Irish maid, murdered her employer, a widow, after a quarrel.
From the confession of the murderess: "I determined to do away with the body as best I could. I chopped the head from the body with the assistance of a razor which I used to cut through the flesh afterwards. I also used the meat saw and the carving knife to cut the body up with. I prepared the copper with water to boil the body to prevent identity; and as soon as I had succeeded in cutting it up I placed it in the copper and boiled it. I opened the stomach with the carving knife, and burned up as much of the parts as I could."
A box with some remains of the victim was found washed ashore at the Thames. Wikipedia: "The newspapers dubbed the unexplained murder the "Barnes Mystery", amid speculation that the body had been used for dissection and anatomical study."
The case has some resemblance to the Ripper case. As it happened in 1879 and caused much excitement, it must have been still present in people's minds in 1888, and probably influenced their perception of the Ripper murders.
Who knows, it could have even influenced the Ripper himself.
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