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While I was tooling about on the net for another case, I came across this one, which I'd seen anything much about aside from it being an unsolved of the general era. Being that Jane was murdered some 10 miles (?) away and across the river, plus it being so many years previously, and was a hammer murder, I never gave it a second look.
But then I found the information below, which states that this case was "originally" thought to be an early Ripper murder.. Of course, they must mean "originally" as in 1888 or later, but I've never seen mention of this being thought of as potentially connected, by anyone.
Also interesting is Pook's apparent connection to the Times.
Not formulating a theory here! But the dead, "decomposing" fetus is another horribly interesting fact. Also, that the suspect wore a "billycock hat"!
The murder weapon appears to have been a "lath hammer" - less like a hammer, more like a hatchet:
Anyway, aside from the sheer interest of looking at the case itself, I'm curious as to who, exactly, thought this might have been an "early Ripper murder" --- which would kind of implicate Edmund Pook as the Ripper!
I can see why, with his "fits" and probable guilt, he might be seen as suspicious by some. But who made this connection -- and when?
Written by a member of Jane's family:
At the age of 14, Jane began working as a servant/maid for Ebenezer Pook, who owned a printing business with connections to The Times of London. Pook had a number of children, one being only 3 years older than Jane. His name was Edmund Walter Pook. He said that he suffered from ‘fits’ and could not be left alone. He also claimed to be a music hall entertainer.
At some point Edmund began having a secret affair with Jane.
Early in 1871, probably early April, Jane was dismissed from the service of the Pook family, for reasons of being lazy and generally unpleasant. This would have been a shock to anyone who knew Jane because she had a reputation for being quite the opposite.
Jane was dismissed from service because Edmunds parents had found out about the affair, and, as one of Ebenezer’s other children had already ‘married below his station’ it would not have been fitting for another child to be seen in the same position.
Jane had gone to live with her Aunt Elizabeth Trott (formerly Hancock) and her daughter Charlotte.
Letters were sent back and forth between Jane and Edmund. In one of these letters Jane told Edmund she was pregnant with his child. Unfortunately, neither Jane nor Edmund kept the letters.
Edmund arranged to meet Jane near Blackheath. Jane had conversations with her Aunt and Cousin in which she said that Edmund was going to whisk her away and make an honest woman of her.
On April 25th 1871 Jane was discovered by a policeman, on Kidbrooke Lane, near-death; having been severely beaten. She managed to say the words “Oh let me die” before passing out. She was rushed to Guy’s Hospital but never regained consciousness.
Jane died on April 30th, two days after her 17th birthday.
A hammer was found, covered in blood about 1 mile from where Jane was found, and the shop that sold the hammer was quickly discovered with the shop owner identifying Pook as the man who had purchased it.
A man matching Pook’s description was seen fleeing Kidbrooke Lane. Police interviewed Edmund, who simply stated he was somewhere else and offered the Police the name of a person but the Police declined his offer. He then stated he wasn’t with anyone else, but he was running home, alone, because he felt a fit coming on. When asked about the clothing he wore on the night, it matched the description. The blood on the clothes was ruled out as being from biting his tongue during the fit. It did seem like a lot of blood for a tongue bite.
The case went to coroner’s trial first, and Edmund was found guilty of the wilful murder of Jane. This was then rushed through to the Central Criminal Court at The Old Bailey.
What followed was a farce. First, the judge ordered that Jane’s last words to her cousin Charlotte Trott, in which she identified Pook as the person she was going to meet, were inadmissible as they were hearsay. Secondly, the judge chastised the police, saying that they were after a quick arrest and hounded Pook with no real evidence.
Pook was found not guilty.
Public unrest followed. It was obvious to most people at the time that social class was what helped Pook get off.
A pamphlet was written which identified Pook as the killer. Edmund hired one Henry Pook, apparently no relation to him, to prosecute for slander.
This was a bad move on Edmund’s part because during the civil trial he had no choice but to answer questions that in the criminal trial were not allowed. Everything pointed to him being the murderer. Nevertheless Pook was awarded £50 in damages.
A committee was formed; part of their role was to raise the money to pay Edmund Pook the £50.
----
And here's a description of her injuries, from the trial records, Old Bailey Online:
MICHAEL HARRIS . In April last, I was house-surgeon at Guy's Hospital—about 7 o'clock on the morning of the 26th, the deceased was brought there—she came at once under my examination—I have my notes of it—she was quite unconscious, and very cold—the injuries were very severe which she had received, and were chiefly confined to the anterior half of the head; they were all of an incised character, clean cuts—there was one slight abrasion on the left cheek; with that exception they were incised—there were altogether about a dozen wounds on the face and head—there was one over the left ear—there was a wound down to the left temporal bone, and it was smashed in; the bone itself was fractured and depressed—on the bone being raised, the brain was discovered to be lacerated—the injury was external and internal—there were two other wounds which were more severe than the others on the face—one above the right eye, about 3 inches in length; the bone was completely smashed up, so much so that several fragments were lying quite loose, and the brain was protruding; that was a cut—the other was a transverse wound on the upper lip, which extended down to the upper jaw bone, which was broken, and a piece was removed; that was also a cut—those were the most severe of the injuries—there were altogether twelve or fourteen, the others were less serious, but they were quite separate, distinct wounds—there were several cuts on the arms and hands, at the back of the hands; they also appeared to have been produced by a sharp, cutting instrument—they were such wounds as might have been produced in a struggle, if she had been defending herself against violence—there were two cuts on her arms, just as they would be if she had put up her arms in front to defend herself; those were clean cuts, they were quite superficial, not deep—there was one very slight bruise on the right thigh—I think those were all the injuries I observed—the bruise on the thigh was recent, I should say a few hours—she remained under my care at Guy's till she died, on the 30th, about 9 o'clock in the evening—she died from the direct effect of the wounds—such an instrument as this hammer (produced) would produce the wounds I saw—it must have been a sharp and heavy instrument, and this is so—I think it might produce the wounds I saw—I think if that instrument had been used with violence, the wounds I saw would be the natural and probable result—I examined her after death, she was pregnant—I think she had been so about two months—the embryo was dead, and decomposed—it would be impossible to say how long it had been dead, I should say a week or two
But then I found the information below, which states that this case was "originally" thought to be an early Ripper murder.. Of course, they must mean "originally" as in 1888 or later, but I've never seen mention of this being thought of as potentially connected, by anyone.
Also interesting is Pook's apparent connection to the Times.
Not formulating a theory here! But the dead, "decomposing" fetus is another horribly interesting fact. Also, that the suspect wore a "billycock hat"!
The murder weapon appears to have been a "lath hammer" - less like a hammer, more like a hatchet:
Anyway, aside from the sheer interest of looking at the case itself, I'm curious as to who, exactly, thought this might have been an "early Ripper murder" --- which would kind of implicate Edmund Pook as the Ripper!
I can see why, with his "fits" and probable guilt, he might be seen as suspicious by some. But who made this connection -- and when?
Written by a member of Jane's family:
At the age of 14, Jane began working as a servant/maid for Ebenezer Pook, who owned a printing business with connections to The Times of London. Pook had a number of children, one being only 3 years older than Jane. His name was Edmund Walter Pook. He said that he suffered from ‘fits’ and could not be left alone. He also claimed to be a music hall entertainer.
At some point Edmund began having a secret affair with Jane.
Early in 1871, probably early April, Jane was dismissed from the service of the Pook family, for reasons of being lazy and generally unpleasant. This would have been a shock to anyone who knew Jane because she had a reputation for being quite the opposite.
Jane was dismissed from service because Edmunds parents had found out about the affair, and, as one of Ebenezer’s other children had already ‘married below his station’ it would not have been fitting for another child to be seen in the same position.
Jane had gone to live with her Aunt Elizabeth Trott (formerly Hancock) and her daughter Charlotte.
Letters were sent back and forth between Jane and Edmund. In one of these letters Jane told Edmund she was pregnant with his child. Unfortunately, neither Jane nor Edmund kept the letters.
Edmund arranged to meet Jane near Blackheath. Jane had conversations with her Aunt and Cousin in which she said that Edmund was going to whisk her away and make an honest woman of her.
On April 25th 1871 Jane was discovered by a policeman, on Kidbrooke Lane, near-death; having been severely beaten. She managed to say the words “Oh let me die” before passing out. She was rushed to Guy’s Hospital but never regained consciousness.
Jane died on April 30th, two days after her 17th birthday.
A hammer was found, covered in blood about 1 mile from where Jane was found, and the shop that sold the hammer was quickly discovered with the shop owner identifying Pook as the man who had purchased it.
A man matching Pook’s description was seen fleeing Kidbrooke Lane. Police interviewed Edmund, who simply stated he was somewhere else and offered the Police the name of a person but the Police declined his offer. He then stated he wasn’t with anyone else, but he was running home, alone, because he felt a fit coming on. When asked about the clothing he wore on the night, it matched the description. The blood on the clothes was ruled out as being from biting his tongue during the fit. It did seem like a lot of blood for a tongue bite.
The case went to coroner’s trial first, and Edmund was found guilty of the wilful murder of Jane. This was then rushed through to the Central Criminal Court at The Old Bailey.
What followed was a farce. First, the judge ordered that Jane’s last words to her cousin Charlotte Trott, in which she identified Pook as the person she was going to meet, were inadmissible as they were hearsay. Secondly, the judge chastised the police, saying that they were after a quick arrest and hounded Pook with no real evidence.
Pook was found not guilty.
Public unrest followed. It was obvious to most people at the time that social class was what helped Pook get off.
A pamphlet was written which identified Pook as the killer. Edmund hired one Henry Pook, apparently no relation to him, to prosecute for slander.
This was a bad move on Edmund’s part because during the civil trial he had no choice but to answer questions that in the criminal trial were not allowed. Everything pointed to him being the murderer. Nevertheless Pook was awarded £50 in damages.
A committee was formed; part of their role was to raise the money to pay Edmund Pook the £50.
----
And here's a description of her injuries, from the trial records, Old Bailey Online:
MICHAEL HARRIS . In April last, I was house-surgeon at Guy's Hospital—about 7 o'clock on the morning of the 26th, the deceased was brought there—she came at once under my examination—I have my notes of it—she was quite unconscious, and very cold—the injuries were very severe which she had received, and were chiefly confined to the anterior half of the head; they were all of an incised character, clean cuts—there was one slight abrasion on the left cheek; with that exception they were incised—there were altogether about a dozen wounds on the face and head—there was one over the left ear—there was a wound down to the left temporal bone, and it was smashed in; the bone itself was fractured and depressed—on the bone being raised, the brain was discovered to be lacerated—the injury was external and internal—there were two other wounds which were more severe than the others on the face—one above the right eye, about 3 inches in length; the bone was completely smashed up, so much so that several fragments were lying quite loose, and the brain was protruding; that was a cut—the other was a transverse wound on the upper lip, which extended down to the upper jaw bone, which was broken, and a piece was removed; that was also a cut—those were the most severe of the injuries—there were altogether twelve or fourteen, the others were less serious, but they were quite separate, distinct wounds—there were several cuts on the arms and hands, at the back of the hands; they also appeared to have been produced by a sharp, cutting instrument—they were such wounds as might have been produced in a struggle, if she had been defending herself against violence—there were two cuts on her arms, just as they would be if she had put up her arms in front to defend herself; those were clean cuts, they were quite superficial, not deep—there was one very slight bruise on the right thigh—I think those were all the injuries I observed—the bruise on the thigh was recent, I should say a few hours—she remained under my care at Guy's till she died, on the 30th, about 9 o'clock in the evening—she died from the direct effect of the wounds—such an instrument as this hammer (produced) would produce the wounds I saw—it must have been a sharp and heavy instrument, and this is so—I think it might produce the wounds I saw—I think if that instrument had been used with violence, the wounds I saw would be the natural and probable result—I examined her after death, she was pregnant—I think she had been so about two months—the embryo was dead, and decomposed—it would be impossible to say how long it had been dead, I should say a week or two
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