Would a Doctor or a Policeman participate in major crimes such as these? Consider some of the Whitechapel murders as morning killings committed by a local man on his way to work and the others as crimes that occurred on his return journey. The cause of death was internal injuries and fracture of an arm. I was behind time myself. If he had chosen Wentworth Street that morning, he would have walked right past her. Did he die a paupers death? Your email address will not be published. The timings for some of the deaths in 1888 fit the routine of a working man opportunistically killing women engaged in morning prostitution, and they fit the known timetable of Charles Cross. Hello MB. The man, however, came towards me and said, Come and look at this woman.. That he might have been mutilating Nichols when interrupted by Robert Paul was never considered by the police conducting the investigation, but it should have been. Most were quickly done in public places and victims were discarded where they were killed. No newspaper gave his age. Charles Cross is not an uncommon name and though he has not previously been traced in any British census, he may be present in the 1891 records. If the name Crass is correct then there do not seem to be any other previous census records for him. What differentiates him from any other anonymous shadow is that he was found in Bucks Row beside the body of Polly Nichols, when he should have been far away on his way to work. Holmgren put Lechmeres version of that nights events to the test. WebThe programme looks at the three decades of research conducted by journalist Christer Holmgren, whose focus eventually fell onto a witness known as Charles Cross, whose real name was Charles Allen Lechmere. In part this may be due to the intellectual appeal of their far more complex theoriesand the ordinariness of Cross. Her murder just a part of a very ordinary, working class Saturday night out. If he was finished with her body and had discarded it on the pavement before walking away, no one ever reported seeing a man leaving the area. Either the census taker made a slight mistake or his writing was wrongly transcribed when indexes were compiled. As the Morning Advertiser account continued, it dealt with Crosss own evidence but now referred to him as Charles Allen Cross. Cross was visible and was exactly the sort of person everyone expected to find on the streets. Hundreds of suspects have been proposed, what seems certain is the killer must have been an unremarkable man who lived anonymously among in the crowd. Cross and Paul reported the finding of a body to PC Jonas Mizen (55H) and it was his evidence at the inquest that may have caused the newspaperss confusion over Crosss first name. December 5, 2022. The Star (3 September) wrote: He [Cross] was employed by Pickfords. Not unreasonably, Cross, who claimed to have a stable work record, could be expected to be living at the same address or in the same area when the 1891 census took place. He may have killed before, and may not have stopped in 1888. Not unreasonably, Cross, who claimed to have a stable work record, could be expected to be living at the same address or in the same area when the 1891 census took place. Accept this timing and, as Vanderlinden suggested, we are left with [a] killer who murdered at a time consistent with the deaths of Martha Tabram and Polly Nichols.1, If the traditional time of about 5.30 is correct, though, then it is not impossible that Cross arrived at Pickfords at 4am and began his workday by driving to Spitalfields Market. So where was Lechmere? If you do then Charles Cross, found beside the body of a victim and close by when others took place, is an obvious suspect. She was murdered in Bucks Row, a long street without immediate escape routes. So unimportant was he that the Star did not even bother giving his namethough mentioning that at the inquest he wore a coarse sacking apron. In that census there is a man of interest in the expected geographic setting. However, he protested to the police force that he had only been at the scene for a few moments. But new research 124 years later shows Cross gave a false name to police. The killing of Catharine Eddowes may not have been the work of a killer searching Whitechapel streets for victims, but done by Cross on his way home from work. Charles Cross has not been identified in other census records because there are so many people with that name that it has proved impossible, so far, to positively identify the correct man. There was nobody in Buck's Row when we left. The women were encountered and they led the killer to places in which they felt secure to have sex. Like the contemporary police, later theoristswith several notable exceptionshave shown little interest in Cross. On the night of the murder, when his memory should have been fresh and uncontaminated by reading newspaper accounts, Robert Paul told a reporter that when he walked into Bucks Row that morning, I saw a man standing where the woman was. The man was Charles Cross. He didn't give his 'correct' name. Believing it to be a tarpaulin, he went to inspect it, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw that it was, in fact, a woman lying on her back. A man named Charles Cross was on his way to his job on Bucks Row. The wounds inflicted on her were brutal and unusual. He was only classed as a witness after claiming he must have disturbed the killer. The answer would be no, if as suspected Nichols was already dead by strangulation when the stabbing began. FINDING THE BODY. The detail of Crosss involvement with the murders is fairly straightforward. They took up little time, they earned him no money, and he otherwise went on living his normal life. Did Lechmere have the opportunity? On the morning of 31 August 1888 he was walking through Bucks Row on his way to Pickfords depot in Broad Street when he found the body of Polly Nichols. Charles Cross is a serious suspect for the Whitechapel murders. Cross gave the Inquest the impression that he had just arrived by the body when he was joined by Paul, but Paul said he left home about 3.45. Inspector Abberlines report, written after the Inquest, gave the time for Crosss finding of the body at about 3.40. Killing inside was something new. The Charles Cross who was in Bucks Row in 1888 was never a Ripper suspect. In 1858, Charles' mother remarried, to Thomas Cross, a policeman and There was no suspicion that Cross was anything more than the harmless witness he appeared. Charles Cross Involved In The Death Of A Boy - 1876. One Incontrovertible, Unequivocal, Undeniable Fact Which Refutes the Diary. According to Wikipedia "Jack the Ripper is the best known name given to an unidentified serial killer generally believed to have been active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888". Why did Lechmere lie at the inquest? If we assume that this is our Cross, and that the age he gave was approximately correct, this would fit the Daily Telegraph claim in 1888 that he had worked for Pickfords for over twenty years. Who do you credit as the most reliable witnesses? The Daily News and the Evening News (1 September 1888) published a statement by the doctor in which he gave the time as about five minutes to four this morning. ", A Juryman:- "Did you tell Constable Mizen that another policeman wanted him in in Buck's Row? In 1888, and after, Cross was accepted as an ordinary carman going to work who had the misfortune to discover a corpse in Bucks Row. Probably to a police station and they took him to the inquest after getting his statement which would have been provided to the On August 31st, 1888, Charles Cross was on his way to his place of employment, Pickfords, near Liverpool Street, where he worked as a carman, or van driver, when he discovered the boy of Mary Nichols in a dark gateway on Bucks Row, In Whitechapel. The whole episode was forgotten until it was discovered by some amateur researchers in 2005 who determined that Cross had given a false name and that the mystery mans true identity was Charles Allen Lechmere. Lechmere then had an extraordinary stroke of luck. Mizen, not realising the seriousness of what he was told, allowed the two men to continue on to work. charles cross a fatal accident An inquiry was held on Wednesday, at the Coroners Court, touching the death of Walter Williams, aged four years, who was run over by WebPossible suspect : Charles Lechmere/ Cross. Annie Chapman was murdered on the same route days later. The double event, the killings of Elizabeth Stride and Catharine Eddowes, could have been performed by Cross. Born Charles Allen Lechmere in 1849, St Anne's, Soho, son of John Allen Lechmere and Maria Louisa (nee Roulson). Most newspapers, like the Times (18 September), produced this in reported speech and simply wrote that he claimed to have first seen Cross standing in the middle of the road. Cross may have read Pauls interview in Lloyds and in his evidence subtly responded to this testimony which the coroner had not yet heard. Still, assuming that Crass was Charles Cross, then in 1888 he would have been about 43. He could go along Whitechapel Road, or through Old Montague and Wentworth Streets, or follow Hanbury Street. In July 1889 Alice McKenzie, like Catharine Eddowes, could have been killed while Cross was returning home to Doveton Street, or the Victoria Home in Whitechapel Road. In that instance the killer met and killed her on the street. He made inquiries, and he had reason to blame the driver, as he believed that he had not exercised proper care. Two other policemen passed the ends of the street every half hour. Who do you credit as the most reliable witnesses? Nor does a Charles Crass or Cross appear to have been born at Waterbeach or Wisbech in 1845and in the previous ten years there does not seem to be a Charles Crass or Cross born in Cambridgeshire who may be the 1891 adult. The witness said to the man, "Come and look over here. Going back and forth to work from his home, Cross could choose three ways of walking through the killing area. The van was going slowly. In April of 1888, Emma Smith died as the result of an assault she was subjected to in Osborn and Wentworth Streets. He was the almost unknown local man who had not heard the retreating footfall of Jack the Ripper and was found beside a dead woman. Two weeks later, Paul gave his evidence to the resumed inquest. He was not a gentleman, or a Mason, or a relative of a policeman, or a middleclass suicide, or a demented doctor, or a famous painter. Cross is a common name, but Crass is uncommon. had collapsed or the claim was not true. Conversely, accept Caroline Maxwells evidence and the murder took place sometime between 8 or 8.30 and 10.45am when the body was discovered. On the morning of 31 August 1888 he was walking through Bucks Row on his way to Pickfords depot in Broad Street when he found the body of Polly Nichols. However, there is some doubt here because of uncertainty about what time the murder of Chapman took place. The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper (London 2003) p. 667. Every day, going to and from work, Charles Cross walked backwards and forwards through the killing area. These are the same people as their ages and places of birth are consistent across the years. When Mizen arrived at the scene another PC was there, PC Neil. The killing that does not fit this hypothesis is that of Nichols. Charles Cross was a very common name. Still, assuming that Crass was Charles Cross, then in 1888 he would have been about 43. It looked like a tarpaulin sheet, but walking to the middle of the road he saw that it was the figure of a woman. Identifying himself as Charles Allen Cross. Was Jack the Ripper a Member of the Royal Family? In the event, Paul had seen very little. Kosminski was investigated and watched but never charged. A day into the inquest, an explosive newspaper interview with a man named Robert Paul revealed that the police had not in fact discovered the body. - Jack Required fields are marked *. Cross claimed to have been in the middle of the road. There is no explanation for why a married man with a job was a lodger in a mens home. Lechmere had claimed that Paul was 30 seconds behind him, yet Paul was clear he saw no one walking ahead of him in the alleyway. Why not fabricate a whole new name to hide his true identity and keep his family say. The following day, outed by the newspaper interview the second man reluctantly appeared at the inquest. If he was not finished, he should have been disturbed by the arrival of Charles Cross in Bucks Row. Martha Tabram was murdered on a route Cross could have taken to work at a time when he was in the area. Walking time between Doveton Street, where Cross lived, and Broad Street, where he worked for Pickfords, is about 40 minutes. Taken to her room, it was the first time he saw clearly what he was doing, and he also saw the bloodstains on his own clothes. In the Daily News story, Cross claimed that he was behind time. He may have killed before, and may not have stopped in 1888. The other man placed his hand on her heart, saying, "I think she's breathing, but it's very little if she is.". The middle names given by the newspapers, Allen and Andrew, may be a confusion with the pronunciation. Nichols injuries were nowhere near as extensive as the other victims, suggesting that the killer was interrupted. Never considered a suspect yet discovered at the sight of a freshly killed victim. Crosss connection with at least three murder sites should have brought him to their attention. For example, a couple shown as Charles and Emma Crass in one census reappear in another as Charles and Emma Cross. The other man left the witness soon afterwards. The detail of Crosss involvement with the murders is fairly straightforward. The Charles Cross who was in Bucks Row in 1888 was never a Ripper suspect. At the inquest the coroner was astonished that the murderer had not been caught. In recent years, however, his name has turned up on the ever growing list of Jack the Ripper suspects.. The Charles Cross, who lived in Bucks Row in 1888, was never a suspect in the murder of Annie Whether it is entirely accurate is of course unknowable. The 1891 census, however, notes that Charles Crass was married, aged 45, employed as a labourer, and born at Cambridge West Beach. The other two victims were killed on a Saturday night Lechmeres night off not far from his mothers house. Possibly the wrong name was spoken by Mizen, or a court officer, and noted by journalists. If they continued only a few streets further to the east, they would have included Doveton Street. Ripper books have maps of the murder sites that end just beyond the place where Nichols was murdered. If it was him, these were not careful and cunningly executed atrocities because he was murdering and carelessly littering his daily path with bodies. As police struggled to keep pace with the continuing murders, Cross vanished from their investigation. Nor does a Charles Crass or Cross appear to have been born at Waterbeach or Wisbech in 1845and in the previous ten years there does not seem to be a Charles Crass or Cross born in Cambridgeshire who may be the 1891 adult. The witness added, "She looks to me to be either dead or drunk," to which the other man replied, "I think she's dead." ", The Witness "No Sir. Though, his wife may have been dead or the marriage Eight days after Cross was discovered with the body of Nichols, another prostitute was murdered along one of his routes at a time when he was habitually (or could have been) in the vicinity. The man, who might be the witness Charles Cross, appears in the census as Charles Crass. The Bell Club incident, and the 1887 attack on Aaron Abrahams, "Momfluencers" Force Children into "Correction Helmets" That Reshape Their Skulls, Photo Story - Hermit Who Lived Alone in Maine Woods for Over 30 Years Arrested, Testimonies of Charles Cross and PC John Neil. No other suspect is so strongly linked to these three murders. Between his home in Doveton Street and his work at Broad Street lay the area in which the murders took place. On the way, he found a woman lying prone in the street, with her skirt raised above her waist. The murders, so far, could have been done going to and from work. The hands were cold and limp, and the witness said to the other man, "I believe she's dead." Cross, a poor workingman, was Nobody. The murders were opportunistic. Cross was his stepfather's name which Every day, going to and from work, Charles Cross walked backwards and forwards through the killing area. Yet he was found kneeling over a Ripper victim who had been killed just moments before in a deserted street where there was no one else to be seen. In the dark, he could not tell at first what it was. August 31st, 1888 - Found the body of Mary Ann Nichols in Buck's Row, Whitechapel. He tried to pull up, but he found that it was impossible. One Incontrovertible, Unequivocal, Undeniable Fact Which Refutes the Diary. Did the The Charles Cross who was in Bucks Row in 1888 was never a Ripper suspect. Given the more extensive injuries in the later crimes, it would have been reasonable for contemporary investigators to consider, as they reviewed the series of crimes, whether the murderer had completed his mutilation of Polly Nichols or whether he had been interrupted. WebWhat are the most plausible theories on who Jack the Ripper might be? If he left at 3.30, he still had time for a blitz attack on Nichols before he was interrupted. Had it be known that Lechmere found the body, PC Mizen would surely have detained him. When they were murdered Tabram was 39, Nichols 43, Chapman 47, Stride 45, Eddowes 46, Kelly 25, and Alice McKenzie 40. Learning from this, the future murders took place in relatively safer environments. Did he die a paupers death? If it was indeed Charles Cross, then he too appears to be absent from future returns, although he may be hiding among the men with the same name. He was found very near to the boy. There is no explanation for why a married man with a job was a lodger in a mens home. He left home on Friday at twenty minutes past three, and got to Pickfords yard at Broad-street at four oclock. The Times agreed, reporting that Cross stated that he left home on Friday morning at 20 minutes past three, and he arrived at his work, at Broad-street, at four oclock. In 1888, Pickfords was a long-established British firm of carriers who are still in business today. If the crime was incomplete, Charles Cross should have found a man beside the body. he appeared to be a carman, but the witness had never seen him before. If we assume that this is our Cross, and that the age he gave was approximately correct, this would fit the Daily Telegraph claim in 1888 that he had worked for Pickfords for over twenty years. Then he touched her face, which felt warm. Later murders ascribed to the same killer would involve even greater mutilations. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Are you a social butterfly? Cross may have been explaining why he was in Bucks Row at a later time than usual. I believe he first presented himself in the morning. Every day other men walked these streets at similar times, but only Charles Cross was discovered beside a body. With only these few pieces of information, however, Charles Cross should be considered as a suspect for the Whitechapel murders. Charles Cross is a serious suspect for the Whitechapel murders. In a nearby street they quickly encountered Constable Mizen. The witness replied, "I am not going to touch her.". He was simply a carman on his way to work. From the murderers point of view these crimes were possibly unsatisfyingand this could explain Mary Kellys extensive mutilations. 2 Michael Bilton, Wicked Beyond Belief: In another instance, the surname for a man and his wife is given as Cross, but, on turning the page, their children are named Crass. Who Was Jack The Ripper? Cross and Robert Paul notified Constable Mizen of the presence of Polly Nicholss body. Mizen, not realising the seriousness of what he was told, allowed the two men to continue on to work. Following his daily timetable he was present in the area about the time Martha Tabram was murdered; he was discovered beside the body of Polly Nichols, and Annie Chapman was murdered along his route to work. Cross, with the exception of Kelly, is widely regarded as a murderer as a child, and he would have committed that crime in his own generation. Charles Lechmere considerably less so. WebMost Notorious 11.8K subscribers No historical true crime case is more hotly debated around the world than the one involving the near-mythical serial killer "Jack the Ripper". Cross lived in Doveton Street and worked in Broad Street and we know what time he left for work. Either no one noticed, or bothered to correct, the earlier sentence in which Cross had been called George. Working for Pickfords, Cross may have travelled throughout Britain in the years before and after 1888. As a killer, Cross would have been murdering, with the obvious exception of Kelly, within his own generation. He saw a Pickfords van going towards Liverpool Road, and he saw the deceased and another child about to cross the road. Dr Llewellyn, a local doctor who lived close by, was wakened by the police and came to the murder site. Charles Cross was the man who found the body of Mary Nichols, who is widely believed to have been the first actual victim of Jack the Ripper. Either the census taker made a slight mistake or his writing was wrongly transcribed when indexes were compiled. The importance of Pauls interview is its immediacy. The body of Annie Chapman was found that morning in the backyard of 29 Hanbury Street. As a killer, Cross would have been murdering, with the obvious exception of Kelly, within his own generation. So what are the other murders? The Ripper murders took place in 1888 in Londons Whitechapel district, although some believe the killer was active as late as 1891. London Hospital night-shift rosters and practices indicate that Stephenson was not able to leave on the nights of the murders and hence could not have been Jack the Ripper. [88] Proposed by later authors[edit] Your email address will not be published. On the morning of 31 August 1888 he was walking through Bucks Row on his way to Pickfords depot in Broad Street when he found the body of Polly Nichols. Little is known of Charles Cross apart from the fact that he was the man Robert Paul found by the body of Polly Nichols. On Friday morning he left home about half-past-three to go to work, and passing through Buck's Row he saw on the opposite sound something lying against a gateway. This death may have triggered the later murders and this bloody episode in April may have helped turn a mans fantasies into reality the following autumn. There are places called Waterbeach and Wisbech. He admitted that he had found the body first. On Charles Cross there is more to say, and more to discover. The mysteries may be no more than the usual problems encountered by genealogists doing family research, but this genealogical puzzle could be well worth solving. Have you booked your place on our tour yet? When they were murdered Tabram was 39, Nichols 43, Chapman 47, Stride 45, Eddowes 46, Kelly 25, and Alice McKenzie 40. 10,490 views Jan 28, 2021 188 Dislike Share Save Wandering Crystal 620 subscribers Was Charles Lechmere/Charles Cross more than an innocent bystander in the infamous Jack the This ordinary carman in his ordinary apron at the Nichols inquest may have been a 43-year-old local working man, married, in a settled position, simply on his way to work when he found a body. The possibility that the murderer was a local person was taken seriously: at the end of September the Metropolitan Police issued posters appealing for information on women murdered in or near Whitechapel, supposed by some one residing in the immediate neighbourhood. The Islington Gazette took up the story in its edition of Friday, 29th December 1876:-. WebCharles Allen Lechmere (5 October 1849 23 December 1920), also known as Charles Cross, was a meat cart driver for the Pickfords company, and is conventionally regarded as an innocent witness who discovered the body of Following his daily timetable he was present in the area about the time Martha Tabram was murdered; he was discovered beside the body of Polly Nichols, and Annie Chapman was murdered along his route to work. James is the SEO Manager here at Patty360. Cross, after spending the night drinking in the Aldgate pubs near Pickfords, could have killed Eddowes on his way home because she was found along his path. The jury expressed the opinion that the driver was not to blame, and they returned a verdict of Accidental death. What follows is an examination of Cross as a suspect and conjecture about how he might have carried out the Whitechapel murders. Ironically one of the witnesses, Elizabeth Long (or Durrell as in some reports), stated at the Inquest that her husband was a cart minder (The Daily Telegraph, 11 September 1888). The evidence is of course circumstantial but it raises real suspicions that Lechmere was in fact Jack the Ripper. Cross may be the innocent man he appeared in 1888, but he may also have been Jack the Ripper. check out the. On reflection a man who appears to have been caught red-handed. On census night this person lodged at the Victoria Home in Whitechapel Road, very close to Doveton Street. He lived at 22 Doveton Street, Bethnal Green, and worked as a carman or cart driver for Pickfords. Or was he one of the CCs who appear in census records as patients, prisoners or inmates? As everyone alive at the time is now dead, modern authors are free to accuse anyone they can, "without any need for any supporting historical evidence". The official records for the Nichols Inquest have not been found. He has worked as a content writer for various local and national news sites covering entertainment and tech. Other newspapers suggested Charles A., Charles Andrew or Charles Allen. On the night of the murder, when his memory should have been fresh and uncontaminated by reading newspaper accounts, Robert Paul told a reporter that when he walked into Bucks Row that morning, I saw a man standing where the woman was. The man was Charles Cross. Phillips placed the time of death between 3.30 and 4.30. He and the other man left the deceased, and, in Baker';s Row, they saw the last witness (Police Constable Mizen), whom they told that a woman was lying in Buck's Row. The time she died is unknown and contemporary suggestions were contradictory. He merely said that he would have fetched a policeman, but he was behind time. Did he live on, perhaps into the 1920s? These are the same people as their ages and places of birth are consistent across the years. A re-enactment, including the policemen walking their beats, would be helpful. Working for Pickfords, Cross may have travelled throughout Britain in the years before and after 1888. had collapsed or the claim was not true. The Daily Telegraph claimed he had worked for Pickfords for more than twenty years. These thoughts would have drawn their attention to Charles Cross. If this is what happened, then the Star and The Times recorded his usual timetable, while the Daily News, Daily Telegraph and Morning Advertiser gave the time he claimed to have left home on the day of the murder. In another instance, the surname for a man and his wife is given as Cross, but, on turning the page, their children are named Crass. Did he go overseas? Charles Cross, carman to Pickford and Co., said that he was crossing with his van from Copenhagen Street to Elizabeth Street, when two children seemed to come from behind a trap that was standing on the off-side, all in instant, running against his horses. In the 1891 census Charles Crass may be the carman Charles Cross who lived in Doveton Street in 1888. He was the almost unknown local man who had not heard the retreating footfall of Jack the Ripper and was found beside a dead woman. Charles Cross is not the most romantic solution to the Jack the Ripper murders, but he may be the right one. On Charles Cross there is more to say, and more to discover. Charles Cross was a local man who lived in the Whitechapel area of London, where the Ripper murders took Polly Nichols was murdered on his path to work in late August, but two other killings had already taken place along these routes and one of them could have been committed by him. She was in the usual age group for the victims, she was available, was probably still showing the effects of drink, and the place she took him to offered safety for what he wanted to do. Charles Cross is not an uncommon name and though he has not previously been traced in any British census, he may be present in the 1891 records. On Monday, 3rd September, 1888, he appeared as a witness at the second day of the inquest and his testimony was reported by The East London Observer on Saturday, 8th September, 1888:-. However, serious arguments that Elizabeth Stride was not victim of the Ripper have been put forward and with some of these I tend to agree. This ordinary carman in his ordinary apron at the Nichols inquest may have been a 43-year-old local working man, married, in a settled position, simply on his way to work when he found a body. The possibility that the murderer was a local person was taken seriously: at the end of September the Metropolitan Police issued posters appealing for information on women murdered in or near Whitechapel, supposed by some one residing in the immediate neighbourhood. He lived at 22 Doveton Street, Bethnal Green, and worked as a carman or cart driver for Pickfords. According to the oft-told account of what happened that morning, Charles Cross was on his way to work when he noticed something lying in a gateway on Bucks Row. It's not a bad theory, but I wish you'd stopped short of using the "p" word. In this account, Paul placed the man ahead of him standing where the woman was. Lechmere told the policeman that another policeman had found a woman and was requesting assistance. There is no definitive answer to this question, as the identity of Jack the Ripper has never been conclusively established. Few people like to come up and down here without being on their guard, for there are such terrible gangs about. He was part of the Nichols murder paperwork, pigeonholed as the carman witness who discovered her body. Did he live on, perhaps into the 1920s? For example, a couple shown as Charles and Emma Crass in one census reappear in another as Charles and Emma Cross. Put together the minutes it took to do the killings in 1888 and they add up to only a few hours in a mans life, and the life they belonged to may have been that of Charles Cross. In this account Paul was less specific: As I was passing up Bucks-row I saw a man standing in the roadway. No one bothered to establish exactly how close Cross was to the body when Paul saw him on that dark morning. Did he go overseas? For 130 years no murder case has gripped the history of crime quite like Jack the Ripper. After this 1891 recording, Charles Crass disappears from future census returns. Her bonnet was off, but was close to her head. There are also excellent other suspects, namely Aaron Kosminski whose behavior, location and date of detention in an asylum fit perfectly into the Ripper timeline. There have been many knocked down and robbed at that spot. The women offered themselves to him and set up their death scenes. You can read about his candidature in this article. An inquiry was held on Wednesday, at the Coroners Court, touching the death of Walter Williams, aged four years, who was run over by a Pickfords van. He was the almost unknown local man who had not heard the retreating footfall of Jack the Ripper and was found beside a dead woman. However, some people believe that Charles Cross may have been the notorious serial killer. Cross may have told Coroner Wynne Baxter that he usually left home at 3.20 and arrived at Broad Street at four oclock, but on Friday he was late and left home at 3.30. Jack the Ripper may have been caught in the act, and have been allowed by a police officer to walk away from the crime in the company of a witnesssomeone who did not realise the importance of what he had seen. Was it a holiday treat? Testimonies of Charles Cross and PC John Neil. Cross neither saw anyone nor heard anything, but perhaps there was a witness. There is no place called West Beach in Cambridgeshire. These thoughts would have drawn their attention to Charles Cross. If Lechmere wasnt the killer, he had the extraordinary misfortune to be in the area of the Ripper murders when they occurred. Books and films about the Ripper assume that a cart-driver named Charles Cross found Polly Nichols body. The mysteries may be no more than the usual problems encountered by genealogists doing family research, but this genealogical puzzle could be well worth solving. One child drew back, but the deceased was caught by the wheel. [QUOTE=moonbegger;233351]Good morning Retro . His companion that morning, Charles Cross, is worth considering as a suspect for the Whitechapel murders. But why use a pseudonym that many people already knew him by? Lechmere knew this lie would facilitate his escape. Thomas Ede and Patrick Mulshaw do not give their addresses at the inquest. Perhaps the East London Advertiser (8 September 1888) was guessing when they wrote that Dr Llewellyn came in about ten minutes. These minor points concerning accurate timing of events are necessary if we take seriously Llewellyns opinion that when he first saw Nichols she had not been dead more than half an hour. Listen also to Maurice Lewis and she was still alive at 10am. There's a woman.". If police investigators went back and worked through the paperwork of the Whitechapel murders from the beginning, his name should have emerged as a person worth investigating. Most of their suggestions cannot be taken seriously, and include English novelist George Gissing, Britis If police investigators went back and worked through the paperwork of the Whitechapel murders from the beginning, his name should have emerged as a person worth investigating. At the murder scene Paul had suggested to a reluctant Lechmere they should find a policeman. At the same time, he heard a man about forty yards away coming up Buck's Row in the direction that the witness had come from. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Dr. Hindhough of Barnsbury Road, deposed that the deceased was brought to his surgery in a dying state. In Peter Sutcliffes 1981 police statement he said that when he killed Patricia Atkinson, in her flat, it was the first time he had seen the blood: before it had always been dark but this time in the light I saw lots of blood on the bed and on the floor.2 This was the experience of Jack the Ripper when he killed Kelly. The Coroner:- "Did you see Police Constable Neil in Buck's Row? WebCompelling Jack the Ripper evidence 30,008 views May 9, 2020 428 Dislike Nick's Shore Thing 488 subscribers Show The Missing Evidence : Jack the Ripper Show more The Ripper was an opportunistic killer. It was later revealed that he had provided false information regarding his name, formerly saying it was Cross. Wolf Vanderlinden in Considerable Doubt and the Death of Annie Chapman suggested serious problems with this assumption and drew attention to the contemporary claims of Dr Phillips who examined her body. In recent years, he has also turned up on the ever-expanding list of suspects.You can read about his candidature in this article. Decide that a member of the royal family, a painter or a mad Freemason killed these women and you can plot the events and invent connections, but take a real man, for whom only a few facts are known, and it becomes obvious how little was really known about the murders in 1888. For a 120 of those years one man has remained buried in the evidence. Because Crass is an uncommon name, it is easier to trace an individual with that surname through the different census years. In considering Charles Cross as a suspect, the time he left his home in Doveton Street is crucial, but the information given by the newspapers was contradictory. I saw no one after leaving home, except the man that overtook me, the Constable in Baker's Row, and the deceased. The infamous graffito probably had nothing to do with him. The witness did not notice that her throat was cut, as the night was very dark. Employment as a labourer may mean that he had left Pickfords, or perhaps that the type of work he did for them had changed. He was not a gentleman, or a Mason, or a relative of a policeman, or a middleclass suicide, or a demented doctor, or a famous painter. Suspects proposed years after the murders include virtually anyone remotely connected to the case by contemporary documents, as well as many famous names, who were not considered in the police investigation at all. What was Lechmere doing for eight minutes? Charles Cross's Fatal Accident, 1876 - A Jack The Ripper Frequently Asked Questions About The Tour, All Site Content Written By Richard Jones. They became his victims when they encountered him at a time and in a place in which he felt safe in carrying out his fantasies. When Chapmans body was discovered some of the many market carts were in plain view at the nearby corner of Hanbury and Commercial Streets and The Times (11 September 1888) used their presence in recreating the murder scene for their readers: On Saturday morning, between half past 4 oclock and 6, several carts must have passed through Hanbury-street, and at 5 oclock, on the opening of the Spitalfields Market, the end of which the murder occurred was blocked with market vehicles, and the market attendants were busy regulating the traffic.. A man who would have reason to be on the streets early in the night. George Porter, a traveller, said that on Thursday, at about four oclock in the afternoon, he was outside his brothers shop, 3 Elizabeth Terrace, when he witnessed the accident. In this instance he may have been interrupted and could have been caught. In July 1889 Alice McKenzie, like Catharine Eddowes, could have been killed while Cross was returning home to Doveton Street, or the Victoria Home in Whitechapel Road. The person found close to the body was Charles Crossand Robert Paul may have interrupted him. He was, in fact, on his way to work when he Charles Cross has not been identified in other census records because there are so many people with that name that it has proved impossible, so far, to positively identify the correct man. The man, who might be the witness Charles Cross, appears in the census as Charles Crass. What time was he called? ", The Coroner:- "Did the other man tell you who he was? The other man suggested that they should "shift her" - meaning in the witness's opinion that they should seat her upright. After this 1891 recording, Charles Crass disappears from future census returns. Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 22 January 1942) was a German-born artist of British and Danish ancestry, who was first mentioned as a possible Ripper suspect in Donald McCormick's book The Identity of Jack the Ripper (1959). Only the confusion is clear. It would have made sense to put on some of the mens clothes which Maria Harvey had left in the room and burn any of his own marked clothes. Though, his wife may have been dead or the marriage They may not be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the copyright holder. In the census there does not seem to be a woman named Crass who appears to be living apart from her husband in London. Kelly was younger than the other victims and was butchered inside her room. In the 1891 census Charles Crass may be the carman Charles Cross who lived in Doveton Street in 1888. An even more important question may be, what time did he arrive in Bucks Row? William Warner, of 25, Henry Street, deposed to seeing the accident, and said that he heard the driver shout, but the horse was then on the child. Cross is a common name, but Crass is uncommon. The woman's legs were uncovered. The killings were a very small part of Jack the Rippers life. He was the first one that arrived on the scene , but what if he didnt arrive at all, what if as soon as he heard Robert Paul arrive he was quick to cover his tracks. If we knew with absolute certainty what time Chapman was killed the case for or against Cross would become clearer. Charles Cross, carman, who appeared in Court with a rough sack apron on, said that he had been in the employment of Messrs. Pickford and Co. for some years. Or was he one of the CCs who appear in census records as patients, prisoners or inmates? No. The policeman answered "All right.". Mary Ann Nichols was thought to be the Rippers second victim. Henrietta Owen, of 100, Aldenham Street, said that she was in Elizabeth Terrace on the day in question, and she saw the child run over. Of course, nothing is straightforward. Though surely not a Ripper killing, she was lying wounded and dying in Wentworth Street at a time when Cross was walking to work. He had and when he arrived there was another man standing over it. They both went across to the body, and the witness took hold of her hands, while the other man stopped over her head to look at her. Because Crass is an uncommon name, it is easier to trace an individual with that surname through the different census years. Walter Williams, of 36, Cloudesley Road, a jeweller, and father of the deceased, said that on Thursday last he was told that his boy was run over and killed. The Bell Club incident, and the 1887 attack on Aaron Abrahams, "Momfluencers" Force Children into "Correction Helmets" That Reshape Their Skulls, Photo Story - Hermit Who Lived Alone in Maine Woods for Over 30 Years Arrested, Testimonies of Charles Cross and PC John Neil. Given the more extensive injuries in the later crimes, it would have been reasonable for contemporary investigators to consider, as they reviewed the series of crimes, whether the murderer had completed his mutilation of Polly Nichols or whether he had been interrupted. That he might have been mutilating Nichols when interrupted by Robert Paul was never considered by the police conducting the investigation, but it should have been. For cross/lechmere to have appeared at the inquest he must have first given his details to the police and it is inconceivable that they would have not taken his address and workplace - but it is quite possible Cross/Lechmere didn't appreciate that when he went to give his statement (notwithstanding that his long dead step father had been a policeman). If this is your first visit, be sure to The driver tried to pull up but the wheels went over the deceased. Consider some of the Whitechapel murders as morning killings committed by a local man on his way to work and the others as crimes that occurred on his return journey. Perhaps she was too befuddled to suggest a discreet place to go. Look about after the death of Annie Chapman and your view of a suspicious foreigner is obscured by the carts blocking Commercial Street. He could flee or wait for the man to approach. He is suspected by some as having been the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper. The original terror tour - established 1982, Home / Blog / General News / Charles Crosss Accident 1876. ", The Witness "No Sir. He was a familiar yet unknown part of Whitechapel, a blur in the street. Charles Cross is not the most romantic solution to the Jack the Ripper murders, but he may be the right one. This ordinary carman in his ordinary apron at the Nichols inquest may have been a 43-year-old local working The generally accepted timing for the killing of Chapman is about 5.30am. Both Sarah Lewis and Elizabeth Prater heard a cry of murder about 4amwhich would conveniently fit Crosss workday timetable. But wouldnt Lechmere have been covered in blood if he was the killer? The Times reporter may have made a similar error; he caught the carmans name the first time it was mentioned and did not note the corrected one when this rather unimportant figure came forward to give his evidence. The murders were opportunistic. Identifying himself as Charles Allen Cross. Walking time between Doveton Street and the Bucks Row murder site today is approximately six minutesit would have been quicker in 1888. Bucks Row was seven minutes into Lechmeres walk to work, he said he begun at 3:30am every morning yet Paul did not enter Bucks Row until 3:45am. Further investigation revealed that that was far from the only lie he told. With all the newspaper babble of bloodstained madmen, the workman in his crude sacking apron was easy to forget, even as he walked past, or stopped and watched, police detectives investigating the later atrocities. The inescapable conclusion is that Paul had arrived moments after Nichols had been murdered. There is no place called West Beach in Cambridgeshire. Copyright 2021 Patty360 | All Content Rights Reserved. He stepped back and waited for the new-comer, who started on one side, as if he feared that the witness was about to knock him down. If yes, chances are that you want to watch all the new releases without any Willy Woo is an on-chain analyst and investor with an estimated net worth of $10 million. Most were quickly done in public places and victims were discarded where they were killed. Earlier in August, on Tuesday the 7th, Cross could have murdered Martha Tabram in the George Yard Building, just off Wentworth Street, as he was going to work. It was dark, and I was hurrying along, when I saw a man standing where the woman was. Charles Cross is not an And besides, Cross was in fact his name to use and thus had a legality that a random Cross and another man named Robert Paul approached her and touched her head and hands, unable to decide if she was dead or merely unconscious. Although previous murders linked to Jack the Ripper had received considerable press and public attention, the murder of Annie Chapman generated a state Charles Cross is not the most romantic solution to the Jack the Ripper murders, but he may be the right one. Charles Cross was the man who found the body of Jack the Ripper victim Mary Nichols at around 3.40am on August 31st, 1888. Lechmere lived to the 71, its unlikely that Jack the Ripper could have suppressed his urges with killing again which could undermine the case for him being the Ripper. Cross said that Paul appeared afraid of him. Paul said that he had been concerned by the presence of the man. He may not have been the famous slayer, yet he brings life to the idea of the Ripper as a local, working-class killer. In the census there does not seem to be a woman named Crass who appears to be living apart from her husband in London. 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