An unknown female quoted by two sources as having been a Ripper victim in the
alleys of Commercial Road on Boxing Night, 1887. The first source was Terence
Robertson, who wrote in the October 29, 1950 edition of Reynolds News
that "Fairy Fay" was the name given to a woman who was killed while taking a
short cut home from a Mitre Square pub. Inspector Reid was supposed to have
headed the enquiry for a few weeks until finally frustration set in and, after
no information was found, told Scotland Yard he was closing the case.
The second source having quoted "Fairy Fay" was Tom Cullen, who
wrote in his Autumn of Terror the same story as did Robertson,
including the important fact that she was, in fact, mutilated.
But that is where the sources end. Scotland Yard has no records of Reid's
investigations. No newspapers have been found with any mention of a "
Fairy Fay" dying on Boxing Night, 1887, or any other night for that
matter. Same goes for the death registers. Even names with minute
similarities to "Fairy Fay" were tried, but only three were found:
Sarah Fayer, Alice Farber, and Emma Fairy. They all died in either December
1887 or December 1886, but none of them were murder victims.
It is because of this that the majority of Ripper authors believe "Fairy
Fay" to have been a mythical victim, created by an overzealous reporter.
Martin Fido believes her death was derived from a combination of Emma Smith
(who was similarly attacked on April 3, 1888) and Rose Mylett, who died in
Christmas week of 1888. Paul Begg, however, disagrees.
Begg is wary of Fido's description of "Fairy Fay's" death, which he
described as occuring due to "a stake [being] thrust through her abdomen
". This is no doubt similar to the death of Emma Smith (who eventually
died from a blunt object being forced into her vagina), but none of the two
known sources (Robertson or Cullen) name a stake as the murder weapon.
Furthermore, Begg claims, there are several newspaper reports which refer to
women being killed in Christmas week of 1887 near Osborne and Wentworth Streets
in Whitechapel (see Western Mail, Cardiff, November 10, 1888).
Therefore, says Begg, the murder can not be wholly dismissed.