Rose Mylett (1862-1888)
a.k.a. Catherine Millett or Mellett, 'Drunken Lizzie' Davis, 'Fair Alice' Downey
Born in 1862, Rose Mylett was (according to her mother) once married to
an upholsteror who went by the name of Davis, but for some reason
unknown they had split up by 1888. She had one son by him,
born around 1881, who was attending school in Sutton at the time of
his mother's death. Rose had lived in various lodging houses over the
years, ranging from the Limehouse/Poplar district and 18 George Street,
to her mother's lodgings in Pelham Street (north of Hanbury Street),
Baker's Row, Spitalfields.
Because of her propinquity for drink, friends and acquaintances in Whitechapel
and Spitalfields knew
Rose by the name of 'Drunken Lizzie' Davis, as well as Millett or Mellett.
In Poplar she was known as 'Fair Alice' Downey. Again, according to her
mother (who identified the body), her true name was Rose Mylett.
December 19-20, 1888
7:55 P.M.: Rose Mylett is seen by Charles Ptolomay, an infirmary
night-attendant, speaking with two sailors in Poplar High Street, near
Clarke's Yard. She appeared to have been sober, and was heard
by Ptolomay to have said "No, no, no!" to one of them. Their manner
of conduct was suspicious enough so as to bring attention to themselves.
2:30 A.M.: Alice Graves spots Mylett outside of The George in
Commercial Road with two men. Rose Mylett appeared to have been drunk.
4:15 A.M.: Police Constable Robert Goulding, on patrol at the time,
came across the lifeless body of an unidentified woman (Rose Mylett) in the
yard between 184 and 186 Poplar High Street, in Clarke's Yard (so called
because of owner George Clarke, a builder's merchant). The body was
still warm, and lying on its lefts side. It appeared to P.C. Goulding
as if the attitude of the body was somewhat reminiscent of that of a
Ripper victims, with the left leg drawn up and right leg stretched out.
The clothes were not torn or disarranged in any manner, and there was
no obvious sign of injury. Goulding did not himself attribute the death
to the Ripper.
Still, Rose Mylett was a known prostitute and her body was found only
two miles from the center of the Whitechapel murders. Public suspicion
grew concerning the case, and the hush that had befallen the public
since the dreadful Kelly murder a month and a week before was quickly
disrupted. Once again, the Ripper's name was spoken aloud.
Possessions
The body of Rose Mylett possessed the following:
- Brown and black 'outer clothes'
- Dark tweed jacket
- Lilac apron
- Red flannel petticoat
- Red and blue striped stockings
- Cash: 1/2d [6p]
Death was confirmed by divisional surgeon Dr. Matthew Brownfield's
assistant, Mr. Harris, but at first doctors were at a loss as to
what had caused the death. It did not seem like a Ripper murder, as
the throat was not cut and there were no easily visible wounds anywhere
on the body. It wasn't until a faint mark resembling the imprint of
a string was found around her neck that strangulation was first
suggested.
Post Mortem Report
Prepared by Dr. Matthew Brownfield
Blood was oozing from the nostrils, and there was a slight
abrasion on the right side of the face... One the neck there was a mark
which had evidently been caused by a cord drawn tightly round the neck,
from the spine to the left ear. Such a mark would be made by a four
thread cord. There were also impressions of the thumbs and middle and
index fingers of some person plainly visible on each side of the neck.
There were no injuries to the arms or legs. The brain was gorged with an
almost black fluid blood. The stomach was full of meat and potatoes,
which had only recently been eaten. Death was due to strangulation.
Deceased could not have done it herself. The marks on her neck were
probably caused by her trying to pull the cord off. He thought the
murderer must have stood at the left rear of the woman, and, having the
ends of the cord round his hands, thrown it round her throat, crossed
his hands, and thus strangled her. If it had been done in this way,
it would account for the mark not going completely round the neck.
Dr. Robert Anderson was also involved in the case, and his findings
seemed to contradict those of Dr. Brownfield. He observed that there
was no trace of a struggle around the yard -- no items strewn about,
no clothing torn or ripped, no scratches on the body, and no second
set of footprints anywhere among the soft ground of the yard.
Also according to Anderson, the body "lay naturally."
Anderson, along with the backing of his police force, insisted that
Mylett's death was not attributable to murder, and demanded that
Dr. Bond of Westminster be sent to re-examine the body. Bond's personal assistant,
and then the Senior Police Surgeon both intercepted Anderson's request, and
both went down on their of their own accord to see the body for themselves.
Both returned with a diagnosis of 'willful murder by strangulation.'
Finally, Dr. Bond received Anderson's request and examined the body
of Rose Mylett, in the hopes of studying the
faint marks he had been told about by his colleagues before him, and
was surprised to find that they had disappeared! Furthermore, there
were no secondary signs of strangulation, such as a protruding tongue
or clenched fists. This, he believed,
was sufficient evidence to rebute the theory that she was strangled.
In fact, he put forth the idea that Mylett had fallen down while drunk
and was choked to death by her stiff, velvet collar.
The medical reports also created two major conflicts with witness
testimony. First, there was found no alcohol in Mylett's stomach,
which conflicts with Alice Grave's testimony that said she saw
the deceased quite drunk with two men outside The George at 2:30 A.M..
Second, the medical report revealed evidence purporting that Mylett
had never given birth, this time contradicting the statement made
by her mother (who said Rose Mylett gave birth to a son in 1881).
Inquest
The inquest into the death of Rose Mylett was helf under Wynne Baxter
at Poplar Coroner's Court on January 2nd, 1888 and again on the 9th.
The report prepared by Brownfield was not generally accepted among police,
who cited that there was no string or ligature discarded on the premises,
and that the mark on the neck encircled only one-quarter the
circumference of the neck.
Mr. Wynne Baxter, however, wanted nothing to do with this "nonsense"
of "death by natural causes." In his summing up at the inquest, he
told the jury:
After Dr. Bromfield and his assistant, duly qualified men, came
to the conclusion that this was a case of homicidal strangulation,
someone had a suspicion that the evidence was not satisfactory. At
all events, you've heard that doctor after doctor went down to view
the body without my knowledge or sanction as coroner. I did not wish
to make that a personal matter, but I had never received such
treatment before. Of the five doctors who saw the body, Dr. Bond
was the only one who considered the case was not one of murder. Dr.
Bond did not see the body until five days after her death and he was,
therefore, at a disadvantage. Dr. Bond stated that if this was a
case of strangulation he should have expected to find the skin
broken, but it was clearly shown, on reference being made to the records
of the Indian doctors in the cases of Thug murders, that there were no marks
whatever left. Other eminent authorities agreed with that view.
Dr. George Bagster Phillips agreed with Baxter, making note that there
were signs of strangulation on Annie Chapman's body. According to
Phillips, the murderer 'had studied the theory of strangulation, for
he evidently knew where to place the cord so as to immediately bring
his victim under control.'
The jury chose to side with the coroner and came up with the ever
popular verdict of 'willful murder by person or person unknown.'
Anderson and the C.I.D., dismayed that their reports
and findings were ignored by Baxter, refused to set their men upon
the case, deeming the murderer to be non-existant and such an attempt
as a blatant waste of time and man-power.
Later on in life, Anderson, in The Lighter Side of My Official
Life (1910), wrote that "the Poplar case of December, 1888, was
death from natural causes, and but for the 'Jack the Ripper' scare,
no one would have thought of suggesting that it was a homicide."
Poplar High Street
The body was found in an unused lot owned by builder George Clarke,
which he used to store old materials, aptly named Clarke's Yard. This
was on the southern edge of the street, across from England's Row.
Poplar High Street ran from King's Street (today Ming Street) to Naval
Row and East India Dock Wall, north of the Isle of Dogs. It was
primarily residential, with many shops lining the streets.
Elizabeth Stride's husband, John Stride, had once conducted a coffee-shop
business on Poplar High Street between 1872 and 1874.
Today the entire area is rebuilt, Clarke's Yard now covered by flats
just to the western side of the Jerusalem public house.
