Joseph Koster is described in a handful of contemporary press reports as a young man "about twenty years of age" who was one of the first to see the body of Elizabeth Stride in Dutfield's Yard. No mention of him is found in the official records, nor was he called at the inquest. This has led some researchers to conclude that he may never have existed, or was an early, garbled version of Louis Diemschutz and/or Edward Spooner.

Press Coverage

The Koster story received scant press in the London papers, but thanks almost certainly to an early wire posting it was picked up in several regional papers. The Irish Times coverage on 1 October 1888 was as follows:

"About five minutes to one o'clock this morning a youth about twenty years of age named Joseph Koster was accosted by a little boy who came running up to him as he was passing on the opposite side of 40 Berner street, used by the International Socialist Club, and told him that a woman was lying in the gateway next to the club, with her throat cut. Koster immediately ran across the road and saw a woman lying on her side in the gateway leading into Dutfield's stabling and van premises. The gate which is a large wooden one, was partly opened, and the woman lying partly in the opening and on the street. He immediately roused the neighbours, and by the aid of a candle it was seen that the woman's throat was cut open very nearly from one ear to the other, and her lips were drawn up as if she had suffered sharp pain."

Further on in the same article, under a heading simply titled "LATER":

"Lewis, who is now found to have been on the spot rather than Koster, is the steward at the Socialist Club at No. 40, and in addition he travels in some drapery goods, the purchase of which, according to his friends necessitated his attending last night's market."

Still further on the Irish Times carries an interview with Abraham Heshburg, who stated:

"The body was not found by Koster, but by a man whose name I do not know, a man who goes out with a pony and barrow, and lives up the archway where he was going, I believe, to put up his barrow on coming home from market."

The only other mention of Koster yet discovered is in the Times (London), also published on 1 October 1888. The Times refers to him as "Costa":

"Conflicting statements are made as to the way in which the body was found, but according to one account a lad first made the discovery and gave information to a man named Costa, who proceeded to the spot, where almost immediately afterwards a constable arrived."

Koster is mentioned also in the Yorkshire Post of 1 October 1888 and the Weekly Herald of 5 October 1888. Both are almost identical to the coverage offered by the Irish Times (reproduced above), suggesting that all three papers used the same early wire report as a basis for their coverage.

Speculation on Koster

Very little has been written about Koster, but recently researcher Tom Wescott suggested in Ripperologist magazine that the elusive witness never actually existed:

"First, let me explain how I concluded that Koster was Edward Spooner. The Koster tale, in its greatest detail, appeared in the Oct. 1st edition of the Irish Times and was later repeated in the Weekly Herald of Oct. 5th. In this report we're informed that a small boy approached Koster, who was walking across the street from the club, and informed him of the murder. Koster then 'roused the neighbours', borrowed a candle, and upon examination saw that the victims' throat had been cut. The Times of Oct. 1st mentions this account in brief and adds an important and very telling detail: 'Conflicting statements are made as to the way in which the body was found, but according to one account a lad first made the discovery and gave information to a man named Costa, who proceeded to the spot, where almost immediately afterwards a constable arrived.' Comparing these accounts, it occurred to me that Louis Diemschutz and Edward Spooner had somehow been fused into the imaginary Joseph Koster/Costa. Clearly, the events as described of a man rousing neighbours and soliciting a candle pertain only to Diemschutz. Spooner was in fact approached and escorted to the crime scene early on, but only after many others were already there. The Times states that a constable arrived 'almost immediately' after Koster/Costa himself arrived and examined the body. This detail singles out Edward Spooner. Diemschutz himself confirmed this at the inquest when he stated that Morris Eagle returned with PC Lamb "at the very same moment" that Spooner lifted Stride's head to examine her. PC Lamb blew his whistle upon arrival, causing the small group in the yard and street to grow substantially. Many of those arriving at that point might understandably conclude that Spooner had discovered the body. Although I can't say with any certainty, the 'small boy' who allegedly approached Koster may have been a muddled reference to Isaac Kozebrodski, who was only 18 at the time of the murder and may have appeared younger, particularly in an excited state. The name 'Koster' was either derived from the fact that people arriving on the scene were informed that a 'coster' (Diemschutz) had discovered the body, or Spooner himself offer the name to protect his privacy. The fact is that early on, some believed Spooner himself discovered the body while others knew Diemschutz had. Inevitably, the two 'discoveries' become confused and a report combining the two was released, though ignored by most papers, who presumably had confirmed the facts before having a chance to publish the account. Confirming the confusion over the discovery, the well-informed Abraham Ashbrigh (reported variously in the press as Hoshberg, Heshberg & Heahbury) had to set it straight with the Irish Times man interviewing him by stating that 'the body was not found by Koster, but by a man whose name I do not know, a man who goes out with a pony and barrow, and lives up the archway where he was going…' I hope this explains the thought processes behind my conclusion that Joseph Koster did not exist, that he was in fact a muddled fusion of Diemschutz and Spooner, and should no longer be viewed as an independent witness."

Wescott may indeed be correct. The fact that Koster appears nowhere in the official reports or in the inquest testimony certainly suggests that he was either a newspaper invention or was simply confused with another known witness, most probably Diemschitz. To be precise, Diemschitz wasn't actually a "coster", which is defined loosely as someone who sells fruit, vegetables or fish out of a cart, but he did sell jewelry out of what he referred to at the inquest as "a barrow... something like a costermonger's". It may very well be that early reporters, seeing his cart near the yard, referred to Diemschitz (incorrectly) as a coster and the name "Koster" or "Costa" arose from that.

It is also interesting to note that Abrahem Heshburg's comments on the discovery of Elizabeth Stride were picked up by several London papers on 1 October 1888 (the Daily News and Evening News are two examples). His interview was published in those papers almost verbatim to that of the Irish Times, but with no mention of Koster whatsoever.

Times (London) - 1 October 1888
Irish Times - 1 October 1888
Daily News - 1 October 1888
Evening News - 1 October 1888
Yorkshire Post - 1 October 1888
Weekly Herald - 5 October 1888