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Chris Scott
Chief Inspector
Username: Chris
Post Number: 832
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Friday, January 09, 2004 - 6:28 pm: |       |
Found this strange reference to a letter read at Dr Cream's trial supposedly providing an alibi for Cream. It is signed Juan Pollen, alias jack the Ripper.
"The Lambeth Poisoner. Born in Glasgow, 1850; graduated from McGill University, Canada, 1876. Practiced medicine in Chicago. Had an affair with Mrs Stott, poisoned Mr Stott in 1881, virtually gave himself up and was imprisoned in Joliet.
Released in 1891. In England, murdered, with strychnine, Ellen Donworth, Matilda Clover, Emma Shivell, Alice Marsh. Arrested June 1892. Hanged by Thomas Billington, but from under the hood he cried "I am Jack the...urk...ack...ludicrous theories about him escaping or bribing his way out (of Joliet) do not ring true.
Juan Pollen letter, read in court by Coroner Braxton Hicks:
Dear Sir, The man that you have in your power, Dr. Neill, is as innocent as you are. Knowing him by sight, I disguised myself like him, and made the acquaintance of the girls that have been poisoned. I gave them the pills to cure them of all their earthly miseries, and they died. Miss L. Harris has got more sense than I thought she had, but I shall have her yet...If I were you, I would release Dr. T. Neill, or you might get into trouble. His innocence will be declared sooner or later, and when he is free he might sue you for damages. Beware all. I warn but once.
Yours respectfully, Juan Pollen,
alias Jack the Ripper"
Anyone seen this before?
Chris
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Jennifer D. Pegg
Inspector
Username: Jdpegg
Post Number: 188
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, January 10, 2004 - 10:01 am: | |
how fasinating chris,
i wonder if that is a real person or a friend using an allias to get cream off. ???????????????
jennifer |
Jeffrey Bloomfied
Inspector
Username: Mayerling
Post Number: 231
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, January 11, 2004 - 1:03 pm: | |
Hi Chris and Jennifer,
The appearance of the "Juan Pollen" letter has been commented upon by student's of Cream's poisoning career. The general comment has been to dismiss it as a clumsy attempt to throw doubt into the minds of the Coroner and the Coroner's jury. The problem (aside from it's melodramatic
nonsense - yeah, he'll get Ms. Lou Harvey yet!)
was that Cream had been known as a prolific letter writer throughout his career (had he concentrated on literary pursuits, maybe he might have died a faintly successful author of pulp
fiction stories for his period, instead of dangling from a rope). Most of his letters were blackmail threats, or threats of legal consequences to people complaining of his behavior. In fact, they were rather similar in tone to the "Juan Pollen" letter, so that it is possible that it was written (at Cream's dictation, perhaps)by some friend. It would not have been too hard for the sometimes charming Cream to get some fool to do this. His fiance,
Ms. Laura Sabattini, actually did write some threatening letters for Cream at his dictation (she was told by him he was helping the authorities in investigating some murders, so she agreed to do them).
The mentioning of "Jack the Ripper" was a nice touch, but just that, a nice touch.
Best wishes,
Jeff |
Caroline Anne Morris
Chief Inspector
Username: Caz
Post Number: 616
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 4:20 am: | |
As an aside, Coroner Braxton Hicks was presumably the man who identified and gave his name to the ‘false alarm’ type of contractions experienced by some women before real labour starts?
Love,
Caz
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Alan Sharp
Inspector
Username: Ash
Post Number: 341
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 6:41 am: | |
Caz! Thankyou! I knew I'd heard that name somewhere before! |
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