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** This is an archived, static copy of the Casebook messages boards dating from 1998 to 2003. These threads cannot be replied to here. If you want to participate in our current forums please go to https://forum.casebook.org **
The American (?) George Hutchinson
Casebook Message Boards: Ripper Suspects: Ripper Suspects:
The American (?) George Hutchinson
Author: R.J. Palmer
Friday, 28 June 2002 - 12:29 pm |        | Here's something that showed up in a couple of American papers in November, 1888, and might raise a few eyebrows.
May Be the Ripper
George Hutchinson, an Escaped Lunatic, Connected with the Whitechapel Attrocities.
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Elgin, Ill. Nov. 15.--Cable dispatches of yesterday connected with the Whitechapel murder a man named Geo. Hutchinson. The name suggests something that may or may not be important in connection with the awful butcheries. Six or seven years ago a man named George Hutchinson was a patient in the Elgin hospital for the insane. He was not considered dangerous and when convalescent was allowed a good deal of liberty. At such times he was very fond of visiting the asylum slaugherhouses and became a very skillful maker of toothpicks and other articles from bones of the animals, and he made a study of slaughtering. He escaped from the hospital and later turned up in the Kankake hospital. He also escaped or was discharged from that institution and later murdered a Chicago woman of low repute of the same class to which belonged the victim of the Whitechapel ghoul. Hutchinson was arrested, found to be insane, and returned to Kankake. Again he made his escape and for about four years has been at large." |
Author: Martin Fido
Friday, 28 June 2002 - 01:05 pm | | Interesting, as it suggests that the Pall Mall Gazette's report on the piece appearing in the Panama 'Star aand Herald', or the Panama paper itself, if following continental USA newspaper reports, may have exaggerated Whitechapel type victims into victims suffering Whitechapel type mutilations.
All thebest,
Martin F |
Author: R.J. Palmer
Friday, 28 June 2002 - 02:07 pm | | | Hi Martin. That's an intersting element that I hadn't considered. There must have been a temptation for these cable dispatchers to tap in a few extra details of their own as they sent the message along down the line, or maybe the reporter added a detail or two once he got the story off the cable. I can't find it just now, but I do have somewhere a clipping of the Illinois authorities denying any knowledge of the aforementioned George Hutchinson. If my memory serves me correctly, they were going to 'look into the matter further', but the story had no follow up. Ah, if there were but world enough and time, I'd research it a bit further... Best wishes, RP |
Author: Stan Russo
Friday, 28 June 2002 - 03:50 pm | | RJ,
The American George Hutchinson mentioned in that artilce has aroused the suspicion of the British George Hutchinson, perhaps because they are one and the same person.
A couple of things regarding this or those suspect(s). If they were not the same George Hutchinson, then could the American Hutchinson have killed Mary Kelly. Imagine the possibility that the American Hutchinson murdered Kelly while the British Hutchinson was able to furnish a description of him. This is about as far reaching a possibility as has been suggested. there is no evidence that the American Hutchinson was in England, if they were not the same person.
If they were the same person then the homicidal tendencies were present in a man who furnished a pretty detailed description of the man believed to be the murderer. If he were the murderer and falsely describing someone imaginary, why would he have to make the statement at all? He wouldn't have been the one seen by Sarah Lewis so there would be no need to cover himself. Even if he were the one that Sarah Lewis saw, wiated for the 2:00 customer to leave, then entered the room and murdered Kelly, why go to the police station and make a statement at all? He would have been a seasoned criminal, committing at least four prior murders over the last ten weeks, and also had spent time in an American lunatic asylum. He would have stayed as far away from the police as possible. They had to catch him, as they had not done in the past.
Theoretically, neither Hutchinson's make good suspects, if they were two separate people. I don't believe that a sudden change of character as trying to cover himself because of a possible 2:30 ID, of merely a man standing at the corner opposite Dorset Street. No one identified him by name, so why jeopordize it all by volunteering a fake ID at a police station where Abberline was there to grill and cross-examine you? The answer is you probably wouldn't.
While we unfortunately cannot thoroughly eliminate Hutchinson as a suspect, we must work therefore on a theoretical basis and it would appear that the information does not add up. I just don't see 'JTR' volunteering information so freely, especially after eluding capture for such a long period of time.
STAN |
Author: David Knott
Friday, 28 June 2002 - 05:01 pm | | Hi All,
Some while ago I was considering some of the fringe suspects, including the American George Hutchinson, when I found that there is a Chicago Police Dept Homicide Record (1870-1930) that can be searched online. Unfortunately, it can only be searched by name of victim, but not to be outdone I got in touch with the record office concerned who could find no trace whatsoever of this particular Mr Hutchinson.
(I was similarly 'successful' trying to find out details of G Wentworth Bell-Smith and 'Fogelma' ... I don't think I'm cut out to be a researcher!)
Regards
David |
Author: Martin Fido
Friday, 28 June 2002 - 05:05 pm | | Oh yes you are, David. Running down the dead ends and letting other people know about them is EXTREMELY valuable work.
All the best,
Martin F |
Author: David Knott
Friday, 28 June 2002 - 05:23 pm | | Hi Martin,
Very nice of you to say so .... sure would be nice to find out something positive though!
David |
Author: Martin Fido
Friday, 28 June 2002 - 05:31 pm | | Yes, that's the thrill that keeps all of us going. It can take years. It was a good six years down the line that I nearly shouted "Eureka!" aloud in the Brotherton Library in Leeds, having at last traced a paragraph in Disraeli's "Sybil" that I knew Dizzy couldn't have written, in a minor report by Edwin Chadwick, the sanitary reformer. And if I ever do find out whence Dizzy plagiarized "Warner the weaver's" soliloquy in the same novel, I'll be - gosh - 40 years down the line since I first started looking for it. But if I find it I'll still be leaping around and feeling in my twenties again!
All the best,
Martin F |
Author: Paul Begg
Saturday, 29 June 2002 - 07:10 am | | Hi David,
Actually, if you'd like to write up what you've done, I'd like to publish it in Ripperologist. As Martin says, people think that 'negative' research (research that's doesn't produce anything positive) is of no interest, but all research is important, whether it produces something or proves that something wasn't there to find.
Cheers
Paul |
Author: Jon
Saturday, 29 June 2002 - 10:30 am | | David
Talking about loose ends.
Do you recall the three insane medical students who were sought following the murder of Annie Chapman?.
Two were traced and the other "had gone abroad", so the police were told. The name of this '3rd man' was John William Smith Sanders, and subsequent research has pointed to the likelyhood he was resident in West Malling lunatic Asylum during the period of the Whitechapel murders.
The loose end, in my opinion, comes of my understanding of 'rules of incarceration' in the 19th century. I understand that if you were detained in an asylum by the authorities then you were there for sure, but, if you were privately incarcerated, such as, by your own family then the patient could be released into the custody of the family at any time, afterall, they are paying the bill.
If I am correct and that John Sanders was confined privately then we cannot so easily remove him from the suspect list.
Phil Sugden discovered annual patient lists for West Malling and that Sanders was at least confined in Feb 1888 and Feb 1889, the assumption has been that this indicates a continuous confinement, but, as I ask, if confined privately how can we be so sure he was not taken out on some kind of 'day-release' periodically.
I might add, we have no reason to suppose John Sanders was the Ripper, but he was on the police list of 'people to trace' for some reason.
I think that 'uncertain confinement' qualifies as a 'loose end'.
I for one would like to learn more about the rules of confinement to see if my suspicion is valid.
Regards, Jon |
Author: Garry Wroe
Saturday, 29 June 2002 - 01:30 pm | | Hello All.
Although I know little about the American George Hutchinson, his British counterpart is certainly deserving of scrutiny on a number of levels. Firstly, and uniquely, he was at a crime scene at a time critical to a Ripper killing. In any modern-day murder investigation, this would be sufficient to precipitate close and sustained police questioning. Secondly, within twenty-four hours of providing his official police statement, Hutchinson detailed a largely contradictory version of events to newspaper reporters. Again, in the present day, this would arouse considerable suspicion. Thirdly, despite his certain awareness of the events at Miller's Court and the fact that he was a self-confessed associate of Mary Kelly, Hutchinson vacillated for three days before he finally came forward and divulged details relating to the alleged Commercial Street/Miller's Court concatenation.
As for the notion that a guilty man would never risk walking into the lion's den, as it were, the annals of crime are littered with individuals who have injected themselves into an ongoing murder investigation. Indeed, former FBI profiler John Douglas discusses this very issue at some length in Mind Hunter.
Regards,
Garry Wroe. |
Author: David Knott
Monday, 01 July 2002 - 01:05 pm | | Paul,
Thanks for your comments - I will try and find the letter from the record office and let you know exactly what it said. I certainly wouldn't go as far as to say that it proved that Mr Hutchinson didn't exist though.
I do have various bits and pieces to do with the case - most recently a friend and I have been looking into the 'Roslyns' who we believe Mr Stephenson took his name from, which has led to some interesting discoveries including what he might want uteri for.
Will be busy next few weeks with a Kenya Safari and getting married (not sure which is the more dangerous) but when I get a chance I will make sure I send you anything I have that might be of interest.
Regards
David |
Author: Mike Dallas
Saturday, 03 August 2002 - 09:49 am | | | If anyone is interested and thinks it could be of value I can try looking into Mr. Hutchinson. I live in Illinois and have relatives employed with the Illinois Dept. of Mental Health. Don’t be in a hurry though, I have a very busy schedule myself and the state of Illinois moves at a snails pace. |
Author: R.J. Palmer
Saturday, 03 August 2002 - 10:31 pm | | | Mike--I looked into this very briefly once, but was told that the Kankakee Hospital records no longer existed. [But don't quote me--it might be worth re-checking.] My hunch is this: the American Hutchinson story never 'broke' in the US until the week that the Pall Mall Gazette article about the British Hutchinson made the wire-service. I tend to think that the name 'rang a bell' in a Illinois reporter's mind and he rushed to print the story. But did he get the name right? It seems doubtful, because the Chicago police never heard of the man. In other words, I tend to believe it is a garbled story. David Knott's research above seems to confirm this. But it still might be worthwhile to put an end to all future speculation by getting to the bottom of the story. One other place that might be worth checking is the local papers in Elgin, IL--if they're still available. Best wishes, RJ Palmer. |
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