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A Third "Dear Boss" Letter
Casebook Message Boards: Ripper Letters: General Discussion:
A Third "Dear Boss" Letter
Author: Yazoo
Thursday, 26 November 1998 - 09:59 pm |        | This information was graciously provided by Stewart Evans (and this is reason alone for me to buy his book). It is the third letter received at the CNA. I'll quote it but see Stewart's postings for ALL relevent info regarding this letter.
THE CENTRAL NEWS LIMITED.
5 New Bridge Street
London
EC
Oct 5 1888
Dear Mr Williamson
At 5 minutes to 9 oclock tonight we received the following letter the envelope of which I enclose by which you will see it is in the same hand writing as the
previous communications
"5 Oct 1888
Dear Friend
In the name of God hear me I swear I did not kill the female whose body was found at Whitehall. If she was an honest woman I will hunt down and destroy her murderer. If she was a whore God will bless the hand that slew her, for the women of Moab and Midian shall die and their blood shall mingle with the
dust. I never harm any others or the Divine power that protects and helps me in my grand work would quit for ever. Do as I do and the light of glory shall shine upon you. I must get to work tomorrow treble event this time yes yes three must be ripped. will send you a bit of face by post I promise this dear old
Boss. The police now reckon my work a practical joke, well well Jacky's a very practical joker ha ha ha Keep this back till three are wiped out and you can show the cold meat.
Yours truly
Jack the Ripper
Yours truly
T.J. Bulling
A.F. Williamson Esqr
Always keep in mind, NONE of the letters is believed to be genuine; EVERYTHING I am about to write is absolute, unadulterated speculation; and I personally place NO VALUE on the letter's predictive abilities or thta it possesses "special knowledge" only the murderer would know.
Stewart tells us the handwriting is identical to the other "Dear Boss" letters. We have the same writer then. But he certainly has changed a bit, huh? Now he addresses his letter to his "friend!!!" And, glory be, our kid has gotten religion too!!! But if you look again you will find the same man: a liar, a boaster, talkative, intent on making an impression, making claims he cannot (and, if he is the murderer, does not) back up, clever -- perhaps very intelligent, in his way -- a trickster, a joker, a taunter. And I think a man who is in serious trouble...and I don't mean psychologically.
His tone starts out literally friendly, not the list of police failures and such from his first letter. His former salutation could be interpreted as an insult to the addressee ("Dear Boss" -- you can still hear people without tact who call you "Chief" or "Scout" or "Boy" or "Girl" or "Gal" etc etc). Here, the addressee is his "friend", he wants to keep this man on his side, even if he can't sustain this minor sycophantic tone throughout the letter.
He next claims NOT to have killed "the female whose body was found at Whitehall." I don't know if Whitehall is the letter writer's term or Stewart was thinking Whitechapel but his fingers typed "Whitehall." Maybe there's some significance to the detail -- maybe a woman was killed in Whitehall recently. What I point out is that he is at pains to deny he killed an honest woman. Does this refer to Stride? Maybe. Remember, Schwartz saw Stride attacked and could give the police a reliable description of the attacker. Is our boy trying to distance himself from a murder where he was seen? I'll ask Stewart to be sure about the Whitehall vs. Whitechapel business; but as of now, tha's what I read into (yes...INTO) this part of the letter. Plus our boy is going to avenge her!!! Spare us from that!
Then we get a dose -- a double dose -- of old time religion. Our boy has on God's side, doing God's work, against prostitutes ("whores"). Now I'm a heathen ( no offense to anyone) and I looked up all the references to Moabites in the Oxford Study Bible (Revised English Bible with Apocrypha, 1992). Now the Moabs had a bad start, with Lot's daughter conceiving their primal ancestor through her father -- incest. But after that, the Israelites boot these people around at every chance. Their are no references to Moabs and prostitutes...in fact, one of the heroes of the Bible, Ruth, is a Moabite woman. If there are any Bible scholars who can make the connection between Moab women and prostitution, let me know. I don't see it. It ain't there. I didn't bother with the Midianites...I suspect those Midian prostitutes aren't there either.
So he quotes the Bible...or rather borrows from its proper names and language...and spouts his holy crusade. He does NOT know his Bible. He is making this all up. Why? Once again, our boy isn't such a bad guy...and he is "down on whores."
Then we're back to the old Dear Boss letter writer. Tacitly acknowledging a double event -- which would include Stride, the woman he may have been trying to prove he DIDN'T kill -- he promises another of his empty promises...a treble event! And, like the promised ears from before, he promises a face! None of this happens, same as last time. He's boasting, and his boasts are empty.
Then he says this: "The police now reckon my work a practical joke, well well Jacky's a very practical joker ha ha ha" Keep this in mind for the end of this post. But it is the same tone and language as before...this is the "real" persona, NOT the hypocritcal Bible-quoter who doesn't know his Bible; NOT the man who wants the receiver to believe he's a religious fanatic on crusade...this is his hoax, his dodge. Again, a misdirection because of the identification at the Stride site (also the Eddowes, with Lawende)? The rest of the letter is the same "hold me back" routine as before.
I think this letter was written by a man, at first, motivated by fear. He denies, he misleads, he tricks...all to distance himself from the possible identification at Stride and/or Eddowes murder scenes. We know from before he's garrulous, taunting, "humorous"...same here. Verdict from me? Same guy, same personality, different scam in places to throw us off, but he comes right back at the end.
Also notice the garbled reference to something/someone quitting or stopping: "I never harm any others or the Divine power that protects and helps me in my grand work would quit for ever" On October 16, eleven days after this letter, Lusk receives his letter-package and it refers to giving up the knife (murder weapon?), possibly implying an end too?
If you've stayed this long, there is one more thing I'd like to point out. Only Kelly's murder remains to be done in the traditional list of victims. This may be my sick, warped mind, but there seems to me to be an attempt at a sick, macabre, twisted "joke" in the Kelly death scene -- something the killer or killers did that night/morning. It is also possible to see it as a double signature from our two letter writers -- or the same writer, disguising his handwriting/intelligence. I haven't read this anywhere else, but I'm sure someone must have noticed it/made the connection (no, it is not writing on the wall!). If you would be so kind, and have the strength for it, read over the description of what was found at the Kelly murder scene. (It is also possible that there is a second "joke" -- this time involving something NOT at the Kelly murder scene). I hope the little I've said doesn't bias your eyes. Let me know if any of you see what I think I see.
Sorry for the long chatter,
Yaz |
Author: Yazoo
Thursday, 26 November 1998 - 11:51 pm | | A second perilous speculation on why the "Dear Boss" letter writer suddenly gets religion concerns another controversial item of the double event: the Goulston Street graffito. I don't know anyone who doesn't think the message scrawled on the wall "immediately" or "directly" above the piece of Eddowes apron is the most idiotic, inane, confused piece of garbage. But it did blame or mention Jews (and that seems to be the consensus on what that misspelled, and differently spelled from the police records, word seems to say). And here comes our Bible-thumping (Christian?) hero to save us from Moabite and Midianite women who he claims were prostitutes.
Perilous speculation on top of speculation. But anyone who feels the letters deserve a second look has to make all the connection he REASONABLY can.
Also, I hope no one gets the idea that I think anything about Kelly's death is funny. I'm just trying to look through the eyes of the murderer(s?). I may be deceiving myself. I hope you can tell me.
Yaz |
Author: Yazoo
Friday, 27 November 1998 - 07:58 am | | Stewart confirms the existence of another murder/murderer who left the torso of a woman in the construction site of the new Scotland Yard buidlings on October 2.
So much for Stride being referred to! Seems our boy was a bit put off by another psychopath making the headlines. IF THE LETTERS ARE GENUINE and if my speculations could ever have even circumstantial proof.
Sorry for the error,
Yaz |
Author: Yazoo
Friday, 27 November 1998 - 07:12 pm | | The possible "joke" and "signature" are listed in Bond's inventory of the parts found under Kelly's pillow. Keep these thoughts in mind,
1) Kelly is represented by some writers as being the "prettiest" of the traditional five; while others mention her weight as a "fault." Body weight/shape is a fashion and it is possible Kelly's figure was "attractive" or had "sex appeal" to the 1888 crowd. We also have no idea what her murderer's taste in women may have been.
2) Literature -- emphasis here on love poetry -- was, may still be, dominated by men. Women as objects; men as their superiors...all chauvanisms as alive today as any previous time. Love poetry is full of cliches, older than the Song of Solomon.
3) Phillips (or Bond) believed that Kelly's body was moved from the far right of the bed to the position where it was found, leaving open the inference that her murderer may have lain beside her before her murder.
The three items listed by Bonds as being found under Kelly's pillow were: "the uterus & Kidneys with one breast under the head." (Another word for uterus is 'womb' -- a term often seen in secondary sources, and in quotes from primary ones) Keeping in mind that the murderer was probably a young male, troubled by or about woman or sexuality, also troubled by the society he lives in and its values...you have the setting for a perverted critique of all these factors.
The "joke" is associative. A "lover" frequently lays his head to rest on his "beloved's" breast, as the cliche goes. The murderer may be trying to make that connection, the "joke" being that the beloved now lays with her head on her own breast...positioned there by her murderer.
The signature or autograph is also associative. Kelly's kidneys and uterus (womb) were found under her head with the breast. The two main organs removed from several of the victims were the womb and, of course, Eddowes' kidney. These items were not taken away by the murderer but arranged as Bond describes. From previous killings, you might expect one or both these items to be taken away...instead they are purposely arranged under Kelly's head.
The other possible"joke" concerns the item NOT found at the scene: Kelly's heart. This organ was never removed in any the previous victims in the traditional set. The murderer literally stole her heart, as a beloved often "steals" the heart of her lover's heart in (bad) love poetry. Also, a "lover" who rests his head on his "beloved's" breast often listens to her heart beat. Again, a possible associative "joke" that plays on love and love poetry themes.
Take this for what it's worth -- nothing.
Yaz |
Author: susan
Sunday, 19 September 1999 - 07:30 pm | | The logical explanation is okay, too; it is the undertaker's hand. See famed "Boss" letter.
Dear Boss, (Yes, newspaper boss, as in obituaries and other more covenlike information shared.)
I keep on hearing the police have caught me but they wont fix me just yet. (Friend.) I have laughed when they look so clever and talk about being on the right track. (Isn't this a good joke on the reporters?) That joke about Leather Apron gave me real fits.
I am down on whores and I shant quit ripping them till I do get buckled. (Haha. Ripping them off is fun. Me, get caught? We both know that's ridiculous.) Grand work the last job was. (I'm such a great mortician!) I gave the lady no time to squeal. (Death is so ironic.) How can they catch me now. I love my work and want to start again. (Don't stop; bring me a victim.)
You will soon hear of me with my funny little games. I saved some of the proper red stuff in a ginger beer bottle over the last job to write with but it went thick like glue and I cant use it. Red ink is fit enough I hope ha. ha. (What else? Last words are last words.) The next job I do I shall clip the ladys ears off and send to the police officers just for jolly wouldn't you. (They don't mind coming here, so I don't mind taking them back.) Keep this letter back till I do a bit more work, then give it out straight. (Don't print the full story yet. Wait until there are more bodies.) My
knife's so nice and sharp I want to get to work right away if I get a chance. (Since I'm the mortician, I keep the knives sharp in case body comes along.) Good Luck. (I'm with you.)
Yours truly
Jack the Ripper (Jack the mortician, ripping-off)
Dont mind me giving the trade name (This "D" ought to set the record straight.)
PS Wasnt good enough to post this before I got all the red ink off my hands curse it (You know how it is, always on the go, no time to clean up after work.) No luck yet. (There wasn't anything tonight.) They say I'm a doctor now. ha ha (But--I'm a mortician.)
The undertaker. "The only weird line was: You will soon hear of me with my funny little games." Maybe he took them back out after they mysteriously died in jail.
Oh well. Whay do you think of it? |
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