Alderley and Wilmslow Advertiser
Friday, 19 July 1889
London was horrified yesterday morning by the report of another murder
and mutilation case, and under circumstances that unhappily lend much
probability to the thought that it is a repetition of the tragedies
of last year. The locality is within the quarter of a mile radius common
to the previous murders, and within a stone’s throw of, and between the
scene of the death place of Catherine Eddows [sic] in Mitre-square and
that of the Miller’s-court murder. It is stated that the police and a
gentleman called Backert, who took a leading part in the Vigilance
proceedings last year, have recently received letters from "Jack the
Ripper," stating that he would recommence his work in July. I suppose
we shall witness a revival of the terror which convulsed Whitechapel
last autumn. And can we wonder at it or blame the people, who will
feel how entirely helpless they are in the presence of such a danger.
LATEST NEWS.
London, Thursday.
[CENTRAL NEWS AND OTHER TELEGRAMS.]
ANOTHER EAST END TRAGEDY.
"JACK THE RIPPER" AGAIN AT WORK.
There seems to be little doubt that the murder which took place in Castle
Alley, Whitechapel, early yesterday morning was the work of the miscreant
who last year perpetrated the series of horrible crimes which made the
district so notorious. The victim in this tragedy has been identified as
a woman named Alice Mackenzie [McKenzie]. The mutilation of the body was
not so extensive as in previous cases, but the theory is that this was
because the murderer was disturbed before he had time to complete his
ghastly task. Several arrests were made yesterday, but after a short
detention the men were discharged. The inquest was opened last evening
and was adjourned till to-day.
LATEST DETAILS
This morning, at the Working Lads’ Institute, Whitechapel, Mr Wynne Baxter,
coroner for South-East London [sic], resumed the inquiry into the death of
Alice Mackenzie, who was found murdered in Castle Alley, yesterday morning.
- The first witness called was detective-Inspector Reid. He said: I received
a call about five minutes past one o’clock and went to Castle Alley at once.
I found the alley was guarded by policemen at the Wentworth-street end. I
saw the body of the deceased lying on the pavement, I saw the cut in the left
side of the throat and a quantity of blood had run into the gutter towards
Wentworth-street. Her clothes were up and she was lying on her back. I felt
her face and legs and found they were warm. Dr Phillips then arrived. Search
was made in the neighbourhood. Underneath the body of the deceased was found
this clay pipe, which I now produce. It was covered with blood, and had some
unburnt tobacco in it. I also found a bronze farthing, which I also produce.
There was blood on it. The fence on the other side of the alley to where the
body was found is about 10 feet high. Close to where the body was found were
some barrows chained together. There are altogether five lamps in Castle Alley.
I do not think a stranger would go down Castle Alley unless he was taken down.
Two Police constables are constantly passing through Castle Alley all night.
It is hardly ever left alone for five minutes. Although it is called an alley,
it is a narrow court leading into a broad turning, there being also another
narrow entrance. Any stranger looking at it from Wentworth-street would look
upon it as a blind street. It was raining when the body was removed. The spot
where deceased was lying was dry, except where there was blood. I searched
deceased at the mortuary. Her clothing was in a filthy condition, and I should
think she was one of the lowest type of unfortunates. There is no doubt the
deed was committed on the spot where the woman was found. No person unless
they went along the path could have seen the body. It was necessary to use
the constable’s lamp in order to see the cut in the woman’s throat. - By the
Jury: The pipe had not been smoked, and was what they termed in a lodging
house a "nose warmer." - Mrs Smith, recalled, said the laundry closed at eight
o’clock, and the baths at ten o’clock, but it was usually 11 o’clock before
all the men were gone. - Dr George Baxter Phillips, divisional surgeon of
police to the H Division, spoke to being summoned at one o’clock to Castle
Alley and seeing the body under the gas lamp. - Yesterday he made a post mortem
examination. Rigor Mortis was well marked, especially in the limbs, the body was
still warm. On one of the legs was a well defined bruise about the size of a
shilling, and on the right side, an inch below the junction of the collar bone,
with the breast bone was a large well defined bruise. Seven inches below the
right nipple, in a line continuous with it, commenced an external wound seven
inches long, and deepest at its middle part. It only divided the skin and
subcutaneous tissues, but did not divide any muscular structure, and did not
communicate with the internal cavity of the abdomen. There were seven scored
wounds, and from the middle of the larger wound were nine other scored wounds,
reaching only through the skin. - The wound in the neck was four inches long,
reaching from the top of the neck into the muscles, which were almost entirely
divided. It reached from the fore part of the neck to a point four inches below
the chin. It must have taken a somewhat upward direction, and judging by various
smaller wounds, the first incision seemed to have been interrupted by the
prominence of the lower jaw. There was a second incision, which he took it was
commenced from behind, immediately below the first described incision. The second
incision joined the first incision in its deepest part, which was immediately over
the carotid vessels, which were entirely severed down to the spinal column. The
second wound was about four inches below the angle of the mouth. He had not the
slightest doubt the cause of death was syncope, arising from loss of blood, and
that such death probably was almost instantaneous. There was not any division of
the upper portion or any portion of the air passages. - The Coroner, addressing
the jury, said the doctor desired to preserve certain points, and he, therefore,
proposed the further examination of Phillips should be postponed until after the
adjournment, which was fixed for August 14th, at 10 a.m.
There are no persons in custody at present in connection with the murder.
IS THE MURDERER LEFT HANDED?
Having described the nature and position of the wound on the neck, the New York
Herald (London Edition) says:- This shows clearly two things - the first being
that the man stood behind her. The second is a bit of evidence that may turn out
to be very important. It is that the murderer is left-handed; no right-handed
man could, by any possibility, have made the wound that appeared.
The theory that most generally prevails is that the murderer is a religious crank,
who imagines he has a mission to perform, and like the fanatics of Mahomet’s time,
the more atrocious the butcheries he performs the greater the saint he thinks himself.
A WOMAN’S STORY.
Telegraphing at nine p.m., the Central News says:- The murderer still remains
undiscovered, and the police have as far as is known no clue to work upon.
Early this morning a woman reported at a police station in Walworth, South
London, that she was accosted last night in Bishopsgate by a man who said he
lived in Walworth, and persuaded her to accompany him there. As they passed
along an unfrequented thoroughfare he attempted to force her down on the
ground, and when she screamed drew a long-bladed knife and threatened to
rip her up. She, however, continued to call for help, and as footsteps were
heard approaching her assailant decamped. He was pursued by a passer-by, but
succeeded in escaping. The woman described the man as of dark complexion,
about 5 feet 9 inches in height, and wearing black clothes. The description
has been circulated throughout the Metropolitan police district. The police
authorities decline to state whether they consider the incident may afford
any help in elucidating the Whitechapel mystery. The Peterborough police
said that Alice MacKenzie, who was murdered in Castle Alley, was not a
native of that city. Six months ago she was arrested there on a charge of
vagrancy, being intoxicated when arrested. Nothing was previously known of
her. She said she came from Scotland.
LIST OF THE EAST-END MURDERS.
Since Christmas week in 1887 eight women have been murdered in the East End
under mysterious circumstances, five of them within a period of eight weeks.
The following are the dates of the crimes and names of the victims so far
as known:-
-
Christmas week, 1887. - An unknown woman, found murdered near Osborne and
Wentworth-streets, Whitechapel.
-
August 7, 1888. - Martha Turner, found stabbed in 39 places on a landing
in model dwellings known as George Yard Buildings, Commercial-street,
Spitalfields.
-
August 31. - Mrs. Nicholls, murdered and mutilated in Buck’s Row, Whitechapel.
-
September 7. - Mrs. Chapman, murdered and mutilated in Hanbury-street,
Whitechapel.
-
September 30. - Elizabeth Stride, found with her throat cut in Berner-street,
Whitechapel.
-
September 30. - Mrs Eddowes. Murdered and mutilated in Mitre-square, Aldgate.
-
November 9. - Mary Jane Kelly, murdered and mutilated in Dorset-street,
Spitalfields.
-
July 17 1889. - Woman murdered in Castle Alley, Whitechapel.
DR BARNARDO SENT TO GAOL.
In the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, Dr Barnardo appealed against the decision of
Queen’s Bench granting attachment for contempt of court in not producing a child
called Martha Tigh, who had been taken from her mother’s home at Bristol, and
placed in one of the appellants homes. Dr. Barnardo made arrangements for sending
the child to Canada, and when the mother demanded its return he handed it over to
a lady who took it to France. Steps having been taken in the English Courts to
obtain the return of the child, Dr. Barnardo wrote to the lady, who refused to
return it because she believed that it had been ill-treated by its natural
guardians. - The Master of the Rolls in delivering judgement said Dr. Barnardo,
in his zeal for his own benevolent objects, had overlooked the rights of the
people and the law of the country. Having done so he must take the consequences,
and he was accordingly committed to prison.
