On 14th November 1888 the press were discussing the recent resignation of Sir Charles Warren and questions were being asked in Parliament as to whether Warren had been the right man for the job.
A lot of discussion was also being conducted with regard to the appalling social conditions in the area that had been brought to the fore of public consciousness by the recent murders. You can read more about this in our Jack the history section.
Meanwhile on the streets the police were busy conducting their investigation in to the recent murder of Mary Kelly and the hunt for suspects was going at full pace. This is covered in a great more detail in our guide Richard Jone's book Uncovering Jack the Ripper's London.
Some excitement was caused when it was announced to the Press Association that the police had made an arrest "between midnight and 4am" on the morning of November 14th "in the eastern district in connection with the recent terrible murders."
According to the Evening News:-
About one o'clock some young men had their suspicions aroused by the peculiar behaviour of a man in the vicinity of the Spitalfields Flower Market. He accosted two women, and after remaining conversing with them for a considerable time, tried to persuade them to accompany him into one of the small streets adjoining the market. These thoroughfares are in general gloomy and badly lighted, and the women, being suspicious, refused to go with the man. He was followed for some distance by the watchers, and ultimately handed over to a policeman, who took him to Commercial street Police station. Here the man refused to give an account of himself or where he lived, on the ground that he did not wish his parents to be alarmed by police inquiries regarding him. Questioned as to his whereabouts on Thursday night and Friday morning last, the man gave various explanations, and contradicted himself so frequently that it was considered advisable to detain him until his identity and antecedents were thoroughly investigated.
In addition it was reported that on the previous day the police had arrested a man who was taken to Frederick Sreet Police Station at Kings Cross where he gave his name as Thomas Murphy.
On searching him they found "...a somewhat formidable looking knife with a blade about ten inches long..."
As a result he was detained in police custody and the police began making rigourous enquiries about him. According to the Evening News:-
The task was rendered very difficult by the confused and contradictory accounts which Murphy gave of himself, and the man was still in custody at six o'clock yesterday evening. Murphy is about 5ft 6in in height, and has the general appearance of a sailor. His hair and complexion are fair. He is dressed in a blue jersey tucked underneath his trousers, and his coat and trousers are of a check pattern.
Interestingly his description bears some similarity with the description given by Joseph Lawende of the man that he saw with Catherine Eddowes shortly before her body was discovered in Mitre Square. This description can be read on our Face of Jack the Ripper section on our website.
Our Jack the Ripper Tour Website will keep you up to date on all the news concerning the infamous 1888 murders, whilst we continue to add sections to our informative Jack the Ripper online resource.
No comments:
Post a Comment