by Covell, Mike
The Montreal Daily Star, a newspaper published in Canada, featured the following, dated September 10th 1888,
A TRAGEDY IN THE SLUMS OF LONDON. The horribly mutilated body of a woman was found early this morning in the yard attached to a common lodging house in Spitalfields. The throat was cut from ear to ear, the body was ripped open, the bowels and heart were lying on ground and a portion of the entrails were tied around the neck. This is the fourth murder of a similar character that has been committed recently in this neighbourhood. All the victims the victims were women of low character. The author of the atrocities remains undiscovered, and the excitement in the immediate borders upon panic.
Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser, a newspaper published in Dublin, Ireland, featured the following, dated September 10th 1888,
ANOTHER MURDER AT WHITECHAPEL, A FOURTH WOMAN RIPPED OPEN, A REIGN OF TERROR IN THE DISTRICT, (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM), London, Saturday. Early this morning a discovery was made in Hanbury street, Whitechapel, of the body of a woman shockingly mutilated and murdered. The scene of the crime is not far from Buck's row, where the woman Nichols as recently murdered. The discovery was made by John Davis, living at 29 Hanbury street, in the yard of which the body was found. Mr. Davis was crossing the yard at a quarter to six, when he saw a horrible looking mass lying in the corner. While he was gone to give information to the police Mrs Richardson, an old lady sleeping on the first floor, was aroused by her grandson, and looking out of the back window saw the body lying in the yard. The throat was cut from ear to ear, and the deceased was lying on her back with her legs outstretched. Her clothes were pushed up above the knees and the body was ripped up from the groin to the breast bone. The heart and liver were torn out, and the remains were lying in a pool of blood. Chief Inspector West, who was soon called to the spot, states the woman's name is believed to be Annie Siffey, aged forty-five, and for the last few months she has been sleeping at a common lodging house at 35 Dorset-street, Spitalfields, where she was seen at two o'clock this morning. Like Mary Ann Nicholls, who I supposed to have been murdered by the same hand, she was a prostitute, and was known in the neighbourhood of Brick-lane as “Dark Annie”. She was five feet high, fair brown wavy hair, blue eyes, and had one or two of her front teeth missing. Soon after the discovery became known the scene of the crime was visited by large crowds, and great consternation prevailed at the succession of horrible murders in this part of London, this being the fourth case within a comparatively short period. The barmaid at the Bill and Birch, where the murdered woman is said to have been drinking in company with a man, said she opened her house at five o'clock and was very busy on account of Spitalfields market being held on Saturday. She could not say whether she served deceased or not. The body was removed in a rough coffin and placed in the mortuary in Old Montague street, where an excited crowd gathered. The universal opinion in the locality is that the murderer is the same man who killed Mrs Nicholls, and possibly also the two other women who were murdered earlier in the year. It is stated that two men have identified the deceased as a woman named Ellen Clarke, with whom they were drinking last night. In explanation of her being known by the name of “Siffey” it is said that she lived for some time with a man who, it is said, worked at sieve making. The police held the opinion that the murderer is a semi-maniac and has perpetrated the other recent murders in the East End. About noon to-day a man in charge of the police was conveyed to the London Hospital in a van. On arrival he was fond to be in a dying condition, having, it is believed, taken poison. A rumour was current that the man had been arrested for the Whitechapel murder, but no information could be obtained on the point either from the police or hospital authorities. On the wall of the yard where the body was discovered the words were found to be written - “Five- fifteen more and then I give myself up.” The deputy of the lodging house, Timothy Donovan, last saw the deceased alive shortly before two when he refused to admit her, as she was somewhat the worse of drink, and had not the requisite eight pence. London, Sunday. Up to midnight on Saturday no arrest had been made in connection with the Whitechapel murder. The police confess that they have no clue, but they are making every effort to put an end to the mystery and to bring the criminal to justice. A large number of detectives and police are scouring the neighbourhood. Shortly before midnight the police received information that three rings answering the description of those taken from the murdered woman had been taken in pledge by a pawnbroker in Mile End road. A woman who knew the deceased well was at once sent to see if she could identify the rings, but she failed to do so. In the meantime the police had ascertained that the person who pledged them had a right to do so. Mrs Fiddymont, wife of the proprietor of the Prince Albert public-house, half a mile from the scene of the murder, states that she will be able to identify a man who entered the house early on Saturday morning with stains of blood on him. The Press Association telegraph later - Hanbury street, Whitechapel, was in an all but impassable state owing to the crowds which had assembled in the neighbourhood of the scene of the latest East End tragedy. Some thousands of people passed through the locality during the early part of the day, and the police authorities at Commercial street Police Station had a number of constables drafted from other parts of the metropolis, and these as evening advanced, were busily occupied in keeping the people moving. The public excitement as the day advanced appeared rather to grow than diminish, and strong evidence of the fact was apparent to-night. Not only did large crowds of the poorer classes loiter in the vicinity of the spot where the murder was committed, but a number of more well to do people were to be seen either gazing with awe-stricken faces at Mrs Richardson's house, in the rear of which the murdered body of the victim was found, or endeavouring to glean some additional particulars as to the circumstances of the tragedy. Up to half past nine o'clock to-night the police at Commercial street were unable to say that their investigations had been attended with success, though our reporter elicited a statement regarding which an important development might, it is thought, be expected. The Deptford police made a communication with the effect that a man had been arrested by them under suspicious circumstances. The weird terror of the neighbourhood has fixed upon the possible murderer a mysterious roving character, whose proper name is not known, but who is distinguished by the strange cognesion “Leather Apron.” About fifty of the unfortunates in the Whitechapel district gave a description of “Leather Apron,” to a Star reporter a few days ago. The description all agreed, and most of them added to it a personal experience with the an during the last two years in which they were more or less injured. From all accounts he is five feet four or five inches in height, and wears a dark close-fitting cap. He is thickset, and has an unusually thick neck. His hair is black and closely clipped, his age being about 38 or 40. He has a small, black moustache. The distinguishing feature of his costume is a leather apron, which he always wears, and from which he gets his nickname. His expression is sinister, and seems to be full of terror for the women who describe it. His eyes are small and glittering. His lips are usually parted in a grin which is not only not reassuring but excessively repellent. He is a slipper maker by trade, but does not work. His business is blackmailing women late at night. A number of men in Whitechapel follow this interesting profession. He has never cut anybody so far as known, but always carries a leather knife, presumably as sharp as leather knives are wont to be. This knife a number of the women have seen. His name nobody knows, but all are united in the belief that he is a Jew or of Jewish parentage, his face being of a marked Hebrew type. But he most singular characteristic of the man, and one which tends to identify him clearly with last Friday night's work is the universal statement that in moving around he never makes any noise. What he wears on his feet the women do not know, but they all agree that he moves noiselessly. London, Sunday Night. A man was arrested at Deptford this afternoon on suspicion of being connected with the East end tragedy, but there is reason to believe he will be able to establish his innoce
nce, and will soon be released. A very large number of constables in civilian clothes have been put on duty in the district where the murders have taken place. The inhabitants of the East end appear to have all their attention absorbed in the loathsome details of the murder, knots of people having stood about until a late hour this evening discussing every point of the tragedy. The people are in a terrible condition of terror and fear. “God knows,” said an official to our reporter, “but we may have another to-night, though we have men patrolling the whole region of Whitechapel and Spitalfields.” That the police are putting forth every possible effort there can be no doubt. To-night there is a large force on duty. One-third of all the men are in plain clothes, and even those entitled to leave on absence are retained. That the public are anxious to second their efforts is testified by the presence on the record at Commercial street of no less than fifty personal statements made with the object of assisting in the work of identification. One officer has been occupied many consecutive hours in writing these statements, and up to nine o'clock to-night they were being supplemented by others. The police are not permitted to make public the written evidence, if evidence it can be called. It is doubtful if it will ultimately prove of much value, but our special representative in pursuing his investigations to-night heard, in the presence of the police, a statement which perhaps ought not to be altogether dismissed as unworthy of notice. The informant was a young woman named Lyons, of the class commonly known as unfortunates. She stated that at three o'clock this afternoon she met a strange man in Flower and Dean street, one of the worst streets in the East End of London. He asked her to go to the Queen's Head public-house at half past six and drink with him. Having obtained from the young woman that she would do so, he disappeared, but was at the house at the appointed time. While they were conversing Lyons noticed a large knife in the man's right hand trousers pocket, and called another woman's attention to the fact. A moment later Lyons was startled by the remark which the stranger addressed to her. “You are about the same style of woman as the one that's murdered,” he said. “What do you know about her” asked the woman, to which the man replied, “You are beginning to smell a rat. Foxes hunt geese, but they don't always find them.” Having uttered these words, the man hurriedly left. Lyons followed until near Spitalfields Church, and turning round at this spot and noticing that the woman was behind him, the stranger ran at a swift pace into Church street, and was at once lost to view. One noteworthy fact in the this story is that the description of the man's appearance is in all material points identical with the published description of the unknown and up to the present undiscovered “Leather Apron.” Over 200 common lodging houses have been visited by the police in the hopes of finding some trace of the mysterious and much talked of person, but he has succeeded in evading arrest. The police have reason for suspecting that he is employed in one of the London sweating dens as a slipper maker, and that as it is usual to supply food and lodging in many of these houses he is virtually in hiding. The “Leather Apron” was a figure known to many policemen in Whitechapel district prior to the murder of Mrs Nicholls in Bucks row. The man has kept himself out of the way since, and this is regarded as a significant circumstance. The inquest will be opened to-morrow at ten o'clock at Lads'. LONDON CORRESPONDENCE. (BY FREEMAN SPECIAL WIRE) (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT) Freeman Office, 211 Strand, London, Monday Morning. The terrible murder at the East End on Saturday morning has thrown the whole of London into a state of intense excitement. The fiendish crime, occurring immediately after four others of equal atrocity in the same neighbourhood within a short space of time, has generated in the eastern portion of the metropolis a feeling of positive fear of their lives among the majority of the inhabitants. The fact that a woman was the victim in each case, and that she was poor, takes away the suspicion of robbery and suggests some unutterably fiendish motive such as that which is supposed to animate the mystical character of Hyde in Mr. Stevenson's book. When the devilish nature of Hyde was pictured in the novel nobody could believe that his prototype could be found in real life. These atrocities and apparently causeless murders show that there is abroad at the present time in the East End a human monster even more terrible than Hyde. The murders were committed apparently for no other reason than the satanic delight of spilling the blood of defenceless women and hacking up their writhing carcasses. The simple act of taking the life did not satisfy the murderer. He cut and mangled the bodies in each case in a perfectly horrible manner. That all the murders are the work of one person seems conclusive from the similarity of the circumstances in each case. The theory of the police is that it is a man, but there are some who think it is a woman. The latter suggestion has not been made in the papers, but some of those who have visited the East End and inquired into the circumstances believe there is ground for supposing that a woman is the murderer. In support of this idea it is urged that a woman would at least have the motive of jealousy, whereas the wretched and unfortunate condition of life of the victims could furnish no motive to a man. The woman theory is, however, I think, the least probable of the two. The question which every Londoner, east and west, is now asking is, what are the police doing. Here are five revolting murders committed within a week of each other in the same locality, in one of the most populous parts of London, and yet the police have not the faintest clue to the murderer in either case. This is an alarming state of things. There are nearly fourteen thousand police in London, and competent authorities say that with this number the metropolis can be most effectively patrolled. It is quite clear that the scene of Saturday's murder was not properly patrolled. A man whose movements attracted suspicion was followed through several streets by a civilian even before the murder was heard of at all, and not a policeman was to be seen along the route to take the man into custody. I am glad to see that in this connection with the Pall Mall Gazette supports the complaint which I have frequently made as to the withdrawal of large numbers of London police from their proper duties for the purpose of keeping irritating and needless watch upon politicians and men who have about as much connection with crime as the Archbishop of Canturbury. If Mr. Munro would turn his attention to the discovery of the Whitechapel monster he would do a much more substantial service to his country than he did when he tried to connect an Irish member with a conspiracy to blow his colleagues in the House of Commons into small bits with dynamite. It is ridiculous speculations of this kind that occupy the wits of the London detectives, not the discovery of monsters in human form who go about hacking their fellow creatures with knives in the broad daylight.
The Evening Standard, a newspaper published in London, England, featured the following, dated September 10th 1888,
ANOTHER HORRIBLE MURDER IN WHITECHAPEL. EXCITEMENT IN THE DISTRICT. At five minutes to six o'clock on Saturday morning a man, named John Davis, living at 29 Hanbury street, Spitalfields, discovered that a woman had been murdered in the yard at the rear of that house, and when the police were called in the circumstances attending her murder raised a strong presumption that she was another victim of the murderer of Mary Ann Nicholls, in Buck's row, Whitechapel, only a week previously. The victim was an unfortunate woman, so poor that robbery could not be suggested as a motive. The house, 29 Hanbury street (which is not half a mile from Buck's row), is tenanted by a man named Clark, a packing case maker, and is let out in rooms to several people, all very poor and struggling. The front parlour is in the occupation of Mrs. Hardiman, who uses it as a shop for the sale of cat's meat. She and her son also sleep in the room. The back parlour is a sort of sitting room for the landlady and her family, and looks out upon a yard, at the further side of which stands a shed, where the packing case work is done. The passage of the house leads directly to the yard, passing the door of the front parlour, the yard being about four feet below the level of the passage, and reached by two stone steps. the position of the steps creates a recess on their left, the fence between the yard and the next house being about three feet from the steps. In this recess John D
avis, as he crossed the yard at five minutes to six o'clock, saw the body of a woman, her clothes so disarranged as to show that the lower part of her body had been horribly mutilated. The throat had been cut so deeply that the head was nearly severed from the trunk. Davis called in Police constable Pinnock, 238H, who sent information to the Station in Commercial street. Inspector Chandler and others hurried to the place and, before the body was removed from its position, the Divisional Surgeon, Mr. G.B. Phillips, of Spital square, was called to examine it. The surgeon said he had no doubt that the throat was first cut, and the stomach subsequently mutilated. The body had been ripped from the abdomen to the breast bones, and then hacked and gashed until the entrails protruded; portions of the flesh hung in shreds, and some of the viscera were on the shoulders. The body was removed as soon as possible to the mortuary of the parishes of Whitechapel and Spitalfields, in Old Montague street, and placed in a shell - the same in which, a week before, the hacked body of the previous victim had been placed. The police description of the body was made out, and before ten o'clock it was identified as that of Annie Chapman, alias Sivey, a name by which she had become known through living with a sieve maker. The police ascertained that Chapman was the correct name of the deceased, and that she was the widow of a man who had been a soldier or veterinary surgeon, and from whom, until about twelve months ago, when he died, she had been receiving 10s a week. Her usual places of abode were the common lodging houses of Spitalfields and Whitechapel. A stout, well proportioned woman, of about five feet in height, she was much given to drink, but is described as quiet, and as one who had “seen better days.” Detective Inspector Abberline, of Scotland yard, who had been detailed to make special inquiries as to the murder of Mary Ann Nicholls, at once took up the inquiries with regard to the new crime, the two being obviously the work of the same hands. He held a consultation with Detective inspector Helson, J Division, in whose district the murder in Buck's row was committed, and with Acting Superintendent West, in charge of the H Division. The result of that consultation was an agreement in the belief that the crimes were the work of one individual only, that the murders were committed where the bodies had been found, and that they were not the work of any gang. A careful examination was made of the flooring of the passage and the walls of the neighbouring house, but not a trace of blood was found. It is considered impossible that a body could have been carried in, supposing no blood had dropped, without arousing from their sleep Mrs. Hardiman and her son, past whose bedroom door the murderer would have had to go. There is no doubt the deceased was acquainted with the fact that the house door was always open or “ajar,” and that she and her murderer stealthily passed into the yard. The absence of a pool of blood is accounted for by the quantity the clothes would absorb. The throat was so severed that there could have been no cry, and the tenants of the house agree that nothing was heard to create alarm. The back room of the first floor, which has an uninterrupted view of all the yard, is a bedroom, and was tenanted by a man named Alfred Walker and his father, neither of whom heard a sound. John Richardson, the son of a woman living in the house, states that, in accordance with his usual practice, he entered the place when on his way to work at Leadenhall Market, and at that time, 4.50, he was certain no one was in the yard. The police, however, have been unable to discover any person who saw the deceased alive after 2 a.m., about which time she left the lodging house, 35 Dorset street, because she had not fourpence to pay for her bed. No corroboration of the story that she was served in a public house at Spitalfields Market, on its opening at five a.m., could be gained; nor of the report that the murderer left a message on a wall in the yard, which was made out to read: “Five; 15 more, and then I give myself up.” The murder has created the greatest excitement among women of the class in the neighbourhood. Soon after this murder was reported, a woman reported to the police that a man, who spoke to her in the streets of Spitalfields at an early hour that morning, gave her two half sovereigns, but she refused to do what he wished. Thereupon he commenced to knock her about; she screamed, and he ran off. She afterwards discovered that what he said were half sovereigns were brass medals. She was asked to describe the man; her description did not answer the description of a man for whom the police have been searching in connection with the murder of Mary Ann Nicholls. This is a man known as “Leather Apron,” and the police incline to the opinion that, after a hue and cry raised about him during the past few days, he would not have ventured into the neighbourhood of Spitalfields, where he is so well known. The last information the police have of him was up to Sunday, the 2nd inst., when he was in the Borough. It has been said that a knife and apron were discovered beneath the body of Annie Chapman; there was, however, no knife, and though and apron was found it belonged to a man in the house, and no importance is attached to the fact, the police not having taken possession of it. It seems certain that the deceased was robbed of three rings she wore on the left hand, and which the murderer mistook for gold, though, to a woman in the lodging house, she admitted they were only brass. In the pockets of the deceased's dress were found a handkerchief, two small combs, two polished farthings, and an envelope stamped “the Sussex Regiment.” Inspectors Abberline and Helson stated, at a late hour last evening, that they were not in possession of any clue likely to lead to a definite result. They and several detective officers had been engaged following up every point which might lead to information, but without a satisfactory result. The police attach importance to the statement of the woman who had the medals given her as half sovereigns. This woman, Emily Walton, is a lodger in the common lodging houses of Spitalfields, and says that she was with the man at half past two, and that they were in the back yard of one of the houses in Hanbury street. A statement has come to hand that “Leather Apron” was seen as late as Friday, on the Surrey side. Mr. Bagster Phillips made a post mortem examination of the body of Chapman on Saturday afternoon, at the mortuary, and stated that a portion of the flesh was missing from the stomach. The examination confirmed his opinion that she was killed by the cuts in the throat, which were first inflicted. The inquest will be opened today, when the police are instructed to press for a long adjournment, in order to leave them fully at liberty. At eight o'clock last night the Scotland yard authorities had come to a definite conclusion as to the description of the murderer of two of the women found dead at the East end, and the following is the official intimation sent to every Station throughout the Metropolis and suburbs:- “Commercial street, 8.20 p.m. - Description of a man wanted, who entered a passage of the house at which the murder was committed, with a prostitute, at 2.0 a.m., on the 8th. Age 37, height 5ft 7in, rather dark beard and moustache. Dress - Short, dark jacket, dark vest and trousers, black scarf, and black felt hat. Spoke with a foreign accent.” This description has been arrived at after mature consideration on the part of the most experienced members of the detective police force. In the course of Saturday night and yesterday morning the police arrested two men on suspicion of being concerned in the crime. One was found by an officer in Buck's row shortly after one o'clock on Sunday morning. He appeared to be hiding in the street, and, when accosted by the officer, rushed off at great speed. An alarm was raised, and, after a sharp race, the man was arrested. He was a villainous looking fellow, with long hair and shaggy beard, dressed only in a pair of ragged blue serge trousers and in an old dirty shirt. He resisted his captors, but was eventually secured and conveyed to Bethnal green police station. No weapon was found upon him. He gave an account of himself, upon which inquiries were set on foot, which resulted in the man being released from custody. The second arrest was effected in Gloucester street, where a man, aged about 40, having the look of a seafarer, was arrested. It was obvious, however, from the replies which he gave, and his general appearance, that he was not the man sought for, and after he had spent some time in Commercial street Station, he was also set at liberty. A man was arrested at Deptford yesterday afternoon, on suspicion of being the murderer, and Inspector Chandler wen
t down to see him. He has not yet been brought up to Commercial street Police Station. It is understood, however, that not much importance is attached to this arrest. All day yesterday five policemen guarded the scene of the crime in Hanbury street, to which hundreds of people obtained admission on Saturday on paying a fee of one penny. No one was admitted yesterday unless he resided in the house. In the street half a dozen costermongers took up their stand and did a brisk business in fruit and refreshments. Thousands of respectably dressed persons visited the scene and occasionally the road became so crowded that the constables had to clear it by making a series of raids upon the spectators. The windows of the adjoining houses were full of persons watching the crowd below. A number of people also visited the house in Dorset street where the murdered woman lodged. At night Hanbury street was all but impassable from the crowds who had assembled on the scene of the murder. A young woman named Lyons has stated that at three o'clock yesterday afternoon she met a strange man in Flower and Dean street, one of the worst streets in the East end of London. He asked her to come to the Queen's Head public house at half past six, and drink with him. Having obtained a promise that she would do so, he disappeared, but was at the house named at the appointed time. While they were conversing, Lyons noticed a large knife in his right hand trousers pocket, and called another woman's attention to the fact. A moment later, Lyons was startled by a remark which the stranger addressed to her. “You are about the same style of woman as the one that's murdered,” he said. “What do you know about her?” asked the woman, to which the man replied, “You are beginning to smell a rat. Foxes hunt geese, but they don't always find 'em.” having uttered these words, the man hurriedly left. Lyons followed until near Spitalfields Church, and turning round at this spot, and noticing that the woman was behind him, the stranger ran swiftly into Church street, and was lost from sight. The description of this man is identical with that of the man described as “Leather Apron.” Over 200 common lodging houses have been visited by the police, in the hope of finding some trace of this man, but he has succeeded in evading arrest. Mrs. Richardson, the landlady of 29 Hanbury street, the house where the body of the deceased was found, in the course of an interview, said:- “I have lived at this house fifteen years, and my lodgers are poor but hard working people. Some have lodged with me as long as twelve years. They mostly work at the Fish Market or the Spitalfields Market. Some of the carmen in the Fish Market go out to work as early as one a.m., while others go out at four and five, so that the place is open all night, and any one can get in. It is certain that the deceased came voluntarily into the yard, as if there had been any struggle it must have been heard. Several lodgers sleep at the back of the house, and some had their windows open, but no noise was heard from the yard. One of my lodgers, a carman, named Thompson, employed at Goodson's, in Brick lane, went out at four o'clock in the morning. He did not go into the yard, but he did not notice anything particular in the passage as he went out. My son John came in at ten minutes to five, and gave a look round before he went to market. He went through to the yard, but no one was there then, and everything was right. Just before six o'clock, when Mr. Davis, another of my lodgers, came down, he found the deceased lying in the corner of the yard, close to the house, and by the side of the step. The lower part of her body was uncovered. There was not the slightest sign of a struggle, and the pool of blood which flowed from the throat after it was cut was close to the step where she lay. She does not appear to have moved an inch after the fiend struck her with the knife. She must have died instantly. The murderer must have gone away from the spot covered with blood. There was an earthenware pan containing water in the yard; but this was not discoloured, and could not, therefore, have been used by the murderer. The only possible clue that I can think of is that Mr. Thompson's wife met a man about a month ago lying on the stairs. This was about four o'clock in the morning. He looked like a Jew; and spoke with a foreign accent. When asked what he was doing there, he replied that he was waiting to do a `doss' before the market opened. He slept on the stairs that night, and I believe he has slept on the stairs on other nights. Mrs. Thompson is certain she could recognise the man again, both by his personal appearance and his peculiar voice. The police have taken a full and careful description of this man.” The deputy of a lodging house at 30 Dorset street, stated that Annie Chapman used to ledge there about two years ago with a man called Jack Sivvy, a sieve maker; hence her nickname, Annie Sivvy. She appeared to be a quiet woman, and not given to drinking; in fact, he was quite surprised to hear that she had been seen drinking the night before her murder. The woman had two children to his knowledge - a boy, who was a cripple, and who, he believed, was at some charitable school; and a daughter, who was somewhere in France. Timothy Donovan, the deputy of the lodging house, 35 Dorset street, where the deceased frequently stayed, stated that the deceased stayed there on Sunday night, the 2nd inst. She had been in the habit of coming there for the past four months. She was a quiet woman, and gave no trouble. He had heard her say she wished she was as well off as her relations; but she never told him who her friends were, or where they lived. A pensioner or a soldier usually came to the lodging house with her on Saturday nights, and generally he stayed until the Monday morning. He would be able to identify the man instantly if he saw him. After the man left on Monday deceased would usually keep in the room for some days longer, the charge being eight pence per night. This man stayed at the house from Saturday to Monday, the 3rd inst., and when he went the deceased went with him. She was not seen at the house again until Friday night about half past seven o'clock, when she passed the doorway, and Donovan calling out, asked her where she had been since Monday, and why she had not slept there, and she replied, “I have been in the infirmary.” Then she went on her way in the direction of Bishopsgate street. About 1.40 a.m. on Saturday morning she came again to the lodging house, and asked for a bed. The message was brought upstairs to him, and he sent downstairs to ask for the money. The woman replied, “I haven't enough now, but keep my bed for me. I shan't be long.” Then, as she was going away, she said to John Evans, the watchman, “Brummy, I won't be long. See that Jim keeps my bed for me.” She was the worse for drink at the time, and was eating some baked potatoes. He saw nothing of her again until he was called to the mortuary on Saturday morning, when he identified the deceased by her features and her way hair, which was turning grey. After the deceased left on Monday he found two large bottles in the room, one containing medicine, and labelled as follows: “St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Take two tablespoonfuls three times a day.” The other bottle contained a milky lotion, and was labelled, “St. Bartholomew's Hospital. The lotion. Poison.” This confirmed her statement that she had been under medical treatment. On being asked whether he knew the man called “Leather Apron,” Donovan said he knew him well. He came to the lodging house about twelve months ago, a woman being his companion. In the early hours of the morning the woman commenced screaming murder, and it seemed that “Leather Apron” had knocked her down and torn her hair and clothes. “Leather Apron” said the woman was trying to rob him, but he (Donovan) did not believe him, and turned him out of the house. The man had come there several times since for a lodging, but they would not admit him. About ten o'clock on Saturday morning a woman, named Amelia Farmer, gave information that she had been a fellow lodger with the deceased, and had known her for some considerable time. She stated that the deceased woman was Annie Chapman, the wife of a veterinary surgeon, who died at Windsor about eighteen months ago. She was, accordingly, taken to the mortuary at half past eleven o'clock, and immediately recognised her friend. Later on she stated what she knew of the history of the murdered woman. Annie Chapman had for a long time been separated from her husband, by mutual agreement, and had been allowed 10s a week by him for her maintenance. The money had been sent by Post office Order, made payable at the Commercial street Post office, and had always come regularly. About eighteen months ago the instalments suddenly ceased, and, upon inquiry be
ing made, it was found that the husband had died. Annie Chapman had two children, but where they were Farmer could not say. The deceased had a mother and sister, who were living in the neighbourhood of Brompton or Fulham. Farmer had been in the habit of writing letters for her friend, but could not remember the exact address of the mother or sister, but thought it was near the Brompton Hospital. On Monday Chapman intimated her intention of communicating with her sister, saying, “If I can get a pair of boots from my sister, I shall go hop picking.” Another relation, a brother in law of the deceased, lived somewhere in or near Oxford street. Farmer asserted that her murdered friend was apparently a sober, steady going sort of woman, and one who seldom took any drink. For some time past she had been living occasionally with a man named Ted Stanley, who had been in the militia, but was mow working at some neighbouring brewery. Ted Stanley was a good tempered man, rather tall - about 5ft 10in - fair, and of florid complexion. He was the last man in the world to have quarrelled with Chapman, nor would he have injured her in any way. At the beginning of the week the deceased had been rather severely knocked about in the breast and face by another woman of the locality through jealousy in connection with Ted Stanley, and had been obliged to go to the casual ward. As a regular means of livelihood she had made antimacassars for sale. Sometimes she would buy flowers or matches, with which to eke out a living. Farmer was certain that on Friday night the murdered woman wore three rings, which where not genuine, but were imitations, otherwise she would not have troubled to go out and find money for her lodgings. Mrs. Fiddymont, wife of the proprietor of the Prince Albert public house, better known as the “Clean House,” at the corner of Brushfield and Stewart streets, half a mile from the scene of the murder, states that at seven o'clock on Saturday morning she was standing in the bar talking with another woman, a friend, in the first compartment. Suddenly there came into the middle compartment a man whose rough appearance frightened her. He had on a brown stiff hat, a dark coat, and no waistcoat. He came in with his hat down over his eyes, and, with his face partly concealed, asked for a half pint of four ale. She drew him the ale, and meanwhile looked at him through the mirror at the back of the bar. As soon as he saw the woman in the other compartment watching him, he turned his back, and got the partition between himself and her. What struck Mrs. Fiddymont particularly was the fact that there were blood spots on the back of his right hand. This, taken in connection with his appearance, caused her uneasiness. She also noticed his shirt was torn. As soon as he had drunk the ale, which he swallowed at a gulp, he went out. Her friend went out also to watch him. That friend is Mrs. Mary Chappell, who lives at 28 Stewart street, near by. Her story corroborates Mrs. Fiddymont's, and is more particular. When the man came in, the expression of his eyes caught her attention, his look was so startling and terrifying. It frightened Mrs. Fiddymont so that she requested Mrs. Chappell to stay. He wore a light blue check shirt, which was torn badly, into rags in fact, on the right shoulder. There was a narrow streak of blood under his right ear, parallel with the edge of his shirt. There was also dried blood between the fingers of his hand. When he went out she slipped out by the other door, and watched him as he went towards Bishopsgate street. She called Joseph Taylor's attention to him, and Taylor followed him. Joseph Taylor is a builder, of 22 Stewart street. He states that as soon as his attention was attracted to the man he followed him. He walked rapidly, and came alongside the man, but did not speak to him. The man was rather thin, about 5ft 8in high, and apparently between 40 and 50 years of age. He had a shabby genteel look, pepper and salt trousers, which fitted badly and dark coat. When Taylor came alongside him the man glanced at him, and Taylor says, “His eyes were as wild as a hawk's.” The man walked holding his coat together at the top. He had a nervous and frightened way about him. He had a light moustache and short sandy hair. Taylor ceased to follow him, but watched him as far as “Dirty Dick's” in Halfmoon street, where he became lost to view. John Davis, who was the first to make the shocking discovery, says - Having had a cup of tea in the morning, about six o'clock, I went down stairs. When I got to the end of the passage I saw a female lying down, her clothing up to her knees, and her face covered with blood. What was lying beside her I cannot describe - it was part of her body. I had heard no noise, nor had my missus. I saw Mr. Farley's men waiting at the back of the Black swan ready to go to their work - making packing cases. I said to them, “Here's a sight; a woman must have been murdered.” I then ran to the police station in Commercial road, and told them what I had seen, and some constables came back with me. I did not examine the woman when I saw her - I was too frightened at the dreadful sight. Our front door at 29 Hanbury street is never bolted, and anyone has only to push it open and walk through to the gate at the back yard. Immoral women have at times gone there, and Mrs. Richardson, our landlady, had occasion to keep a closet locked there, but no lock has ever been placed on the front door; at least, I have never seen one; but it is only a fortnight ago that I came to lodge there. I have known people open the passage door and walk through into the yard when they have had no right there. There are about fifteen altogether living in the house. Mrs. Davis has made the following statement:- The bell was ringing for six o'clock, and that is how I know the time that my husband went downstairs. He went down, but did not return, as he tells me that when he saw the deceased, and the shocking state in which she was, he at once ran off for the police. We never heard any screams, either in the night or this morning. I went down myself shortly after, and nearly fainted away at what I saw. The poor woman's throat was cut, and the inside of her body was lying beside her. Some one beside me then remarked that the murder was just like the one committed in Buck's row. the other one could not have been such a dreadful sight of this, for the poor woman found this morning was quite ripped open. She was lying in a corner of the yard, on her back, with her legs drawn up. It was just in such a spot that no one could see from the outside, and thus the dead creature might have been lying there for some time. Two young men, named Simpson and Stevens, living in Dorset street, who knew the deceased as residing at that address, state that her name is Annie Chapman. She returned thither about twelve o'clock on Saturday night, stating that she had been to see some friends at Vauxhall. The murdered woman had two children - one a girl, aged 14, at present performing in a circus travelling in France. The other is a boy, between four and five years of age. He is now at a school in Windsor, the native place of the deceased. At five minutes after eleven o'clock on Saturday an exciting incident took place. A man suddenly attacked a woman in the Spitalfields Market. After felling her to the ground with a blow he began kicking her, and pulled out a knife. Some women who had collected, on seeing the knife, raised such piercing shrieks of “Murderer” that they reached the crowds in Hanbury street. There was at once a rush for Commercial street, where the markets are situate. Seeing the crowd swarming round him the man who was the cause of the alarm made furious efforts to reach the woman, from whom he had been separated by some persons who interfered on her behalf. He threw these on one side, fell upon the woman knife in hand, and inflicted several stabs on her head and her forehead, neck, and fingers before he was pulled off. At this juncture the police arrived, arrested the man, and after a while had the woman conveyed on a stretcher to the police station in Commercial street, where she was examined by the divisional surgeon. She was found to be suffering from several wounds, but none of them was considered dangerous.