Book Description

"Ripper Notes: Suspects & Witnesses" is a collection of essays about the famous unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper and related topics, focusing on a number of people who have been accused of the crimes. Andrew J. Spallek starts things off with a comprehensive look at the reasons why Montague John Druitt was named as the top suspect by a high-ranking police official at the time, as well as new information that has been discovered since then. Stewart P. Evans, author of several of the most respected books on the case and a former police officer, takes an in-depth professional look at George Hutchinson, who is sometimes considered a suspect because of the puzzling aspects of the witness statement he gave of a man seen with Mary Jane Kelly, the last of the Ripper's known victims, shortly before her death. Leanne Perry follows with details on Kelly's former lover Joseph Barnett, also believed by some to have been her killer, and the job he lost as a fish porter at Old Billingsgate Market. Wolf Vanderlinden tackles another high profile suspect, Dr. Francis Tumblety, while trying to get to the truth about some of the stories of his life that have always been considered to be damning evidence against him but appear to be quite different from how they have been previously portrayed. Jeffrey Bloomfield comes next with the life and crimes of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream, the man whose executioner claimed was trying to admit to being Jack the Ripper while being hanged for the poisoning deaths of prostitutes in London's East End. Don Souden critically examines all the major witness to see how reliable they were in offering clues to the murderer's identity. Des McKenna compares the two different versions of Tom Slemen's claims that Claude Reignier Conder should be considered to be Jack the Ripper. Tom Wescott then brings the main section to a close with a bang by revealing a largely forgotten contemporary suspect who has not been mentioned in print since the 19th century. There are also short pieces on various claims that the killer was locked up in an asylum and not prosecuted because of being insane, a look at the current state of Ripperology, and reviews of recent books. Ripper Notes is a nonfiction anthology series covering all aspects of the Jack the Ripper case.