Emma Elizabeth Smith was a Whitechapel Murder victim. And, possibly a victim of the Victorian serial killer; Jack the Ripper. There were eleven Whitechapel Murder victims named by police in the Victorian district of Whitechapel. Five of these women, (1) Mary Ann Nichols, (2) Annie Chapman, (3) Elizabeth Stride, (4) Catherine Eddowes and (5) Mary Jane Kelly, are usually agreed to be the confirmed victims of Jack the Ripper. They are known as the Canonical Five. Apart from the Canonical Five victims, the other six women named in the Whitechapel Murder files by Victorian police, are debated about whether or not they were victims of Jack the Ripper. Emma Elizabeth Smith in one of those women who is debated about whether or not she was a victim of Jack the Ripper's. What Happened To Emma Elizabeth Smith? Emma Elizabeth Smith was attacked by a gang of youths on the 3rd of April 1888 and died on the 4th of April 1888. The press later that year in 1888, linked Emma's death to Jack the Ripper. However, it's unlikely that she was a victim of Jack's. Jack the Ripper killed his victims on his own, not in a gang. Whereas, Emma's murder was the result of a gang, not a lone killer. Why Is Her Murder Linked To Jack The Ripper? There are several reasons why Smith's murder is linked to Jack the Ripper. One reason is that she was named as a Whitechapel Murder victim. Another reason was that she was considered a victim of Jack the Ripper's by the press at the time. And the third reason is the nature of her attack. What Was The Nature Of Her Attack? During the early hours of the 3rd of April 1888, at 1.30am, Emma Smith was walking along Whitechapel Road. She noticed that she was being followed by a gang, so she walked faster and turned into Osborn Street. She was near to Brick Lane when she was attacked by the gang. Emma was sadly the victim of a brutal attack by the gang. She was robbed and hurt by the gang at first. Then, she was raped, beaten and stabbed. Despite her injuries and horrific attack, Emma managed to stand up and make her way back to her lodging house at 18 George Street. She was taken to hospital by the lodging house deputies. At the hospital, Emma slipped into a coma and died several days later of her injuries. Before that, Emma told police about her attack and attackers. Emma Elizabeth Smith probably wasn't a victim of Jack the Ripper's, however, she was the first women named in the Whitechapel Murder file in 1888.
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Annie Millwood is possibly an early victim of the notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper. There is a general consensus that Jack the Ripper killed five women in the Whitechapel district of London, during the Autumn of 1888. However, there have been 11 women linked to Ripper case. These 11 women are known as the Whitechapel murders. The Whitechapel Murders The Whitechapel murders include the five women who were believed to have been killed by Jack the Ripper. The Whitechapel murders took place between April 1888 and February 1891. They consisted of eleven women being murdered. Those women were (1) Emma Elizabeth Smith, (2) Martha Tabram, (3) Mary Ann Nichols, or Polly Nichols, (4) Annie Chapman, (5), Elizabeth Stride, (6) Catherine Eddowes, (7) Mary Jane Kelly, (8) Rose Mylett, (9) Alice McKenzie, (10) Frances Coles, (11) And an unidentified women, the only part of her they found was her torso. At the time, these women were the Whitechapel Murder victims. However, Annie Millwood was not in the Whitechapel Murder files, she wasn't named as one of the Whitechapel murder victims. It only seems as if she has been linked to the Ripper murders through contemporaries. In other words, Annie Millwood has been linked to the ripper case through secondary sources. These two secondary sources are from two different books published in the 1990s. One is called 'The Complete History Of Jack The Ripper' (1994), and the other is called 'From Hell: The Jack The Ripper Mystery' (1998). Before those two books, it doesn't appear as if she is mentioned as a victim of Jack the Rippers. Who Was Annie Millwood? Annie Millwood lived in White Row's Spitalfields, near Dorest Street in Whitechapel. She was 38 at the time of her attack and was possibly a prostitute at the time of her attack. But, she was working and living at the Whitechapel Workhouse Infirmary around the time she was attacked. Annie was attacked on the 25th of February 1888. She showed up at the workhouse with several stab wounds to her body, both in her torso and in her legs. Annie survived the initial attack, only to die a month later of natural causes and not of her injuries. The Reporting Of Her Attack Annie's attack was reported in the Easter Post. They wrote this about the attack: "It appears the deceased was admitted to the Whitechapel Infirmary suffering from numerous stabs in the legs and lower part of the body. She stated that she had been attacked by a man who she did not know, and who stabbed her with a clasp knife which he took from his pocket. No one appears to have seen the attack, and as far as at present ascertained there is only the woman's statement to bear out the allegations of an attack, though that she had been stabbed cannot be denied." There were doubts at the time about Annie's attacked, she wasn't believed. Those at the time thought that her wounds were self-inflicted, that she stabbed herself. Annie didn't give a description of her attacker. It's possible that Annie Millwood was an early victim of Jack the Ripper's. The attacker's modus operandi, his attack to Annie's torso and legs, is similar to what Jack the Ripper did to his victims. It's also similar to another woman who was potentially a victim of Jack the Ripper's, Martha Tabram, who had similar wounds to that of Annie's. Whether or not Annie Millwood was a victim of Jack the Ripper's, we'll probably never know. Martha Tabram was a Whitechapel Murder victim. The Whitechapel Murders took place on the 3rd of April 1888, until the 13th of February 1891. The Whitechapel Murders took place over this period of time in the Whitechapel district of Victorian London. Whitechapel was one of the most impoverished and crime ridden areas of Victorian Britain. It was an area of Victorian Britain which was rife with violence, poverty, workhouses, homelessness, prostitution and in 1888, murder. The most notorious murderer from Victorian Whitechapel was Jack the Ripper. Jack the Ripper was a serial killer who was active in the area of Whitechapel from August 1888 until November 1888. It's possible that he could have been active in the area from 1888 until 1891, as the Whitechapel Murder file stretches from that period of time. The Whitechapel Murder file documents a series of eleven murders from 1888 up until 1891. Those named in the Whitechapel files were all women. Most of them were prostitutes and the others were probably prostitutes. Then, there is one person on the file whose full body wasn't recovered, it was just the woman's torso that was found. The eleven women named in the Whitechapel Murder files are as follows, in the order, they were murdered (1) Emma Elizabeth Smith, (2) Martha Tabram, (3) Mary Ann Nichols, who was also referred to as Polly Nichols, (4) Annie Chapman, (5) Elizabeth Stride) (6) Catherine Eddowes, (7) Mary Jane Kelly, (8) Rose Mylett, (9) Alice McKenzie), (10) Frances Coles and (11) The torso of a woman who remains unidentified. It's contested how many of these women were killed at the hands of Jack the Ripper. It's mostly agreed upon that Jack the Ripper had five victims. These five victims are known as the Canonical Five. Their names are as follows (1) Mary Ann Nichols/Polly Nichols, (2) Annie Chapman, (3) Elizabeth Stride, (4) Catherine Eddowes and (5) Mary Jane Kelly. Most experts agree that these five women were the unfortunate victims of Jack the Ripper. However, even the experts aren't sure how many women Jack the Ripper killed. Or even if there were more victims than we currently know about.
Martha Tabram
Martha Tabram is perhaps the most contested victim, with some believing that she was a victim of the Ripper's, while others believing that she wasn't a victim of Ripper's. What Happened To Martha Tabram? Martha Tabram was killed in the early morning hours of the 7th of August 1888, which was a Tuesday. Martha's body was seen at 3.30am at George Yard Buildings by a man called Alfred Crow. However, he didn't realise at the time that she was murdered, as it was still dark. Instead, he thought Martha was a homeless person sleeping on the ground. This was a common occurrence in Whitechapel, therefore, he ignored what he thought he saw and went up to the first floor of the building to go to sleep. Just an hour fifteen minutes later, at 4.45am that morning, another man was walking through the stairway. This man was called John Reeves, he noticed Martha's dead body, because, at that time, it was light. The day light not only exposed Martha's dead body, but Reeves also saw the pool of blood which was surrounding her. Leaving him to realise what had happened to her, he went off to get a policeman. John Reeves returned to the site with PC Barret sometime later. When Was Martha Murdered? Martha was most likely murdered sometime between 2.00am and 2.45am, as that was the time frame given at the autopsy report. At 3.30am a resident at George Yard Buildings, Elizabeth Mahoney, was going into George Yard Buildings and didn't see anything suspicious. By 3.00am, is when Alfred Crow unknowingly discovered Martha Tabram's body. Where Was She Beforehand? On the evening of the August 6th, 1888, Martha Tabram and her friend Mary Ann Connelly (also known as Pearly Poll), were seen in numerous pubs throughout the evening in Whitechapel that night. It was a bank holiday on the 6th of August 1888. They were also seen in the company of soldiers. The soldiers were the last ones to be seen with Martha Tabram. By 11.45pm, Martha and her friend Mary Ann Connelly parted ways. Who Killed Martha Tabram? It seems uncertain as to who killed Martha Tabram. Though, there are likely three candidates that could have killed her, (1) Either one of the soldiers, or a soldier that she was last seen with, (2) Someone that we don't know about, or (3) Jack the Ripper. Could Martha Tabram be the early work of Jack the Ripper's? Was Martha a victim of Jack the Ripper's? It's possible. But, we will never know for certain whether or not she was a victim of Jack the Ripper's, due to the obscurity of the Ripper himself. What Did The Autopsy Reveal? The autopsy revealed several things about Martha Tabram's killing. It revealed that she stabbed multiple times, a total of 39 times. 6 times in the stomach area. Once in the heart. 5 times in the liver area. Twice in the spleen. And five times on the left lung and twice on the right lung. Concluding Thoughts If Martha Tabram was killed by one of the soldiers that she was seen with that night, why did the soldier wait that long to kill her? Martha parted way with her friend at 11.45pm but was murdered around two, maybe nearly three hours later, why would one of the soldiers wait that long? It could have been that something happened between them, or, is it an indication that she wasn't murdered by the soldier(s), but, was a victim, possibly the first victim, of Jack the Ripper's?
There are eleven possible victims of the notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper. Perhaps there are even more victims than that, that were murdered by Jack the Ripper, or less. It is debated among Ripperologists and historians how many victimsJack the Ripper actually had.
If you want to see some of this debate, you can go to the website Casebook.org where you will see that people have different opinions on how many victims Jack the Ripper had. The general consensus is that Jack the Ripper killed five women in the Autumn of 1888. These five women are known as theCanonical Five. Their names follow in the order they were murdered (1) Mary Ann Nichols, murdered on the 31st of August 1888, (2) Annie Chapman, murdered on the 8th of September 1888, (3) Elizabeth Stride, murdered on the 30th of September 1888, (4) Catherine Eddowes, murdered on the 30th of September 1888 and Mary Jane Kelly murdered on the 9th of November 1888. It is thought that these five women were all victims of Jack the Ripper. Not everyone agrees though if you observe the debate on a website such as Casebook.org, it gives you an insight into the difference of opinion; that not everyone agrees that all of these women were a victim of Jacks. The two women which seem to be contested and refuted as victims of Jack the Ripper, mostly are Elizabeth Stride and Mary Jane Kelly. Although Mary Jane Kelly and Elizabeth Stride are debated victims of Jack the Ripper, most experts believe that they were the victims of the Ripper. Most experts contest that the Canonical Five were murdered by the same hand; Jack the Ripper. But, there are another six victims who have been linked to the case known as the Whitechapel Murders. Who Are The Other Six Victims? The other six victims linked to the Whitechapel Murders, are as follows (1) Emma Elizabeth Smith, attacked on the 3rd of April 1888, (2) Martha Tabram, murdered on the 7th of August 1888, (3) Rose Mylett, strangled (or accidentally strangled herself) on the 20th of December 1888, (4) Alice McKenzie, murdered on the 17th of July 1889, (5) Frances Coles, murdered on the 13th of February 1891. Finally, (6) a woman's torso was found in Pinchin Street, Whitechapel in the early morning hours of the 10th of September 1889. Are Any Of These Likely To Be The Work Of Jack? (1) Emma Smith Reasons for: Emma was a prostitute like the other Canonical Five victims. She was also attacked in the early morning hours like the other victims. And Detective Walter Dew thought that Emma Smith was the first victim of Jack the Ripper. Reasons against: Emma Smith was attacked by a gang, who she wouldn't name or tell who they were. However, Jack the Ripper didn't function as part of a gang, he was alone during his crimes. Although Walter Dew thought that this action of Jack the Ripper, his colleagues disagreed with him. (2) Martha Tabram Reasons for: Martha Tabram was a prostitute who was murdered in the early morning hours, both things were similar to the Canonical Five victims. The police at the time didn't connect Martha Tabrams killing to the attack on Emma Smith. However, they did relate it to the other killings. Reasons against: Although police at the time connected Tabram's killing to that of the other ripper victims, most contemporaries today do not. The way she was killed was also different from that of the Jack the Ripper victims. (3) Rose Mylett Reasons for: Her death occurred close to the Ripper killings. Other than that, there appear to be no similarities with her death and that of the deaths of Jack the Rippers victims. But, Rose Mylett was a prostitute. Reasons against: It appears that her death was an accident, or possibly suicide. The modus operandi would have been different if it was an attack. (4) Alice McKenzie Reasons for: Alice McKenzie was murdered in the early hours of the morning and was probably a prostitute, both similar to the Jack the Ripper victims. She was attacked in a similar way to the Ripper victims, but, it was possibly a copycat killing. Reasons against: Although her death was similar to that of the Ripper victims, it wasn't identical. The police at the time, including Inspector Abberline, didn't think that Alice McKenzie was murdered by Jack the Ripper. (5) Frances Cole Reasons for: Frances Cole was murdered in a similar way to the other Jack the Ripper victims, she was also murdered in the early morning hours. She might have been the last victim of Jack the Rippers. France Cole was the last victim on the Whitechapel Murder files. Reasons against: There were no mutilations on Frances Cole. There were mutilations on the other Ripper victims, apart from Elizabeth Stride. Though it's thought that Jack the Ripper was disturbed when he was attacking Elizabeth Stride, and that is why there were no mutilations to her body. (6) The Torso Reasons for: There doesn't seem to be any reasons for suggesting that this was Jack the Ripper, other than the timeframe that the torso was found. Reasons against: Everything, it seems like a completely different killing, than the other Jack the Ripper victims.
Mary Jane Kelly was the fifth, and final victim of Jack the Ripper. Before she was murdered by Jack the Ripper, it seemed as though the ripper murders had stopped, as there were no ripper murders throughout the month of October 1888. Beforehand, the last ripper murders happened on the 30th of September 1888. Mary Jane Kelly's murder happened on the 9th of November 1888.
The last hours of Mary Jane Kelly's life happened on the 8th of November 1888 and in the early morning hours of the 9th of November 1888. The 8th of November 1888 The 8th of November 1888 was a Thursday and the 9th of November 1888 was a Friday. Before November 8th, Mary Jane Kelly was dating a man called Joseph Barnet beforehand. It is said that Kelly and Barrnet had a pleasant relationship, even when they split up, they kept on friendly terms and met each other on a daily basis. The pair met in April 1887 on Commerical Road. Although Joseph Barnet was born in London, he also was of Irish heritage, like Mary Jane Kelly was. Although, Mary Jane Kelly was born in Ireland. Barnet worked in Billingsgate Fish Market as a riverside labourer. Barnet was born in 1858 and he died in 1926. Both Barnet and Kelly were said to have been of 'good character.' According to Julia Venturney said that Barnet treated Mary Kelly well and gave her money. In 1887 Kelly and Barnet lived in lodgings in George Street, off Commercial Street. They then moved to Little Paternoster Row, off Dorset Street.
Soon after they moved to Little Paternoster Row, they were evicted from the place for being drunk and not paying the rent. They then moved to Brick Lane, after they were evicted from Little Paternoster Row, sometime in either February 1888 or March 1888. They lived for a few months here.
By August or September 1888, Mary Jane Kelly and Joseph Barnet split up. At this time, Mary returned to prostitution. Although they had split up, they kept in touch and met each other on a daily basis. Kelly had moved to 13 Miller's Court, where Barnet would meet her regularly. However, Barnet left her again on the 30th of October 1888. Elizabeth Prater, a neighbour of Mary Jane Kelly's, said that the couple had a fight that day between 5 PM and 6 PM and that Barnet left her. He went to live at the Buller's Boarding House at 24-25 New Street, Bishopsgate. At Mary Jane Kelly's inquest, Barnet reaffirmed what Elizabeth Prater had said he had left Mary Jane Kelly because she was allowing other prostitutes to live at 13 Miller's Court. He went on to say that he would not have left Mary if it wasn't for the other prostitutes that she was allowed into their house. His words were that ''I shouldn't have left her if it had not been for the prostitutes stopping at the house.'' On November the 7th, Mary bought a half penny candle from McCarthey's Shop. Later that evening, Mary Jane Kelly is spotted with a man who resembles the appearance of a man seen with Elizabeth Stride, just before Elizabeth Stride's death. Kelly is seen with this man on the Wednesday night of the 7th of November 1888. Throughout the day of the 8th of November, it is unclear what Mary Jane Kelly was doing that day, her last day. As there aren't any sources to provide information about what she was doing. However, the evening of the 8th of November is well documented. The 8th of November 1888, was the last evening of Mary Jane Kelly's life. The first hour that is documented is between around 7 PM and 8 PM that evening.
Mary Jane Kelly and Joseph Barnet spent the early evening together, it was the last time he saw her alive. He left around 7 PM to 8 PM. They were also with a friend of Mary's, Maria Harvey, who had left Miller's Court around the same time as Joseph Barnet did.
At 8 PM on the hour, Mary Jane Kelly's neighbour, Julia Venturney, who lived at 1 Miller's Court, went to sleep. Barnett arrived at Buller's Boarding House, where he was staying, at around the same time, after he had left Mary Jane Kelly. Although Barnett is and has been named a suspect in the Jack the Ripper case, he went back to his boarding house, played cards for a few hours and went to bed at around 12.30 AM on the 9th of November 1888. It's unclear where Mary Jane Kelly was between these hours, between 8 PM and 11.00 PM on the 8th of November 1888. There were two reported sightings of Mary between 11 PM and 11.45 PM. The first sighting was at the Ten Bells pub, a woman called Elizabeth Foster claims that she had seen Mary Jane Kelly drinking in the Ten Bells during that evening. Whereas another sighting of Mary was in the Britannia, this unconfirmed source said Mary was drunk and talking with a man who had a moustache. By 11.45 PM that night, Mary was making her way back to her house, with another man. She was spotted by a neighbour at this time, Mary Ann Cox who lived at 5 Miller's Court. Mary Ann Cox parted ways with Mary Jane Kelly saying 'Goodnight' to her, to which Mary replied ''Goodnight, I'm going to sing'' now. Kelly was then heard singing 'A violet from my mothers grave', a few minutes after she left Mrs Cox. And again at midnight. Between midnight and 12.30 AM, Mary sat down to eat potatoes and fish, we know this because of the autopsy report which found them in her stomach, and they were thought to have been consumed at between midnight and 12.30 AM. November 9th, 1888 Kelly was singing again by around 12.30 AM. At this time, one of Mary Jane Kelly's neighbours, Catherine Picket, couldn't sleep because of Kelly's singing. She was about to go and see Mary before her husband interrupted her, ''You leave the poor woman alone,'' he said. Mary Ann Kelly was singing again at 1 AM, according to Mary Ann Cox, who was going in and out of her home when she heard Mary. It started to rain at 1 AM, as noticed by Mary Ann Cox. Elizabeth Prater was standing outside Miller's Court between 1 AM and 1.30 AM. She went to bed at around 1.30 AM and said that Mary Jane Kelly's singing had stopped. By 2.00 AM, Kelly meets George Hutchinson, who lives at Victoria Working Men's Home, they meet at Commercial Street. Kelly asks him, 'Mr Hutchinson, can you lend me sixpence?' To which he replies, 'I can't. I spent all my money going down to Romford.' The conversation ended with Kelly replying to him, 'Good morning. I must go and find some money,'' as she set off walking towards Thrawl Street. Hutchinson noticed Mary meeting another man not too far from where they were talking. He overheard them talking. Kelly greeted the man with ''All right.'' To which he replied ''You will be alright for what I have told you.'' They then walked off towards Dorset Street. Hutchinson followed the pair as they walked down Commercial Street and Dorset Street and then off to Miller's Court, where Mary Jane Kelly lived. Hutchinson saw the pair stand outside Miller's Court talking for a few minutes before they started to walk again. Hutchinson heard Kelly say to the man, ''All right, my dear. Come along. You will be comfortable.'' Mary continued and said to the man, ''I've lost my handkerchief.'' To which the man gave her a red handkerchief. The pair then went off to Miller's Court, this was at 2 AM. Hutchinson waited outside Miller's Court until 3 AM. His behaviour in those early morning hours was strange, strange because he was stalking Kelly and this man that night. His strange behaviour that night is why he has been named a suspect. That, and he was the last person to see Mary Kelly alive that night, besides Jack the Ripper (if Hutchinson wasn't Jack the Ripper). Or, could he have been assisting Jack the Ripper that night? He said to Inspector Abberline that he was watching Kelly because the man she was with, was well dressed and that is not the type of customer Kelly was used to surrounding herself with. Hutchinson left Miller's Court at three o'clock when the clock struck the hour. At the same time, Kelly's neighbour Mrs Cox returned home yet again. She didn't go to sleep and heard men frequently coming in and out of Miller's Court in that hour. It was also heavily raining by that point. By 4 AM that morning, another neighbour, Elizabeth Prater, heard a cry of 'Oh murder'. Such cries of 'Oh murder' were common at the time, and she thought nothing of it. Another woman who was staying at Miller's Court, Sarah Lewis, also heard the cry. Mary Jane Kelly's body was found murdered hours later, when Thomas Bower visited Kelly's place at 10.45 AM on the morning of the 9th of November 1888. He was there to collect overdue rent from Kelly. He knocked on the door, to no response. When he didn't receive a response, he went to the side of the house and pulled back the curtain, to witness Kelly's mutilated body. Several hours later, the police arrived at the scene and broke down the door, to enter the house. Mary Jane Kelly died on the 9th of November 1888. |
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