The inquest into the murder of Martha Tabram began on the 9th of August 1888. Martha Tabram was murdered in George Yard Buildings in the Victorian Whitechapel area of London in 1888, she might have been the first victim of Jack the Ripper.
There were eleven Whitechapel murders, five of them were thought to have been at the hands of Jack the Ripper. These five victims were known as the canonical five victims. Martha Tabram is not one of the canonical five victims. However, her murder has some similarities to the canonical five women. Martha Tabram was a local prostitute, she was a similar age to most of the other victims, she was stabbed to death in the early morning hours in Whitechapel. The difference in her murder is that the canonical five victims had their throat slit and most were mutilated. The Inquest Of Martha's Murder The inquest of Martha's murder opened just two days after she was murdered. She was murdered on the 7th of August 1888, though the culprit(s?) of her murder were never caught, leaving her death unsolved to this day. Her murderer could have been Jack the Ripper. During her inquest, it was discussed how Martha had suffered 39 stab wounds by her attacker. A witness statement from a local in the buildings, John Reeves, said that he was leaving for work that morning at around 4.45am and discovered the body of Martha. The building where she was found, was essentially Victorian flats were people lived. John Reeves found her body in a pool of blood and went immediately to the police. However, he was not the first person to notice Tabram's lifeless body. That was a man named Alfred Crow, who was also giving evidence at the inquest that day. Alfred Crow had noticed Tabram lying at the bottom of George Yard Buildings at around 3.30am, just an hour and 45 minutes before John Reeves found her. Crow had said to the inquest that he noticed her body, but didn't think anything of it - he thought she was a homeless person. When Alfred Crow would have discovered the body of Martha, it would have been pitch black, when John Reeves discovered her, daylight would have been breaking, so it would explain why Reeves saw the pool of blood and not Crow. There were three other statements made at the inquest, made by three other men, beside the two witness statements of Alfred and John. One statement was made by the police officer who was alerted to her murder, PC Thomas Barrett. Another statement was made by a doctor, Dr Killen, who examined Martha's body. And, the final statement was made by the coroner. There was no identification of the murderer and the inquest was adjourned for two weeks after that. The name 'Jack the Ripper' wasn't even created at this point. But the murder of Martha Tabram has been speculated by some, to have been at the hands of Jack the Ripper.
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Jack the Ripper is not the only unsolved mystery of the British Victorian era. In 1900, three lighthouse keepers on a tiny island off the coast of mainland Britain disappeared. They disappeared just four days before Christmas that year - no one knew what happened to them or where they went, and we still don't know what to this day. The mystery of the Victorian lighthouse keepers is one of histories unsolved events. Background The missing lighthouse keepers were working on the small Flannan Isles. They were employed to work at the highest tip of the Flannan Isles, where the lighthouse is to this day - on Eilean Mor in the Outer Hebrides. The Flannan Isles are very remote, they are a small group of islands, which makes that unsolved mystery even more interesting. What makes it more interesting, is that this island was uninhabited beside the four lightkeepers; Donald MacArthur, Thomas Marshall and James Duct. There was no one else recorded on the island at the time. One of the lighthouse keepers was an onshore lighthouse keeper, while the others were situated at the Eilean Mor lighthouse. One man was supposed to be in the lighthouse all of the time, the men could take turns, but one lightkeeper at least had to remain in the lighthouse. Whatever had happened to the lighthouse keepers, all of them must have left the lighthouse, as there wasn't a trace of any man within it. There wasn't a trace of any of the men at all when another crew arrived at the lighthouse. The Arriving Crew A relief crew arrived on the islands on Boxing Day 1900, they had been alerted by a ship on the 18th of December 1900, that there were storms in the area, a few days earlier. The relief crew made their way up to the Flannan Isles from Edinburgh and arrived on Boxing Day. Before the relief crew got the island, the captain of the relief ship, Jim Harvie, tried to gain the attention of the island lighthouse keepers, he sounded the ships horn as it approached the small island were the lighthouse lay - no men appeared before him. No one came out of the lighthouse. There was no sign of life, but life had looked as if it had stopped in the middle of something when the captain arrived on the island. With inspection of the lighthouse, he noticed that there was a chair knocked over, half-eaten dinner lying as if the lighthouse keepers either rushed out of the lighthouse in a hurry, or they were taken out in a hurry... There was also a clock which had stopped, which seems quite fitting for the occasion. Captain Jim Harvey sent a telegram to the lighthouse board saying he thought there had been an accident, which took the men's life. However, no bodies were recovered to provide evidence that they disappeared through a storm. The telegram Harvey sent to Edinburgh read as follows: ''A dreadful accident has happened at Flannans. The three Keepers, Ducat, Marshall and the occasional have disappeared from the island. On our arrival there this afternoon no sign of life was to be seen on the Island. Fired a rocket but, as no response was made, managed to land Moore, who went up to the Station but found no Keepers there. The clocks were stopped and other signs indicated that the accident must have happened about a week ago. Poor fellows they must been blown over the cliffs or drowned trying to secure a crane or something like that. Night coming on, we could not wait to make something as to their fate. I have left Moore, MacDonald, Buoymaster and two Seamen on the island to keep the light burning until you make other arrangements. Will not return to Oban until I hear from you. I have repeated this wire to Muirhead in case you are not at home. I will remain at the telegraph office tonight until it closes, if you wish to wire me.'' The strangest thing about the incident was that the lighthouse keepers last log was on the 15th of December. It read ''Storm ended, sea calm. God is overall.'' This was on the same day as the passenger ship the Archtor had reported that the weather conditions were poor on the 15th of December. What happened to the men? There are several theories as to what happened to these men. One theory is, is that they fell to their deaths over the cliffs due to the storm, or perhaps due to a fight between the men. But none of their bodies was found. Also, why did all three of them abandon the lighthouse, when the rules were, that one of the must always remain within the lighthouse? Perhaps one of the men got caught in the storm, while the other two tried to help him, but it ended up taking all three of their lives. Or, another interesting theory, is that someone else was on that islands that had something to do with the mens disappearance. Could someone have murdered them? If who, why? Could the passenger ship that informed Edinburgh been involved in the mens disappearance? But if that was the case, why would that same ship informed Edinburgh about the storms. Or, what about Captain Harvey and his assistant, did they have something to do with the disappearance? Someone or something was responsible for these men disappearing. The Whitechapel Murders were a series of murders which happened in Victorian London, between 1888 and 1891. The Whitechapel Murders began in the Spring of 1888, on the 3rd of April 1888, when a woman named Emma Smith was attacked. The murders ended on the 13th of February 1891, with the murder of a woman named Frances Cole. There was a total of eleven women murdered between 1888 and 1891, they were known as the Whitechapel Murders - all of the eleven victims were murdered in Victorian Whitechapel, all of them were thought to have been prostitutes and their murders have all be linked in the past. The Unsolved Whitechapel Murders All of the murders remain unsolved. Some Ripperologists argue that all of these women were at the hands of one man - Jack the Ripper. Other Ripperologists have argued that only some of these women were murdered by Jack the Ripper, while the other women murdered were either not related to Jack the Ripper killings at all, or that they were copycat killings which were trying to replicate what Jack the Ripper had done. Who Were The Whitechapel Murder Victims? There were eleven Whitechapel Murder victims, most of which were murdered throughout 1888 - especially during the Autumn of Terror. The Autumn of Terror is the named given to the Autumn of 1888 when Jack the Ripper committed at least five murders throughout the Autumn season. There's the possibility that Jack the Ripper killed six victims during that time (if we include Martha Tabram as his victim). There is also the possibility that Jack the Ripper murdered more women than was known. Victorian Whitechapel was already notorious for being a crime infested area; even before Jack the Ripper committed his crimes. It was an area which was riddled with violence, other street crime like robberies, prostitution, drunkness, poverty, homelessness and poverty. These conditions made it unsafe for a Victorian to live - especially if you were a woman out on the streets, like Jack the Rippers victims were. The first victim of the Whitechapel Murders to have been murdered was a local prostitute named Emma Smith. Emma Smith was attacked, robbed and stabbed in the early morning hours of the 3rd of April 1888. Emma Smith died the following day because of the attack, she was 45 years old. Her murder remains unsolved to this day, the culprit or culprits of her attack were never caught. Some Ripperologists today argue that Emma Smith was murdered by a local gang. However, Chief Inspector of the Metropolitan Police Walter Dew thought that Emma Smith was the first victim of Jack the Ripper. He also thought that someone else was aware of the identity of Jack, Dew said in 1938 that 'Someone, somewhere, shared Jack the Ripper's guilty secret'.
The murder of Martha Tabram came four months after the murder of Emma Smith. She was another local prostitute, who was last seen at 11.45pm by another prostitute she was out with that night - Mary Ann Connelly.
Martha was found murdered in George Yard Buildings in Whitechapel, at 4.45am, she was found in a pool of blood in George Yard Buildings by John Reeves. Her murderer has never been identified. However, Martha Tabram could have been Jack the Rippers first victim. Mary Ann Nichols Martha Tabram could have been the first victim of Jack the Ripper, or, our next Whitechapel victim was - Mary Ann Nichols. Mary Ann Nichols is considered to be the first victim of Jack the Ripper. She is also the first canonical five victim. The canonical five were five women who were murdered in Whitechapel during the Autumn of 1888 (the Autumn of Terror). Many Ripperologists argue that Jack the Ripper only had five victims; these are the canonical five. The canonical five are included in the Whitechapel Murders; they are part of the Whitechapel Murders.
Mary Ann Nichols was the first canonical five victim, she was murdered in the early morning hours of the 31st of August 1888. Her body was found not long after she was attacked, on Bucks Row between 3.40 am and 3.45am. One of the men who found Mary Ann Nichols, Robert Paul, thought that she was still alive and breathing when he found her. Robert Paul, however, was not the first man on scene f Mary's death, that was a man known as Charles Cross (or Lechmere). Charles Cross is a suspect, due to being found at the scene of the murder. There are other reasons for him being suspected of being the killer, such as lying to the police about his real name. Others have ruled Cross out.
Annie Chapman Just over one week since the murder of Mary Ann Nichols, another prostitute was found murdered in Whitechapel. This time, Annie Chapman was found murdered on the 8th of September 1888. Annie Chapman was found that morning around 6 am, by local resident John Davis in 29 Hanbury Street. The inquest into the murder of Annie Chapman found that she might have been murdered around 5.30am that morning, according to the coroner, Wynne Baxter. This would fit with a witness statement. According to the neighbour in 27 Hanbury Street, Albert Cadosch, he went into the yard on 27 Hanbury Street ready to go to work, when he heard a woman say 'No!' followed by a thud on the fence, which might have been Jack the Ripper killing Annie Chapman. Elizabeth Stride Elizabeth Stride was the next victim, she was murdered in the early morning hours of the 30th of September 1888. Unlike all of the other victims, who were murdered much later in the morning, Elizabeth Stride was murdered just before 1 am that morning. This is one reason some Ripperologists don't think that Elizabeth Stride was murdered by Jack the Ripper. There is a reason - Elizabeth Stride wasn't mutilated like the other victims were. There is a reason for this though.
A man named Louis Diemschutz turned his horse and cart into Dutfield's Yard (where Elizabeth Stride's body lay). Diemschutz said that his horse refused to go into the yard and stopped. He got off the horse and cart, went into the yard and found Elizabeth Stride's body. He thought that due to his horse's behaviour, that the killer was still in the yard. If the killer was still in the yard, Louis going to get the police at that moment allowed Jack the Ripper to get away. Had Diemschutz acted differently, Jack the Ripper could have been caught and history would be very different today.
Catherine Eddowes Jack escaped, and just under an hour after Elizabeth was murdered, another prostitute, Catherine Eddowes, was also murdered on that night. This night has become known as the Double Event; when Jack the Ripper murdered two women in the space of an hour. Catherine Eddowes was his second victim that night. She was making her way home after spending the night in a police cell, for being drunk and disorderly on the Victorian streets earlier that evening. Eddowes was released at 1 am from Bishopsgate police station on the 30th of September 1888.
At some point she met Jack the Ripper along the way, she was found murdered in Mitre Square shortly after being released from Bishopsgate police station. She was found murdered and mutilated in Mitre Square at 1.45 am, by PC Edward Watkins. Shortly after her body was found, there was graffiti wand a bloody apron which were found not too far away, in Goulston Street. The apron was took from Catherine Eddowes and used by the Ripper to wipe either blood off of him, or his knife, perhaps both.
The graffiti found had read: ''The juwes are the men that shall not be named for nothing.'' Whether or not this was written by Jack the Ripper, is uncertain. Today, it's impossible to tell. It was immediately washed off the wall by the police, for fear that there would be anti-Jewish riots. There was also no pictures of the graffiti taken (that we know of). Therefore, we cannot compare the Goulston Street Graffiti to any of the Jack the Ripper letters. The Jack the Ripper letters There were several Jack the Ripper letters which were sent throughout October 1888 and one letter which was sent just before the Double Event. The Dear Boss letter was sent, postmarked, on the 27th of September 1888. A postcard, called the Saucy Jack postcard, was sent on the 1st of October 1888. Both the Dear Boss letter and the Saucy Jack letter were probably written and hoaxed by a journalist. There is one more interesting letter. The From Hell letter is the most interesting of all the Jack the Ripper letters. The From Hell letter was sent on the 16th of October 1888 to a local Whitechapel resident called George Lusk. Lusk also received half a human kidney with the Dear Boss letter. Catherine Eddowes, Jack the Rippers fourth victim, was missing half a kidney after her murder and mutilation. Mary Jane Kelly There was one final victim in the Autumn of Terror; Mary Jane Kelly. Mary Jane Kelly is thought to have been Jack the Rippers final victim. Unlike the other Jack the Ripper victims, Mary Jane Kelly was murdered indoors, the rest were murdered outside. Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in the early morning hours of the 9th of November 1888. Mary was also a prostitute and was much younger than Jacks other victims, she was in her 20s, most of the others were in their 40s. She was murdered in her home in 13 Millers Court. The murder of Mary Jane Kelly was the most gruesome out of all of the murders. After the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, the Autumn of Terror stopped, there were no other murders by Jack the Ripper. But, the Whitechapel Murders did not draw to a close after the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, but there is doubt that these other Whitechapel Murder victims were at the hands of Jack the Ripper. One final murder took place in 1888 - that of Rose Mylett. Rose Mylett Rose Mylett was found dead on the 20th of December 1888. The nature of her death is unclear, some officials at the time thought that her death was murder, others thought that she committed suicide. Her death was ruled as murder by jury and several doctors also thought that she was murdered. But one doctor, Dr Bond along with police officials, Robert Anderson, thought that her death was a suicide. The death of Rose Mylett remains unsolved. Alice McKenzie In 1889, a prostitute named Alice McKenzie was murdered. Her murder echoes that of the Jack the Ripper murders. She was a prostitute who was murdered in the early morning hours of the 17th of July 1888. Like the Jack the Ripper murders, Alice McKenzie had her throat cut and hand her abdomen attacked, however, her death has been speculated to have been a copycat killer, rather than Jack the Ripper himself. Pinchin Street Torso The torso of a murdered woman was found on the 10th of September 1889 during the early morning hours. The murderer has never been identified and neither has the victim. The Pinchin Street Torso is in the Whitechapel Murders file, however, the police at the time weren't convinced that this was the work of Jack the Ripper. Frances Cole The final murder in the Whitechapel Murders file was that of a local prostitute named Frances Cole. France Cole was murdered on the 13th of February 1891, she was found murdered in the early morning hours at 2.15 am at Swallow Gardens by PC Thompson. There were no mutilations to her body, but her throat is cut. A man named Jack Sadler was arrested for her murder, but he was later released, as there was not enough evidence to convict him of the murder. Therefore, Coles murder remains unsolved to this day, and her murdered remains unknown to this day. The Frances Cole murder drew the Whitechapel Murders to a close. It drew a close to one of the Victorian Eras greatest mysteries and one of the worlds greatest mysteries - who was Jack the Ripper? |
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