Mary Kelly's hair

[Birgitte]

If you have to believe the desriptions of the people at the time, Mary Kelly stood out mostly because of her long hair that reached to her waist. Now what's been puzzling me is that I don't see it in the picture of the crime scene (see this page for a hi-res scan of enormous size: http://casebook.org/images/kelly_trad_HUGE.jpg )

If her hair was indeed so long, wouldn't more of it be visible in the picture?

This convinced me that the body on the bed couldn't have been MJK. Sure, she was identified by Barnett, but he only took a short peek after being warned that the sight would be gruesome. The victim probably had the same eye colour and approximately the same hair colour (Mary was known to dye it and there weren't that many colours to choose from in those days) and that combined with MJK's clothes lying on the table probably made him identify the body as Mary's.

Again, I think more hair should be visible in that picture.

Birgitte

[D1g1TaL Gh0sT]

She could be lying on a great portion of it, or it could be restingto the right of her shoulder. Henceforth, why it is not really visible in the photo.

[Melissa McMahan]

I'm about Mary Kelly's size. Both of us 5'7 and about the same plumpness. I'm not a beanpole nor was she. People in that age didn't diet such as people today. In fact before the mid1960's even movie stars were a bit chucky. But to my point, I laid on a full size bed whcih was about the sames as Mary's. I posed as she was in the photo all except her other arm which you cannot see in that photo. From what I read that arm was only hanging on by a bi of skin or bone anyway. Now I have wild hair, not like mary's but even my hair when it is wet is flat. Mary's hair had to have been matted down by her own blood even if it wasn't soaked in it. After all JTR went at her face with a waking rage of his knife. Her blood and bits of her flesh would be in her hair. I mean her nose and ears were hacked off, pretty much her whole face was gone after JTR was through with her. Plus the neck being cut almost off and the other parts of her body. If you look closer at the photo, her hair seems to be stuck to the bed. Her blood glued it down.

[How Brown]

Birgitte is correct, in my opinion. Evidently, MJK's hair was either cut or not the length described by sources. I notice that I also never heard any male Ripperheads mention this obvious discrepancy. Bravo to the ladies !

Now if the ladies would only use that "women's intuition" that they have, maybe they can figure the rest of this exasperating case out for the rest of the, er..guys !

[Melissa McMahan]

I know water is not the same as blood but both are wet. I've seen water in hair and yes I've seen blood in hair too. Long story I won't get into but hair is not bouncy when wet as it is when it is dry. Being that the 2 images of Mary Kelly didn't not show this one area of the bed one can only guess. About her other arm and her hair. If JTR had wated to take a lock of her hair along with her heart, nothing was stoppping him. It's really hard to tell about her hair. She is looking right at us from the photo, her hair is short in front but there is no record of behind her head. That is other than the fact JTR placed her uterus and kidneys with one breast under her head. The report also says, "The right arm was slightly abducted from the body and rested on the mattress. The elbow was bent, the forearm supine with the fingers clenched. The legs were wide apart, the left thigh at right angles to the trunk and the right forming an obtuse angle with the pubes."

Nothing about her hair, though walking into that room and seeing Mary cut to bits like that. Well I doubt anyone was thinking about her hair. Nothing on the report about her hair but nothing on the photos showing her other arm either. There is a big blind spot about the upper right part of the bed. This is where her hair and right arm are.

[MK]

ok, so, as a girl, i can say the lady lying on that bed has long hair, though i can't really tell how long since most of it is underneath her body.
plus, as melissa pointed, her hair was wet, thus not as bouncy as it would be if it was dry.

in my opinion, the killer most likely got her hair out of his way before doing his job, but it doesn't mean it wasn't there - we just can't see it.