The Madness of Thomas Cutbush

[A.P. Wolf]

I think us now in a situation to broadly accept that Thomas Hanye Cutbush was insane, in some form or manner; and I should like to discuss that form or manner of insanity in an effort to discover whether an individual such as THC could indeed have been the Whitechapel Murderer.
The strange case in Leeds which I recently found, involving the man Sullivan stabbing his wife 17 times for no good reason, purpose or motive, was the very first case I have seen where such motiveless murder was ascribed to a mental condition known as 'pubescent insanity'; and an exploration of that condition appears to indicate that it was just such a form of insanity that troubled the young Thomas.
The attachment that follows from the 'Manual of Psychological Medicine' by Bucknill (1874) sums up the symptoms of 'pubescent insanity', and much of what the good doctor says does appear to apply directly to THC.
In particular the following passage does seem to explain the seemingly motiveless crimes of the Whitechapel Murders; and confirm my long-held belief that the killer was much like a pin-ball being whacked and whizzed around Whitechapel, and to interrupt his erratic, scatty and chaotic progress was to invite an extreme and violent response.

'They are subject to be driven to fury, and commit acts of violence, if some particular person is fixed upon as connected with their wrongs. They are also subject to impulsive acts of violence where no delusion can be presumed to have prompted them, and where, indeed the patient after the paroxysm has passed, is unconscious of any delusion - he has committed the act of violence with no other explanation than that it crossed his mind to do it, and that simultaneously it was done.'

Thomas suffered from a number of delusions, one being that he had contracted syphilis from a prostitute. We now know this not to be true from the statement of the doctor who examined and treated him for this condition and found it lacking.
Another was that he was being poisoned by the doctors who were supposedly treating him for that condition.
We have seen how these two delusions prompted the 'fury' of connecting 'some particular person' with his imagined condition. In this case the doctors who were treating him, whom he threatened to kill with a revolver; and appears to have made several attempts to cause violence to these individuals as well as others.
Then we have the incident in the tea warehouse where he threw a man down a long flight of steps, almost killing him, and then explaining to his fellow workers 'poor gentleman has fallen down the stairs'.
This is exactly the 'impulsive act of violence' which Bucknill mentions in a young man suffering from 'pubescent insanity'.
An act of violence conceived and then committed so rapidly that the attacker himself is almost unaware of his violent actions, and hence explains it as an 'accident'.
Richard Chase, the so-called Vampire of Sacramento, suffered similar delusions, and explained away his murderous behaviour by claiming that he eaten a 'bad rabbit'.
There are other elements to this 'pubescent insanity' which I would like to discuss... the letter writing, and the unusual speech mannerisms associated with the illness; but it is rewarding to find contemporary medical thought and opinion from the LVP confriming my long-held belief that the Whitechapel Murderer was a very rare individual indeed, and it seems one very much like Thomas Hayne Cutbush.

http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac287/HowieNina/pub1.jpg

[Robert Linford]

AP, I'm not up on mental illness but this does seem to describe someone midway between a cunning psychopath and someone who was totally doolally, which I think is where we'll probably find Jack.

I can imagine someone as disturbed as this standing in a quiet street, desperately straining to hear if his heart is still beating, when suddenly :

"Hallo cock."

The rest is silence.

[A.P. Wolf]

Thanks Robert
yes, you hit the nail right on the head there I reckon.
I've always said, my dear chap, that while others seek motive and purpose, we should seek the madness and chaos of a pin ball sprung out of its safe and secure hole into the darkness of a Whitechapel night.
And here we have just such a pin ball.
The motiveless killer who cannot be explained or 'profiled', his actions purely reactions to things that are moving in his brain, rather than any earth bound threat. One can imagine the outcome of the encounter you mention.
A sudden and furious blitz of violence, and then the young man looks down at the broken and mutilated corpse at his feet and says 'poor woman has fallen down'.
The fact that things fall into and out of a young man's mind who is suffering from this peculiar affliction, and that these 'things' are responses to external stimuli, could well explain how his behaviour would be radically different in the day and night. Perceived threats in the night could become targets in the day, and rather than a violent and furious outburst these same threats in the daytime might well induce an inquisitive interest.
It is thought that as few as 5% of all lunatics suffered from 'pubescent insanity', and the 'dangerous' age was considered to be between 15 and 22, after that they appear to resemble a cabbage, but Thomas scrapes through I reckon.
Anyways I have some more detail which I will post as soon as.

[Natalie Severn]

Interesting take on the matter, AP.
I see Thomas as a very paranoid person with aspects of autism in his personality-hence the narcisism observed unsympathetically by the old man he threw down the stairs.
Such individuals appear to perceive others as no more "alive" than the cardboard dolls Thomas was recorded to have been cutting up and dressing up in pink tights etc.
Now it so happened that Thomas appears to have got himself in the habit of
cutting up other cardboard dolls, laying them out in front of him and "operating" on them ----the only problem presumably being that when he "cut open" his "cardboard" figures there was nothing at all inside! So disappointing!..........but wait----given that there were strange females--- "semi vagrants" wandering about in Whitechapel at all hours, why not capture one of these ,subdue her-just like it explains in the medical books, lay her out on the ground , cut her open and see if what is inside corresponds with the medical diagrams?
The only thing was he mustnt get caught doing this---mummy would be cross---- and aunty----they might even go hysterical----better therefore to smear some mud over the blood and face the music.
Thats how I tend to see Thomas,if Thomas it was.......living in his own mirrored world of make believe..........

[Robert Linford]

AP, Nats

The medical interest would explain the abstraction of the organs. Since he couldn't very well take a book with him and refer to the drawings therein while actually mutilating his victims, the next best thing would be to go home and make the comparison at leisure.

[A.P. Wolf]

And of course his favourite rag was the 'Lancet'; and his acumen and knowledge enough to actually grant him a personal audience with Lord Grimthorpe to discuss alternative medicine.
There's mad, and there's mad.

[Mags]

Hi, all

What you're describing is a paranoid schizophrenic and there's every reason to thing that Thomas was one. Especially during the first years of the disease, the symptoms including paranoia, dissociation from reality, and a kind of questing for a touchstone can come and go. This is a disease that manifests in the late teens and early twenties and hits the victim 2 ways--it causes delusions and hallucinations and it also causes changes in some sensory input that validate the delusions. Because it's a chemical imbalance, traditional pyschiatric remedies of the LVP don't work.

We need to keep in mind that these people are crazy, not stupid.

Their existance is akin to living in a drug induced hallucination all the time. Sometimes their senses, especially hearing, can be enhanced so that in addition to hearing the voices in their heads, they can clearly hear a conversation from across the street. They can be hypersensitive to most sensory input and have no way to distinguish what is "real". The need we all have to figure out the rules of our world is especially strong in them, so they often latch onto bizare theories to explain what's wrong with them and how they can fix it (like Chase and his powdered blood). These theories often take some kind of religious bent.

Of course they're violent and unpredictable. Wouldn't you be? I work in a public library and we see many mental outpatients, since libraries are one of the few places they can hang out without being rousted. We all are very aware that the quiet guy who's been coming in for months can suddenly erupt if someone else is sitting in "his" chair or approaches too closely. We're more afraid of them than even gang members because they are so unpredictable and when they do blow, there's no limits to their fury.

[R.J.Palmer]

[SIZE=2] Thomas suffered from a number of delusions, one being that he had contracted syphilis from a prostitute. We now know this not to be true from the statement of the doctor who examined and treated him for this condition and found it lacking.

AP - I’m a little confused, because, in regards to Cutbush, you sometimes refer to apparent documentation that is either not yet in the public domain, or, at least, is buried somewhere in a vast and growing archive that is not always easy to navigate. I don't recall this statement. Could you kindly point me towards the source?

In the meantime, I am somewhat skeptical of this medical opinion, but only because it wasn't until 1905 that the spirochettes that actually cause syphilis were discovered. Thus, during the Victorian era, a correct diagnosis was usually reliant on a known case history of the outward and obvious signs (skin rashes, etc.) That lacking, this led to the unhappy fact that especially in its dormant stages, syphilis often went undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. How can we be certain Cutbush wasn't merely in one of the later stages of the disease?

Personally, I would say that Cutbush’s behavior fits very well with the irrational thought proceses of a syphilitic man who was also self-medicating himself. Both of which do have some support in the historical record.

In regards to your boy Chase, you seem to undervalue the fact that he was dosing himself with enormous amounts of drugs and various toxins, so much so that one physician dismissed the diagnosis of schitzophrenia, replacing it with 'toxic psychosis.' You might recall a case some years ago in the UK (Manchester, I think) where a man stabbed a young boy something like 80 times, under the delusion that he was a space alien, or some such thing. A toxicology report showed the man had been binging on all sorts of medications, both legal and illegal, until he reached a psychotic state. The 'drug fiend' that the Grateful Dead fans like to laugh about.

I expect to be shot-down, or merely shot, for the following comment, but I think that the psychologists ought to be booted out of law enforcement. They haven't been particularly helpful since they elbowed their way in sometime during the 1960s. Before then it was the gum shoe and the revolver, with something known as 'evidence' working it's way out in the court room. The record shows that 'serial murder' is being committed by criminals with a wide spectrum of mental states---running the entire scale from the completly bonkers (Gein) to the otherwise entirely sane (Bundy, Kemper). Thus, the question of sanity/insanity is a red herring. It's not what is fueling the gas tank, and may be misdirecting our attention away from the real issues.

[R.J.Palmer]

Thus, the question of sanity/insanity is a red herring. It's not what is fueling the gas tank, and may be misdirecting our attention away from the real issues.

I realize this is a little vague and problematic. What I mean is that what is generally called 'insanity' could be a factor in the crimes, but is not an 'explanation' for the crimes.

In the 14th Century the 'insane' saw angels, spoke to God, wrote religious tracts, or led armies against the French. Why do the insane nowadays rave about government conspiracies or go on shooting sprees in shopping malls?

Clearly, to some extent, how the 'disease' manifests itself is reliant on culture.

[A.P. Wolf]

Barking hell, RJP, you ask me for help when I've just seen off a bottle of the Co-op's finest poison which they call whisky?
I'll get back to you after I've had surgery.
I'm open and honest about Tom having the clap, his doctor thought otherwise, but hey, his doctor worked bedlam and must have needed a drink himself. But we do have the reference of Tom actually meeting up with Lord Grimthrope for a chat, so how crazy could he have been?

[Natalie Severn]

I have never considered that Thomas would have even been capable of "contracting the clap"-unless he ran a flea circus in his spare time.

Natalie

[A.P. Wolf]

Forgive me Natalie, I'm just plain drunk.
But happy.

[Natalie Severn]

---just as long as you"re happy AP, no harm done!
BTW is the casebook down at the moment?---I cant access it tonight.

[Dan Norder]

What I mean is that what is generally called 'insanity' could be a factor in the crimes, but is not an 'explanation' for the crimes.

So, what would you replace it with? Demonic possession? The shape of the criminal's skull? Phases of the moon?

For the record, insanity is a legal term that determines whether a person should be held responsible for his or her crimes. It doesn't enter the picture until after someone is already caught and his guilt established to the point where even the defense admits that he or she committed the crime.

As far as what is generally called insanity by members of the public, that is imprecise and can mean a variety of things, many of which has no function in law enforcement. If you mean mental illness, it certainly is not only a factor but in some cases the only real explanation. Whether the manifestation of mental illness is influenced by culture shouldn't even be an issue, as it's not disputed by anyone. In this case the motivation for bringing up this red herring argument seems to be that R.J.'s suspect for Jack the Ripper doesn't fit any of the accepted models of criminology and psychology, so he just insists we toss both completely out so he can continue to believe whatever he wants to believe.

[A.P. Wolf]

RJP, if you rope in Mac's Memo which names the doctor concerned in treating Thomas, and then the Sun reports, which don't, you might come to the rapid conclusion that the doctor might be the very same man in both cases.

[R.J.Palmer]

the motivation for bringing up this red herring argument seems to be that R.J.'s suspect for Jack the Ripper doesn't fit any of the accepted models of criminology and psychology, so he just insists we toss both completely out so he can continue to believe whatever he wants to believe.

The FBI 'psychological' profile is like a pair of rubber pants. It has been stretched to fit any number of different bums. It will be interesting to see how many more years Dan Norder clings to that aging turkey. The lack of results speak volumes.

P.S. Evidently Dan is referring to Tumblety in the above. For the record, folks, there is no mythical 'accepted model of criminology and psychology' that eliminates Tumblety as a viable suspect. Even the profilers state one can't eliminate a suspect based on the vagaries of forensic psychology. This is pure fantasy on Dan's part. Has he alerted Stewart Evans to this alarming development?

[R.J.Palmer]

I’ve been rethinking this through, AP, and I can understand your thinking. I am not sure I can go with you all the way, but I do suspect that you’re correct in suggesting that both Macnaghten and The Sun exposé were referring to the same physician, ie., Brooks, but I think there is still considerable doubt about what exactly is going on. For convenience, let me toss both extracts up:

From Macnaghten memo:

“He (Cutbush) apparently contracted syphilis about 1888, and, -- since that time, -- led an idle and useless life. His brain seems to have become affected, and he believed that people were trying to poison him. He wrote to Lord Grimthorpe, and others, -- and also to the Treasury, -- complaining of Dr Brooks, of Westminster Bridge Road, whom he threatened to shoot for having supplied him with bad medicines.”

From The Sun (Feb 15, 1894):

The first case is that of a medical man. I suppress the name - but this and every other fact in our possession we shall gladly place at the disposal of the authorities:-

“I (Brooks) remember [Thomas Cutbush] very well. He complained that he was suffering from some constitutional disease of an aggravated type. I examined him carefully, made every kind of necessary test, and came to the conclusion that he was suffering from nothing but a delusion and mental aberration. I accordingly gave him a tonic combined with a nervine sedative and humoured his whims. He came off and on for some weeks or months, but being only an outpatient, and knowing little of him and nothing of his people, I could not communicate with him. About four or five years ago a letter was given to me. It was from (Cutbush) and addressed to me. The letter, said the writer, informed me that he had been to Scotland Yard and had laid an information against me, or some nonsense of that kind.

On November 15, 1890, I received a letter from a Mr. S Y, saying that _____ had called on S Y and wanted him to lend him a pistol or money to buy one, and that the contents of it were intended for me. I took the letter to _____ police station that evening and laid the matter before the inspector. He referred me to some parish official living in _____. I saw him and he directed me to go next morning to the workhouse in _____.

When I got there I was informed that a medical officer and a Justice of the Peace had been to _____'s residence to ascertain the state of his mind, and that he had eluded them by jumping over the wall and had escaped. They advised me to lay the matter before the magistrate at _____ police court and ask him to grant a warrant for _____'s arrest. I did so, but the magistrate said the workhouse authorities must deal with the matter themselves.”


Brook's account is sometimes frustratingly vague, but I can see where it might be argued that his initial examination of Cutbush was in 1888 (since it seemingly refers to the same events as Macnaghten’s memo) This seems even more likely, because Brooks also makes a point of stating that Cutbush continued to “come off and on for some weeks or months,” but implies that he then lost contact with him--viz. “I could not communicate with him.”

Brooks then states, in a different train of thought: About four or five years ago a letter was given to me.

This was on or around November, 1890, when Dr. Brooks was also contacted by Scotland Yard.

So what is going on?

In Brooks’ view, he could find nothing wrong with Cutbush in 1888 and thought he was a hypochondriac. By late 1890 Cutbush was raving mad and he finds out through the grapevine that Cutbush was now threatening him. In short, Cutbush seems to be convinced that Brooks misdiagnosed his clap back in 1888, gave him worthless drugs, and was now going to shoot him, blaming him for his deepening madness.

Strangely, it appears that Macnaghten is more or less agreeing with Cutbush. For whatever reason --probably Cutbush’s descent into madness-- Macnaghten seems willing to theorize that Cutbush DID have syphilis in 1888. The question still remains, on what was this assumption based?

Clearly, the ‘medical officer’ at the workhouse (the one Brooks was refered to) must have made a diagnosis of some sort. It would also be interesting to know what the various Lock hospital records might contain. Could Cutbush have sought treatement at one of these clinics, and might those notes survive? Similarly, could anything in the Broadmoor files cast light on THC’s alleged disease?

Finally, what all do we make of Scotland Yard contacting Brooks? And why did they send him to the infirmary? Was this just a friendly warning on their part?

[A.P. Wolf]

Yes, RJP, 'tis a complicated old business isn't it?
But it does seem that at exactly the same time that Dr Brooks was attempting to have Thomas either arrested or committed for threatening to shoot him, there was also a seperate police or parish investigation into Thomas' activities, resulting in the officials attempting to examine Thomas at home with a view to having him committed, so by the time Brooks' possee arrived he had flown the nest.
My impression is that neither the police, parish or the courts, were very helpful to the good doctor in his quest to have Thomas detained, fobbing him off with all manner of useless information and procrastination.
Does one detect the heavy hand of uncle Charles behind all of this?
I think so, and I still believe that the Macnaghten Memo was written as a damage limitation exercise specifically for Executive Chief Superintendent Charles Henry Cutbush of Scotland Yard, perhaps because of his support for his wayward nephew.
The 'Sun' certainly recognised the uncomfortable position that Scotland Yard found itself in with regard to the relationship between a wandering lunatic with a knife and one of the most senior police officers of the land.
But I think they only ever got half the story.
Macnaghten sort of fills in some of the gaps... just by writing the memo.

[R.J.Palmer]

A documentary on the following case appeared on American television last week, and I thought it had some similarity to Thomas Cutbush's delusional persecution of Dr. Brooks.

http://drdavidcornbleet.blogspot.com/

Peterson was obviously loopy long before he met up with Dr. C., and yet convinced himself that this one-time prescription was to blame for all his problems. He appears to be one of those rare cases where the bloke is utterly delusional and yet calculating at the same time.

[A.P. Wolf]

So much like you and me, eh RJP?

[R.J.Palmer]

That's what I like about you, AP. While others are busy looking for a mad doctor; you're looking for a mad patient.

[A.P. Wolf]

Indeed, RJP, but perhaps even better said: 'you need a lunatic to catch a lunatic'.
And I'm the lunatic for the job.
You know there is, and was, a lot of this blaming of 'bad medicine' for totally muderous behaviour, and I do go along with some of it, but then when I look at Richard Chase - and I still believe his madness to be the closest fit to the Whitechapel Murderer - and the way he blamed 'bad rabbits' for his murderous behaviour, I think, 'yeah, like you kill a rabbit, liquidize it and then eat it, raw, blood and all, and you expect to be well?'
I think there is a fine line to be drawn in regard to Thomas Cutbush and this 'bad medicine' malacky in that Thomas imagined he had a disease, and that Dr Brooks was well aware that he could not cure a figment of imagination, so probably gave him placebos anyway.

[Natalie Severn]

That post makes a lot of sense to me AP-and while we are at it what about our friend the March Hare?---because he is definitely mad as a hatter!:playball:

[R.J.Palmer]

AP, old friend.

If Richard Case had committed his crimes in a crowded area like Spitalfields, he would have been caught in 4 hours. As it was, he was caught in about 4 days. No jabbering lunatics need apply.

[A.P. Wolf]

RJP, me old mate, you really got to learn to pick up a book now and then, and flick through the pages.
Richard wandered through the heavily populated suburbs, in a bright orange day-glow jacket, clutching a knife and gun, shooting dogs, hopping over walls and fences, banging on doors, stealing cars, murdering women, and babies, and throwing his beer cans all over the place.
He wasn't caught in four hours because folk like you happen to be policemen and would rather chase a fart down an alleyway... if you don't mind me saying so.

[R.J.Palmer]

AP,

Chase murdered and mutilated the Wallin woman on January 23, 1978.

Two days later, January 25th, he killed a dog.

Two more days later, on Januay 27th, he committed the appalling murders in the Miruth/Meredith household.

The next day, January 28th, he was arrested and booked.

The police then realized that Chase did a ‘drive by’ back on Dec. 29th. He shot a fellow unloading his groceries.

In brief, Chase’s vampire’ spree lasted 4 1/2 days before his capture. If we include the drive-by it lasted just under a month.

The relevant point is that during this spree --even in suburban Sacramento--he was so bleeding deranged that he continually came under the notice of people. The police. The hosiptal staff. Hell, he left evidence all over the place, including bloody hand-prints. His neighbors even called the cops. Like Cutbush, he practically wore a flashing neon light on his head, and, as a result, he was captured immediately.

But is Spitalfields? In September, 1888? I don't buy it.

Nothing in the case evidence suggests it. Indeed, lunatics were specifically targeted, and the hospitals contacted.

This is a bit rude, I suppose, but it seems to me that Chase is popular with the Kosminski/Cutbush theorists because there are so few other raving lunatics that have committed such crimes. Invariably, they are committed by otherwise 'rational' swine: Kurten, Bundy, Kemper, Chikatilo, etc. etc. ad infinitum.

I don't see it, old fellow. Sorry.