The Same Tumblety

[admin tim]

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F0DE4DD1330E633A2575AC1A9679D94699FD7CF

[admin tim]

With the advent of the Internet, Tumblety's identification as a hitherto unknown suspect in the Whitechapel Murders was inevitable - if not by the Littlechild Letter then by search engine. If you use the search function on the archives of the NY Times, looking for 'Jack the Ripper', you get a number of hits that return Tumblety, as I have posted recently. I have looked for other names in there that might also be hitherto unknown suspects, but have come up dry thus far.

Bottom line - IMHO there is no reason to doubt the authenticity of the Littlechild Letter, but there is also no particular reason to venerate it either. Had it remained hidden for another 10 years, Tumblety would undoubtedly have been uncovered by other means, probably by those as I have described.

[Chris G.]

Hi Tim

I have always had the thought that Tumblety had a hand in promoting himself as a Ripper suspect in the same way that he took advantage of his arrest at the time of the Lincoln assassination for some self-promotion. As has been noted, he was hardly going to admit to being arrested on morals charges, but to bandy about that he was a Whitechapel murders suspect could have been useful to him to publicize himself and also lampoon Scotland Yard. Moreover, the press ate it up because now they could claim that there was an American who was a suspect in the case.

Chris

[A.P. Wolf]

Yes, I agree with you, Chris, as I see a lot of self-promotion in Tumblety's role as the Whitechapel Murderer.
Only last night I posted some information on Casebook which certainly shows that Tumblety had implicated himself on other very serious criminal affairs, and I see no reason not to suspect he did so in this case as well.

[Shelley]

Hi Tim

I have always had the thought that Tumblety had a hand in promoting himself as a Ripper suspect in the same way that he took advantage of his arrest at the time of the Lincoln assassination for some self-promotion. As has been noted, he was hardly going to admit to being arrested on morals charges, but to bandy about that he was a Whitechapel murders suspect could have been useful to him to publicize himself and also lampoon Scotland Yard. Moreover, the press ate it up because now they could claim that there was an American who was a suspect in the case.

Chris

Hi Chris,
I think it's a very good point, as the newspapers were making a killing on the sensation of the Ripper murders, so why not steal a bit too? Tumbelty would have prefered playing the game to gain sympathisers with him being ' American' just on that candicy alone being accused of being the ripper rather than on indecency with 4 males, he needed to save his own social acceptance neck, as well as with some crowds in the USA and the local brand of hanging from a tree, the sensationalism was convienient , with all the controversy of Irish-American supporters and the Fenians (it goes a long way in history...Irish-Americans and the IRA), plus having his sympathisers along with media coverage, possibility of making money in his usual quack ways, just a storie changed here and there. Possiblities of imagination/defence would likely get him to whip that pot of gold from under the leprechauns nose for sure. :kiss:

[Joe Chetcuti]

(Tumblety) talked a great deal about the butcheries, dropped mysterious hints and was arrested... - Bucks County Gazette.

That Dec 13, 1888 Pennsylvania news report supported Conover's comments that were printed in the NY World just eleven days earlier.

It is perfectly clear that Tumblety purposely brought about his own (1865) arrest by sending anonymous letters to the federal authorities to the effect that Blackburn and himself were identical. - Conover.

If I were asked if Tumblety sent out anonymous letters in 1888 that told of the butchering of Whitechapel prostitutes, I'd say yes, I think he did. He probably would have hinted in these letters that suspicion should be drawn to him. If the dossier on Tumblety ever gets revealed, I'd think we'd probably see these types of "anonymous" letters contained within those files.

If I had to pick out the man who received these letters, I'd place my money down on Colonel Hughes-Hallett. And I say that he would have received the letters before the Tabram murder was committed.