How Brown
10-05-2008, 10:23 AM
Thanks to Big Jon for helping out here with the Q&A:high5:
The questions....
1. If Michael Ostrog's whereabouts had not been discovered, the location of said individual effectively eliminated him from the suspect list mentioned by Macnaghten in 1894...where do you think he would be positioned on the modern list of suspects today? High or low? If you could, please elaborate.
2. Give us your impression of what "happened" to the Ripper in October of 1888. Where the heck did he go and what may have happened to him?
3. Is it possible, to your way of thinking...that the Ripper was effectively finished after the Double Event? Not that he killed both women on that date...but after Sept 30th.
4. Take your time...and give us a ballpark estimate of how long YOU think the killer of the woman in Millers Court took to complete the massacre.
5. Whats your honest opinion of what George Hutchinson had to say to Abberline ?
and Bigness's answers are:
1. This question assumes that there is a definitive positioning of suspects. But as I'm sure we all know, this is not the case. The list would be different for certain "factions" (for want of a better term). I'm sure for some people he would be high purely because Macnaghten mentioned him, but there would be many who, like myself, would question why a petty thief would be a possible Ripper candidate.
Macnaughten describes him as a "mad Russian doctor... unquestionably a homicidal maniac...was said to have been habitually cruel to women... His ancedents were of the very worst." While this sounds like a good description of a possible Ripper candidate, it does not fit the Ostrog we know - who by all accounts was a pathetic common thief.
In short, while for some I'm sure Michael Ostrog would no doubt be an ideal Ripper, for the majority of students of the case, the dissimilarity between Macnaughten's Ostrog, and the one known in history would be too great in order for him to rank particularly high on the suspect list.
2. After the double event, the fear and police presence in the East End would have been at an all time high. I believe he controlled his murderous desires, and kept them repressed till Mary Kelly's murder, at which time he either a) felt it was safe to murder again, or b) could no longer hold his murderous desires in check.
3. I'm not sure what you mean by "effectively finished". If you mean he did not plan to kill again, I'd say it would be extremely unlikely. It is from this idea that conspiracies and Johnny Depp films spring up.
4. My first thought upon reading this question was to go and get a raw chicken from the fridge and carry out a small experiment. After less than a second I realised my family may not appreciate me wrecking Sunday lunch by mutilating the bird, so decided against this particular way of estimating. This all depends upon whether the Ripper did these things to Kelly in a frenzied rage, or if he took his time and enjoyed himself. If he was in a frenzy, I don't think it would take that long. Say 10, maybe 20 minutes. If he took his time, double that or more. Perhaps anything up to an hour.
5. I think that Hutchinson had a major thing for Kelly. He followed her and stood there out of jealousy. As for his description, I think he may have embellished it a little (maybe not consciously) and filled in some details just so he could be more helpful. So I think what he told Abberline of him following them and standing at the entrance to Millers Court is accurate, but his description is probably less so.
The questions....
1. If Michael Ostrog's whereabouts had not been discovered, the location of said individual effectively eliminated him from the suspect list mentioned by Macnaghten in 1894...where do you think he would be positioned on the modern list of suspects today? High or low? If you could, please elaborate.
2. Give us your impression of what "happened" to the Ripper in October of 1888. Where the heck did he go and what may have happened to him?
3. Is it possible, to your way of thinking...that the Ripper was effectively finished after the Double Event? Not that he killed both women on that date...but after Sept 30th.
4. Take your time...and give us a ballpark estimate of how long YOU think the killer of the woman in Millers Court took to complete the massacre.
5. Whats your honest opinion of what George Hutchinson had to say to Abberline ?
and Bigness's answers are:
1. This question assumes that there is a definitive positioning of suspects. But as I'm sure we all know, this is not the case. The list would be different for certain "factions" (for want of a better term). I'm sure for some people he would be high purely because Macnaghten mentioned him, but there would be many who, like myself, would question why a petty thief would be a possible Ripper candidate.
Macnaughten describes him as a "mad Russian doctor... unquestionably a homicidal maniac...was said to have been habitually cruel to women... His ancedents were of the very worst." While this sounds like a good description of a possible Ripper candidate, it does not fit the Ostrog we know - who by all accounts was a pathetic common thief.
In short, while for some I'm sure Michael Ostrog would no doubt be an ideal Ripper, for the majority of students of the case, the dissimilarity between Macnaughten's Ostrog, and the one known in history would be too great in order for him to rank particularly high on the suspect list.
2. After the double event, the fear and police presence in the East End would have been at an all time high. I believe he controlled his murderous desires, and kept them repressed till Mary Kelly's murder, at which time he either a) felt it was safe to murder again, or b) could no longer hold his murderous desires in check.
3. I'm not sure what you mean by "effectively finished". If you mean he did not plan to kill again, I'd say it would be extremely unlikely. It is from this idea that conspiracies and Johnny Depp films spring up.
4. My first thought upon reading this question was to go and get a raw chicken from the fridge and carry out a small experiment. After less than a second I realised my family may not appreciate me wrecking Sunday lunch by mutilating the bird, so decided against this particular way of estimating. This all depends upon whether the Ripper did these things to Kelly in a frenzied rage, or if he took his time and enjoyed himself. If he was in a frenzy, I don't think it would take that long. Say 10, maybe 20 minutes. If he took his time, double that or more. Perhaps anything up to an hour.
5. I think that Hutchinson had a major thing for Kelly. He followed her and stood there out of jealousy. As for his description, I think he may have embellished it a little (maybe not consciously) and filled in some details just so he could be more helpful. So I think what he told Abberline of him following them and standing at the entrance to Millers Court is accurate, but his description is probably less so.