Martha's Killer: Pearly Poll

[JTRSickert]

Hello everyone. I'm not sure if this has already been discussed or if it has occured to everyone else yet, but it seems (to me, at least) the most suspicious individual to turn up in the investigation into Martha Tabram's death is Mary Ann Connelly AKA "Pearly Poll." For example, she admitted to being the last person Martha was seen socializing with and we only have her word to account for the 2 of them allegedly meeting with a couple of soldiers/sailors , drinking and then departing for immoral purposes. The only other evidence supporting this is the testimony of a PC who says he saw a man resembling a sailor/soldier in the vicinity of George Yard, who told him he was waiting for a fellow mate of his who was with a prostitute. However, even if this did, in fact, occur, the gentleman was not seen with either Pearly Poll or Martha, so it's possible this incident was in no way connected to them. Therefore, I conclude, it is fairly possible that Pearly Poll made up the story of meeting up with 2 soldiers/sailors, possibly to try to make someone else be the last person Martha was with that night. Aside from this, we also have her suspicious behavior after the murder with the police investigation. At least once, she did not make an appearance for a line-up to identify the alleged soldiers she met that night. Also, I do believe she told the police (or the inquest, I forget which) that she had threatened to commit suicide when the police pressured her to cooperate with the investigation.

So, the more I look at it, the more it seems my preferred suspect in Martha's murder is Pearly Poll herself. Now, I know this sort of takes away the allure of Martha being the first victim of Jack the Ripper, but one cannot deny it looks suspicious. And Martha was murdered in a fenzied assault, not for robbery or any monetary gain. It was a crime of pure rage and anger, so it seems there is an element of the crime being "personal." Perhaps Martha and Mary Ann got into a heavy domestic quarrel (i.e., Martha might have stolen a client or 2 from Pearly Poll ,who may have needed the money for lodgings or gin, or both), the argument turns fierce, and Pearly Poll repeatedly stabs Martha with a knife (or knives) she brought with her or just happened to come across that night.

I'm interested in your feedback.

P.S.
One other suspicious characteristic of her is that, at the time of Martha's murder, Pearly Poll was living in Crossingham's Lodging House. However, after Martha's murder, she disappeared and was discovered staying at a cousin's house. Why would she abandon her dwellings and "hide out" with a cousin if she didn't do anything wrong?

[Nemo]

Hi JtR

I may be more likely that Polly knew the killer or killers of Tabram, and was keeping her mouth shut through fear

Her soldier story could very well be conconcted

She was definitely a reluctant witness

There has been some recent evidence that people would not talk to police for fear of reprisal from certain members of the populace

At the time of Tabram's murder, there was no serial killer scare to justify "grassing" or "snitching" on some other local

[How Brown]

JT:

How's the weather ? Neat huh ?:nod:

Lets also remember that Poll stuck her two bits into the Chapman affair as well.

In an article I put up yesterday, it was stated that through enquiries, it was determined that some of the victims ( prior to Kelly) knew each other.

It makes a little more sense now...in a way...since Poll may have known Chapman as well as Tabram.

[JTRSickert]

Howard,

Don't get me started about the snow. I had to drive down Street Rd. to get to Knights and there was like zero visibility! I'm lucky I got home alright.

Anyway, yeah, I forgot about Connelly's statement about Annie, too.

I've always wondered why, when Mary Ann was found after being in hising, why was she not detained and treated as a hostile witness? Did Inspectror Reid or Godley have an opinion about her?

I wonder if the police regarded her with any suspicion.

[How Brown]

JT:

If you have the Ultimate handy, check pages 14-16 and you'll see where Inspector Reid waited until 6 weeks after Tabram's death before rendering a report to Inspector West. He opined that her value as a witness was worthless.

[Adam Went]

I would suggest that the biggest issue with Mary Ann being the killer of Martha Tabram would be the question of whether she would have the physical strength and ability, as another woman (I'm not sure how big she was in comparison to Martha) to kill her in that way. Even if she did, surely Martha would have had the extra time to cry out or attempt some sort of defence.

There's no denying that she did behave strangely at times, but then, so did some of the other witnesses in the case and we have to remember that these witnesses were basically the same class as the victims, and that class almost unanimously HATED the police. They felt that they themselves were corrupt and spent their time frustrating people trying to gain a livelihood.

Of course it's possible, even likely, that a few of the victims knew each other - most of them were living in lodging houses within a few blocks of one another at the time of, or shortly before their murders. To what degree they knew each other is anybody's guess, but they certainly would have run into each other at some stage.

Leading on from that, it could be that some of these women, or witnesses, knew - or thought they knew - who the killer was. Catherine Eddowes was apparently heard to state once, shortly before her death, that she thought she knew who the killer was. If this was the case with Mary Ann, she definitely would have been reluctant to give statements which could incriminate the person she knew, or else she might be next.

But back to the original point, I just can't imagine a woman, and a woman who clearly had no record from her past which would throw suspicion on her from the police, committing a murder like that. Sure, it wasn't as brutal as the ones to follow, but in its time it was nastier than most, and I just don't see the need for the 39 stab wounds....when she could have just strangled her, for instance. Plus, there is a lack of motive to do it in the first place.

Cheers,
Adam.

[How Brown]

But back to the original point, I just can't imagine a woman, and a woman who clearly had no record from her past which would throw suspicion on her from the police, committing a murder like that.

You might be unaware,AW, but A.P. found something in the Old Bailey records from a few years prior to '88....and that that Mary Ann Connely may indeed by our galpal Poll. It was a beef related to shaking some client down. I'll go find it.

Don't underestimate womenfolk,AW. Just last week another case surfaced over here where a woman cut a baby out of her friend's womb. As to another woman stabbing a woman that number of times, it's always seemed to me a case of someone not being familiar with using a knife or fearing that they didn't do a good enough job with the first few blows, applied 39 in order to guarantee death. That along with the fact that that murder is also a case of overkill ( IMHO).

[How Brown]

Here 'tis Wentworth:

http://www.jtrforums.com/showthread.php?p=92934&highlight=pearly+poll#post92934

[Adam Went]

Thanks for that, How. No, I wasn't aware of that, and it's an interesting find.

Having said that, there is quite a difference between the scuffle described in that case and killing somebody, stabbing them 39 times in the process. These are largely the recollections of a man who admitted to be being 3/4 drunk, and may not be precise. Poll had been drinking too. As we know, alcohol can often bring out violence in people.

I don't doubt that women are capable of evil crimes, they certainly are - Aileen Wuornos would be a prime example of this, along with women who work in killing partnerships, like Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, or from an Australian case, David and Catherine Bernie, to name just a few.
I just can't see what the motive would have been behind Mary Ann killing Martha in that fashion, and surely the police would have fully checked into her past at the time.

Again, and this can't be stressed enough, the general public in 1888 hated the police and felt that they themselves were corrupt, and therefore were not keen to assist them in any way. Especially when the really brutal murders hadn't even started yet, and especially for a woman from Poll's class. It's not like police and public had a harmonious relationship by any stretch of the imagination, so when you consider this, it's not hard to understand why Poll would act in the way she did. Especially since she seems to have had a major previous run-in with the law....

Cheers,
Adam.

[How Brown]

Here's a lady from your neck of the woods AW.

On the surface, she looks like a bank teller or maybe the 2nd Grade teacher I had when I was 22.

This is Katherine Knight.
http://i908.photobucket.com/albums/ac287/HowieNina/Photo%20Thanksgiving/knight.jpg

She skinned her husband, hung his skin up like a suit on a hook....took his buttcheeks and made a nice,hot soup outta those chunks....and stabbed him 37 times.

[Adam Went]

What a nice lady.
Strangely enough, I don't think I've heard of her before.... :tsk:

Cheers,
Adam.

[Kacie Miner]

I would suggest that the biggest issue with Mary Ann being the killer of Martha Tabram would be the question of whether she would have the physical strength and ability, as another woman (I'm not sure how big she was in comparison to Martha) to kill her in that way. I think that depends on how you think Martha died. Having spent some time in self defense classes, I would say if it was purely stab wounds, I have no doubt Poll would have been physically capable. Especially if Martha was partially incapacitated or passed out due to alcohol. But there has also been some suggestion she was strangled first. Most women don't have the upper body/arm and hand strength to easily strangle anyone. Regardless, I don't view Pearly Poll as a suspect in Tabram's murder primarily because outside of her own testimony (which is pretty unreliable, as has already been pointed out) there's no evidence whatsoever that Pearly Poll was even with Tabram the night she died. No witnesses saw the two together. There was certainly no reason for Pearly Poll to come forward as a witness if she was also the guilty party. It seems more likely that her suspicious behavior was due either to fear/distrust of the police or the fact that her story was fabricated purely for attention.

[SirRobertAnderson]

She skinned her husband, hung his skin up like a suit on a hook....took his buttcheeks and made a nice,hot soup outta those chunks....and stabbed him 37 times.

In that order ? That'd be pretty ghastly.

[How Brown]

Dear Kacie:

I am one of those who dismiss Poll's testimony completely.
Inspector Reid kept that inquiry open for 6 weeks and not one person saw the 4 pubcrawlers together. You would think one of the local yokels might have nibbled....but they didn't.

[JTRSickert]

I had a question. Since some of you are saying Pearly Poll's testimony is too unreliable to be taken seriously, has anyone ever tried to speculate of what might have actually happened that night but looking at all the evidence besides the testimony of Poll?

[SirRobertAnderson]

Dear Kacie:

I am one of those who dismiss Poll's testimony completely.
Inspector Reid kept that inquiry open for 6 weeks and not one person saw the 4 pubcrawlers together. You would think one of the local yokels might have nibbled....but they didn't.

I've never considered that, How. Mebbe you're right. Of course, as we wind our way deeper through the Autumn of Terror, I think we would have armies of people swearing they saw them. Being first in line has its drawbacks....

But if that manly woman was lying, what do you think went down ? (Besides the love that dare not speak its name.....)

[Jon Simons]

I don`t see a problem with the lack of witnesses. It was a busy Bank Holiday and Martha, Connolly and the soldiers were only together from 22.00 to 23.45.

Sadler and Coles went on a 48 hour pub crawl and they vanished off the radar at times.

[How Brown]

Jon:

That may be ( and is ) true regarding Sadler and Coles...and as you say, they fell off the radar at times. Poll and her three drinking pals fell off the map completely it seems.
...someone had to have served them spirits... and at more than one taproom.
Curiously, Tabram was remembered being seen in the company of a corporal by several persons on Sunday, August 5th.

[Kacie Miner]

Curiously, Tabram was remembered being seen in the company of a corporal by several persons on Sunday, August 5th.
According to Evans and Skinner in the Ultimate JTR Companion (page 15), some witnesses who said they saw "deceased" with a private the Sunday before were included at the Aug 8th parade of soldiers, but failed to identify any of them. However, these witnesses also misidentified Tabram's body as a Mrs. Withers who was later found alive.
I have some other thoughts on the reliability of PP's statement, and what could have happened that night, but that will have to wait until I have a little more time!

[How Brown]

Dear Kacie:

Yes Kacie, you're correct.
The point I was trying to make, but rather weakly, was that "Tabram", or at least someone who a witness thought was Tabram, was identified and without the additional issue of murder being involved.
No one remembers a murder victim in a heavily populated area, albeit on a holiday, with three other people...over a 6 week period, including the barmaids or bartenders of the (at least) two public houses they allegedly frequented.
Its as if they were tourists in a public house far from home filled with travelers themselves.
But yes, you made a necessary correction,Kacie. Good going.

[Cris Malone]

Folks just didn't readily volunteer information to the police. Most of what they did get was from knocking on doors and a lot of it was provided reluctantly- i.e.- Lawende. Some of the people that did come forth were lying for various reasons. In fact, its likely that some of the witnesses we rely on in other aspects of the case were lying ( see Cadosch thread).

Its possible that Poll was telling a half truth, so to speak, as the fatal wound to Tabram could have been a bayonet. She may have feared reprisal if she identified the correct soldiers so she sent Reid & Co. on a wild goose chase... or maybe Poll and Martha was mixed up in a lesbian love triangle with the queen and when Martha was silenced, Poll got the message... LOL.

Look at Stride. You can't sit there and tell me that no one from that club saw Liz until she was found dead when she was outside and around the place for nearly an hour. Its the old maxim 'less said best said'.

[Kacie Miner]

But if that manly woman was lying, what do you think went down ?
Seems like there are a couple of possible scenarios. The first question is how did Tabram end up where she did? The three possibilities I can think of are 1. She took a john there 2. Her killer, who may have been her client, lured her there or 3. She went there alone, to sleep/pass out somewhere dry and where she wouldn't be bothered. It doesn't seem like a great choice of places to turn a trick, since there were people going up and down the stairs all night. But then again, the weather wasn't great, so maybe the desire for shelter made the landing more of a prime spot. Still, it seems like the C5 tended to choose dark fields and alley type spots to conduct business, so I'm leaning towards option #3. That would mean her killer either followed her there, suggesting a premeditated, personal grievance killing, or he stumbled upon her, in more of an opportunist event. But maybe I'm making too many assumptions. Thoughts, anyone?