Bob Hinton On The Lusk Letter

[Howard Brown]

In the excellent documentary 'The Real Jack The Ripper'.... author and researcher Bob Hinton mentions the possibility of the Lusk Letter being the one true letter sent by the East End assassin....
His idea is that this is the one letter which seems to have passion within it...and Bob points out that letters that other killers who have written and sent missives to the police or press, we usually find a semblance of passion.

I tend to agree with Bob....not that its the only letter sent to the police or press...my personal jury is still out on that...but I think Bob is on to something.

How about you ?

This is the link to the documentary in which Mr. Hinton spells it out....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd29TqvxpCA

[Sleuth1888]

I also agree with yourself and Bob, that this was a genuine letter, not only because of reasons already mentioned, but because the kidney that arrived with the Lusk Letter had a part missing, which matched the remains of Eddowes' kidney.

Also, it is interesting to note that if the killer had indeed sent the letter, he rejected the pseudonym that the press had given him. The letter was signed, 'Catch me when you can' as opposed to 'Yours truly Jack the Ripper.'

[Sam Flynn]

Is the Lusk Letter truly "passionate"? I see it more as a sick joke, full of macabre playfulness, but then so were plenty of other Ripper letters.

[Sam Flynn]

Hello Sleuth

the kidney that arrived with the Lusk Letter had a part missing, which matched the remains of Eddowes' kidney.

That match was never made, as no part of Eddowes' kidney remained with the body*. Perhaps you're thinking about the Goulston Street Rag and its parent apron?

* Reports that sections of the renal artery were compared are unfortunately spurious.

[Sleuth1888]

Hello Sleuth
That match was never made, as no part of Eddowes' kidney remained with the body*. Perhaps you're thinking about the Goulston Street Rag and its parent apron?

* Reports that sections of the renal artery were compared are unfortunately spurious.

I read in Sugden's book 'The Complete History of Jack the Ripper' that a stump remained in the Eddowes' body? I don't know for certain but I remember reading something along those lines.

[Sam Flynn]

I read in Sugden's book 'The Complete History of Jack the Ripper' that a stump remained in the Eddowes' body? I don't know for certain but I remember reading something along those lines.

You certainly did read it, Sleuth, so don't worry! However, the claim has never been proven, and there is no contemporary evidence that any such comparison was made. Indeed, it's hard to see it happening, given that Catherine Eddowes was buried on the 8th October, and Lusk received the letter and its grisly contents eight days later, on the 16th.

[Lynn Cates]

good sense

Hello Gareth. You always make such good sense.

You're just going to grow up to be another Stewart Evans. (heh-heh)

Cheers.
LC

[Sam Flynn]

You're just going to grow up to be another Stewart Evans.

I don't know about that, Lynn... but what an ambition to aim for! We should all aspire thus

[Adam Went]

I've heard about the connecting pieces of kidney before as well, but really I think it's just a confused version of the story that the kidney in the Lusk letter was suffering from Bright's Disease, which Catherine Eddowes was also apparently suffering from.

However, that in itself is hardly iron clad proof that the kidney, and therefore the letter, are genuine, because Bright's Disease was not exactly uncommon in the Victorian era.

Having said all of that, I tend to believe that the Lusk letter is genuine and it is certainly the most likely to have been sent by the Ripper. In light of the fact that no murders occurred in October, this might have been his way of keeping everyone on their toes.

Cheers,
Adam.

[Christer Holmgren]

I remember strolling through the East End with Martin Fido many years ago, while discussing the letter and the kidney, and I recall how adamant Martin was about the issue: "Can we PLEASE forget about the kidney!?"
He did not buy into it at all, and he made good sense explaining why, as far as I can remember.

Myself, many years on, tend to feel rationally that we should regard all of the letters with the utmost scepticism.

... but I cannot see and read the Lusk letter without having the hairs on my arms standing straight out.

As hunches go, I am not opposed to it being the real McCoy - but why wasn´t the communication followed up on by the killer, if this holds true?
That, to me, is my main objection against giving that letter the green flag.

[Lynn Cates]

shock treatment

Hello Christer. Personally, I cannot read the letter without a bit of suppressed laughter. The talk of cannibalism, ostensibly for shock value, evokes images of the 12 year old who is learning to use bad language to disconcert his elders.

Cheers.
LC

[Sam Flynn]

Hello Christer. Personally, I cannot read the letter without a bit of suppressed laughter. The talk of cannibalism, ostensibly for shock value, evokes images of the 12 year old who is learning to use bad language to disconcert his elders.

Couldn't agree more, Lynn. There's at least one other example of this type of adolescent "shock" letter that springs to mind, the one that goes: "I am still knocking about down Whitechapel. I mean to put to death all the dirty old ores because I have the pox and cannot piss... I shall send you the kidney and c**t"

...amongst other obscenities. If you're looking for "passion" in a Ripper missive, this one beats the Lusk Letter hands-down.

[Lynn Cates]

obscene

Hello Gareth. Thanks.

I think I remember that letter as one of two laced with obscenities. (The other involved the Queen--if I recall properly.)

I am reminded of a passage from "To Kill a Mockingbird" in which "Scout,"
whilst learning to swear, announces at table, "Pass me the damn ham." (heh-heh)

Cheers.
LC

[Sam Flynn]

I think I remember that letter as one of two laced with obscenities. (The other involved the Queen--if I recall properly.)

It's the same one, Lynn. The "Knocking About" letter's author goes on to claim he'd done unspeakable things with Queen Victoria's arse... and he didn't mean Prince Albert Victor

[Lynn Cates]

oops

Hello Gareth. Thanks.

Yes, that's right. I'd forgotten all the other jargon.

None of this, however, should be taken very seriously--in my humble opinion.

Cheers.
LC