Sims On Jack The Ripper In 1889

[Howard Brown]

Did Sims believe, as some state, Druitt was Jack The Ripper ?
A good question might be when that position occurred....as this paragraph found in his Mustard & Cress column from July 23, 1889 seems to indicate he believed The Ripper had killed Mackenzie.

Any thoughts ?

North Eastern Daily Gazette
July 23, 1889
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[Anna Morris]

I think the information about Druitt as Jack evolved from a private cache of information. Jonathan Hainsworth's research leads me to believe there were reasons to suspect Druitt and that some had information from inside the family or associates of Druitt. (This makes a lot of sense but doesn't convince me Druitt actually was Jack.)

Even today additional murders similar to other murders cause investigators, reporters, etc. to think all murders of a sort can be blamed on a certain suspect, so I don't think it means anything that Sims considered an additional murder with similarities to be the work of Jack. It's like none of us can agree even today, after looking at so much information, exactly how many women Jack actually killed.

Then or now, I think there wasn't enough information available to say clearly who or what JtR was, and the best anyone could do then or now is make educated guesses.

[Chris G.]

Hi Howard and Anna

It's probable that Sims and Macnaghten knew nothing of Druitt in 1889. Along with everyone else they probably thought that Mackenzie was another victim of Jack's.

All the best

Chris

[Wolf Vanderlinden]

The first time Sims wrote about how the "real" Jack the Ripper had committed suicide by drowning himself in the Thames, just after the Kelly murder, was in his column in The Referee, 22 January, 1899. The likely source for this information (if one disregards fantasy conspiracy theories) is Major Arthur Griffiths' book Mysteries of Police and Crime which was first published around the 6th of December, 1898. Sims, therefore, began writing about the Ripper's suicide only some six weeks after Griffiths first published this information.

Wolf.

[Howard Brown]

Thank you for that material, Wolf !

"Even today additional murders similar to other murders cause investigators, reporters, etc. to think all murders of a sort can be blamed on a certain suspect, so I don't think it means anything that Sims considered an additional murder with similarities to be the work of Jack."
-Anna Morris-

Just to clarify, Anna....what I was seeking was the point in time that Sims began to push the Druitt envelope. I can see that Sims included Clay Pipe Alice in with the other murders of 1888 ( so did Dr. Bond and Commissioner Monro )...but just so I didn't confuse you or anyone, its the point in time Sims switched to the Druitt-theory I was looking for.
XXXX

[Howard Brown]

North Eastern Daily Gazette
September 17, 1889
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[Howard Brown]

Sims was a good writer. A damned good one.

"The illustrious Jack will in all probability take his secret with him to eternal bye-bye..."