What do you make of this?

[Dave James]

Hi all,

Found this today on Trove. It's from The Worker, Brisbane dated 20 May 1931.

[Paul]

That's a good find. I love these stories. There's enough accuracy there to suggest knowledge of something, but the rest is a garbled version of something - but what?

[Howard Brown]

According to the mention of this suspect dying about ten years ago...that would mean the suspect died in 1921.
I sort of doubt that "He met women of the unfortunate class by assignment..."
To me, that means he had date/dates arranged with his subsequent victims.
Sounds fishy to me.

Good find as usual D.J.

[Chris G.]

Doesn't this sound like a garbled version of the Broadmoor suspect story? The writer is certain of what he is saying, and is rather smug about it, but is off in a number of his facts, e.g., the second murder of the night of the Double Event took place in "Bernier Street." I think this probably can be dismissed along with so many other theories. The writer knows what he had read but it strikes me that the story told is mostly fantasy as an "answer" to the case.

Chris

[Dave James]

Hi Chris,

I tend to agree with your assessment of the the letter, the 'died in an asylum' story had been around since at least 1895.

I should think the writer, on reading the original article, half remembered bits and pieces of the story and cobbled them together. It seems to show that the asylum story was more popular than the drown Doctor.

If I get time today, I will try to find the original JtR article referred to.

[Paul Kearney A.K.A. NEMO]

It doesn't sound garbled to me

I'm pretty sure those "facts" relate to Forbes Winslow's lodger

He once described GWB as of slight build, albeit with light hair and blue eyes

The mention of the landlady, medical student, anatomy and being in a lunatic asylum all seem to relate to Forbes Winslow's speculations (IMO)

The last article mentioned would be an interesting find - where it says his "experiments" would have furthered surgical science

[Dave James]

Hi all,
Here's the original article from the Worker - nothing exciting I'm afraid, just a general resume.

[Paul Kearney A.K.A. NEMO]

That's Leonard Matters story which appears to have been mixed a little with LFW's