The Best Fit For The Jewish Suspect

[Howard Brown]

With the release of Tracy & Neil I'anson's book on Jacob Levy ( Mango Books)....I thought it might be worthwhile to set this up.

Which Jewish suspect is the best fit for Anderson's Jewish suspect ?

[Scott Nelson]

I still think it's Kosminski, but which "Kosminski" remains to be seen.

[Chris Phillips]

It's an interesting thought that Woolf Abrahams's brother-in-law Jacob Cohen would tick some of the boxes associated with Jewish police suspects.

He was born a Kozminski, had a butcher's shop (though in Manchester, not in London) and (assuming he was the same Jacob Cohen who gave information about Aaron in 1891) at one time he also had business interests in the City of London. He did later emigrate, but to South Africa, not Australia. For the conspiracy-minded, as Pat Marshall discovered, he was even a freemason!

But it seems he must have been resident in Manchester at the time of the murders, and there is no evidence of any mental illness.

[Scott Nelson]

Are you sure you want to go there? Shades of David Radka's A.R.? theory. The guy was far ahead of his time.

[Chris Phillips]

Are you sure you want to go there? Shades of David Radka's A.R.? theory. The guy was far ahead of his time.

No, I don't want to go there.

For me, the big stumbling block in suggesting "Kosminski" isn't Aaron, is that if the suspect had always been known by another name than Kosminski in England, then the police would have used that other name too, not Kosminski. That would be a problem for Jacob Cohen too.

[Trevor Marriott]

No, I don't want to go there.

For me, the big stumbling block in suggesting "Kosminski" isn't Aaron, is that if the suspect had always been known by another name than Kosminski in England, then the police would have used that other name too, not Kosminski. That would be a problem for Jacob Cohen too.

There is no evidence to show that the Kosminski referred to is Aaron and thats where the whole suggestion that Aaron was the Kosminski falls down a big hole

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[Chris Phillips]

There is no evidence to show that the Kosminski referred to is Aaron and thats where the whole suggestion that Aaron was the Kosminski falls down a big hole

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Obviously the clearest evidence is that the Colney Hatch admission register has been searched, and only one entry under the name Kosminski has been found.

If the objection is that Swanson wrote that the suspect died soon afterwards, then you have to face the difficulty that there is no death of an alternative asylum patient registered under the name Kosminski.

Of course if you think the Swanson marginalia were faked, that's a different matter. But that idea belongs firmly in the lunatic fringe as far as I'm concerned.

[Trevor Marriott]

Obviously the clearest evidence is that the Colney Hatch admission register has been searched, and only one entry under the name Kosminski has been found.

If the objection is that Swanson wrote that the suspect died soon afterwards, then you have to face the difficulty that there is no death of an alternative asylum patient registered under the name Kosminski.

Of course if you think the Swanson marginalia were faked, that's a different matter. But that idea belongs firmly in the lunatic fringe as far as I'm concerned.

The Swanson marginalia and it contents do not stand up to close scrutiny, and some of what is written in it is beyond belief, coupled with Magnaghten making no mention of such an ID. So I think the lunatic fringe is not suffering from bouts of lunacy as you suggest but fully compos mentis. www.trevormarriott. co .uk

[Chris Phillips]

The Swanson marginalia and it contents do not stand up to close scrutiny, and some of what is written in it is beyond belief, coupled with Magnaghten making no mention of such an ID. So I think the lunatic fringe is not suffering from bouts of lunacy as you suggest but fully compos mentis. www.trevormarriott. co .uk

Just for clarity, are you saying you don't think Swanson wrote the marginalia, or that Swanson wrote them but they aren't accurate?

My opinion is that one of those statements is self-evident and the other is loony.

[Karsten Giese]

Hi Chris! Assumed Swanson was right in his statements... ... he was sent to Stepney Workhouse and then to Colney Hatch and died shortly afterwards... .. could it be possible that there were arrangements, maybe with the family or friends of the suspect? Arrangements such as: No records? Years ago you wrote on Casebook: A police theory from 1892: Those detectives who, having studied all the circumstances, hold this opinion, incline also to the acceptance of a theory which is partly supported by fact, but is not capable of legal proof - although, in the minds of many who are or were most deeply concerned in the investigation, it disposes of the necessity for a further search for the miscreant known as Jack the Ripper; The Whitechapel murderer, in their belief, is at the present moment confined in a private lunatic asylum, to which he was removed as soon as his madness, no longer amenable to control, was apparent to his friends. The insane medical student - a police theory from 1894: The real Jack, it seems, belonged, as many suspected all along, to the medical profession, or rather was a student. His friends at last discovered the horrible truth, and had him confined in a private asylum. When he died a year ago the evidence in their possession was submitted to Scotland Yard, and convinced them they had at last found the genuine Ripper. Could it be that the evidence in their possession was submitted to Scotland Yard were one of the reasons not to keep any official records? Is it possible that the suspect died (1893/94) at the time when Macnaghten wrote the memorandum (He was (and I believe still is) detained in a lunatic asylum about March 1889 - see also Swanson -is now dead(1895)? Some time ago, by accident, I found a Joseph Israel (Cohen) who died in Colney Hatch in 1894 (his brother Henry died there in 1892): https://de.findagrave.com/memorial/1...-israel_cohen_ (They certainly had nothing to do with Kosminski). My question is: Have we really seen all of the candidates who were sent to Colney Hatch (Martin Fido´s notes)? Karsten. Please excuse the writing. The Preview Post only displays an alphabetical jumble.

[Trevor Marriott]

Just for clarity, are you saying you don't think Swanson wrote the marginalia, or that Swanson wrote them but they aren't accurate?

My opinion is that one of those statements is self-evident and the other is loony.

Either way the evidence to point to Aaron Kosminski as the person named in the marginalia and the MM is flawed.

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[Chris Phillips]

Either way the evidence to point to Aaron Kosminski as the person named in the marginalia and the MM is flawed.

www.trevormarriott.co.uk

But which is your position? That the marginalia were faked? Or just that they are inaccurate?

Obviously there's a big difference.

[Scott Nelson]

If the objection is that Swanson wrote that the suspect died soon afterwards, then you have to face the difficulty that there is no death of an alternative asylum patient registered under the name Kosminski.

Martin Fido searched the Colney Hatch Admission and Discharge registers for any foreign-born Jew who went there and died up to 4 years later (1888-1892), finding only David Cohen fit. I also went through the registers and can confirm Fido's findings.

If, for whatever reason, Kosminski had changed his last name, the new name would appear in the register. If the police knew both names, in private communications, they may have referred to the suspect by his European last name, to affirm Robert Anderson's assertion that he was a Polish Jew, "Kosminski", but knowing he was confined under his gentrified last name, "Cohen".

There were a lot more Cohen families than Kosminski families in London at that time, so if it slipped out that a guy named "Cohen" was suspected as being the Ripper, the public repercussions against those families would be considerable. If the name "Kosminski" was leaked, retaliation would be limited to a small group of people, but as it turned out, no published suspicion was attached to either name.

[Trevor Marriott]

But which is your position? That the marginalia were faked? Or just that they are inaccurate?

Obviously there's a big difference.

It doesnt matter what my position as to whether it is a fake or simply innacurate. It has proven to be flawed, so it doesnt matter who wrote it. The marginalia is unsafe to rely on. www.trevormarriott.co.uk

[Trevor Marriott]

Martin Fido searched the Colney Hatch Admission and Discharge registers for any foreign-born Jew who went there and died up to 4 years later (1888-1892), finding only David Cohen fit. I also went through the registers and can confirm Fido's findings.

If, for whatever reason, Kosminski had changed his last name, the new name would appear in the register. If the police knew both names, in private communications, they may have referred to the suspect by his European last name, to affirm Robert Anderson's assertion that he was a Polish Jew, "Kosminski", but knowing he was confined under his gentrified last name, "Cohen".

There were a lot more Cohen families than Kosminski families in London at that time, so if it slipped out that a guy named "Cohen" was suspected as being the Ripper, the public repercussions against those families would be considerable. If the name "Kosminski" was leaked, retaliation would be limited to a small group of people, but as it turned out, no published suspicion was attached to either name.

Ripperology is full of "What if`s" www.trevormarriott.co.uk