Annie Chapman

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For other people with similar names, see Anne Chapman (disambiguation).

Annie Chapman
Chapman on her wedding day in 1869
Born
Eliza Anne Smith

25 September 1840
Paddington, London, England
Died8 September 1888(1888-09-08) (aged 47)
Spitalfields, London, England
Cause of deathBlood loss due to severance of the carotid vessels[1]
Body discovered29 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields, London
51°31′13.35″N 0°4′21.20″W / 51.5203750°N 0.0725556°W / 51.5203750; -0.0725556 (Site where Annie Chapman body was found in Whitechapel)
Resting placeManor Park Cemetery and Crematorium, Forest Gate, London, England
51°33′08″N 0°02′35″E / 51.552354°N 0.043065°E / 51.552354; 0.043065 (memorial plaque)
Occupation(s)Flower seller, crocheter, beggar, casual prostitute
Known forVictim of serial murder
Spouse
John Chapman
​
​
(m. 1869; sep. 1884)​
Children3
Parent(s)George Smith
Ruth Chapman

Annie Chapman (born Eliza Ann Smith; 25 September 1840 – 8 September 1888) was the second canonical victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper, who killed and mutilated a minimum of five women in the Whitechapel and Spitalfields districts of London from late August to early November 1888.

Although previous murders linked to Jack the Ripper (then known as the "Whitechapel murderer") had received considerable press and public attention, the murder of Annie Chapman generated a state of panic in the East End of London,[2] with police under increasing pressure to apprehend the culprit.[3]

Early life[edit]

Annie Chapman was born Eliza Ann Smith in Paddington on 25 September 1840. She was the first of five children born to George Smith, and Ruth Chapman. George Smith was a soldier, having enlisted in the 2nd Regiment of Life Guards in December 1834. Reportedly, the location of Chapman's earliest years revolved around her father's military service in London and Windsor.[4]

Chapman's parents were not married at the time of her birth, although they married on 22 February 1842, in Paddington. Following the birth of their second child in 1844, the family relocated to Knightsbridge, where George Smith became a valet.[5] The family eventually relocated to Berkshire in 1856.[6]

According to her brother, Fountain, Annie had "first took a drink when she was quite young", quickly developing a weakness for alcohol, and although both he and two of his other sisters had persuaded her to sign a pledge to refrain from consuming alcohol, she "was tempted and fell" despite the "over and over" efforts of her siblings to dissuade her.[7]

Family relocation[edit]

Census records from 1861 indicate all members of the Smith family—except Annie—had relocated to the parish of Clewer. Chapman is believed to have remained in London, possibly due to her employment commitments as a domestic servant. Her father, George Smith (also known as William Smith[8]), was the valet to Captain Thomas Naylor Leland of the Denbighshire Yeomanry Cavalry. On 13 June 1863, Smith accompanied his employer to a horse racing event. He lodged with his employer that evening at the Elephant and Castle, Wrexham. That night, George Smith committed suicide by cutting his throat.[9]

Contemporary accounts describe Annie Chapman as an intelligent and sociable woman with a weakness for alcohol—particularly rum.[4] An acquaintance described Chapman at the inquest into her murder as being "very civil and industrious when sober", before noting: "I have often seen her the worse for drink."[10] She was 5 feet in height and had blue eyes and wavy, dark brown hair, leading acquaintances to give her the nickname "Dark Annie".[11]

Marriage[edit]

Wedding portrait of Annie and John Chapman, 1 May 1869

On 1 May 1869, Annie married John James Chapman, who was related to her mother.[12] The ceremony was conducted at All Saints Church in the Knightsbridge district of London, and was witnessed by one of her sisters, Emily Laticia, and a colleague of her husband named George White.[13] The Chapmans' residence on their marriage certificate is listed as 29 Montpelier Place, Brompton, although the couple are believed to have briefly resided with White and his wife in Bayswater.[12]

In the years following their marriage, the Chapmans lived at various West London addresses. In the early 1870s, John Chapman obtained employment in the service of a nobleman in Bond Street.[14]

Children[edit]

The couple had three children: Emily Ruth (b. 25 June 1870); Annie Georgina (b. 5 June 1873); and John Alfred (b. 21 November 1880). Emily Ruth was born at Chapman's mother's home in Montpelier Place, Knightsbridge; Annie Georgina was born at South Bruton Mews, Mayfair; and John Alfred was born in the Berkshire village of Bray.[14] John was born crippled.[15] The Chapmans sought medical help for their son John at a London hospital before later placing him in the care of an institution for the physically disabled close to Windsor.[16][13][n 1]

Although Chapman had struggled with alcoholism as an adult, she had reportedly weaned herself off drink by 1880. Her son's disability is believed to have contributed to her gradual reversion to alcohol dependency.[18]

Emily Ruth Chapman. Her death on 21 November 1882 at age 12 increased her parents' alcohol dependency[19]

In 1881, the Chapman family relocated from West London to Windsor, where John Chapman took a job as a coachman to a farm bailiff named Josiah Weeks, and the Chapman family living in the attic rooms of St. Leonard Hill Farm Cottage.[20] The following year, Emily Ruth Chapman died of meningitis on her brother's second birthday at the age of 12.[19]

Following the death of their daughter, both Chapman and her husband took to heavy drinking.[18] Over the following years, she is known to have been arrested on several occasions for public intoxication in both Clewer and Windsor,[4] though no records exist of her ever being brought before a magistrates court for these arrests.[17]

Separation[edit]

Chapman and her husband separated by mutual consent in 1884.[13] John Chapman retained custody of their surviving daughter,[17] while Annie relocated to London. Her husband was obliged to pay her a weekly allowance of 10s via Post Office Order.[21] The precise reason for the couple's separation is unknown, although a later police report lists the reason for their separation as Annie Chapman's "drunken and immoral ways".[22]

Two years later, in 1886, John Chapman resigned from his job due to his declining health and relocated to New Windsor.[14] He died of liver cirrhosis[23] and edema, on 25 December, leading to the cessation of these weekly payments.[24] Chapman learned of her husband's death via her brother-in-law.[15] Her surviving daughter, Annie Georgina (then aged 13) is believed to have either subsequently been placed in a French institution or to have joined a performing troupe which travelled with a circus in France. Census records from 1891 reveal both of Chapman's surviving children lived with their grandmother in Knightsbridge.[17]

Life in Whitechapel[edit]

Following her separation from her husband, Annie Chapman relocated to Whitechapel, primarily living upon the weekly allowance of 10 shillings from her husband. Over the following years, she resided in common lodging-houses in both Whitechapel and Spitalfields.[25] By 1886, she is known to have resided with a man who made wire sieves for a living, consequently becoming known to some acquaintances as "Annie Sievey" or "Siffey".[26] At the end of 1886, her weekly allowance abruptly stopped. Upon enquiring why these weekly payments had suddenly ceased, Chapman discovered her husband had died of alcohol-related causes.[27]

Shortly after John Chapman's death, this sieve-maker left Chapman—possibly due to the cessation of her allowance—and relocated to Notting Hill. One of Chapman's friends said she became depressed after this separation and seemed to lose her will to live.[28]

1888[edit]

By May or June 1888, Chapman resided in Crossingham's Lodging House at 35 Dorset Street,[25] paying 8d a night for a double bed.[n 2] According to the lodging-house deputy, Timothy Donovan, a 47-year-old bricklayer's labourer named Edward "the Pensioner" Stanley would typically stay with Chapman at the lodging-house between Saturday and Monday, occasionally paying for her bed.[30][n 3] She earned some income from crochet work, making antimacassars and selling flowers, supplemented by casual prostitution.[31]

Eight days prior to Chapman's death, she had fought with a fellow Crossingham's Lodging House resident named Eliza Cooper. The two were reportedly rivals for the affections of a local hawker named Harry, although Cooper later claimed the reason the two had fought had been because Chapman had borrowed a bar of soap from her, and after being asked to return it,[32] Chapman had simply thrown a halfpenny upon a kitchen table, stating: "Go get a halfpenny's worth of soap."[33] Later, in a fight between the two at the Britannia Public House, Cooper struck Chapman in the face and chest, resulting in her sustaining a black eye and bruised breast.[34][n 4]

On 7 September, Amelia Palmer encountered Annie Chapman in Dorset Street. Palmer later informed police Chapman had appeared visibly pale on this occasion, having been discharged from the casual ward of the Whitechapel Infirmary that day.[29] Chapman complained to Palmer of having felt "too ill to do anything".[36]

After Chapman's death, the coroner who conducted her autopsy noted her lungs and brain membranes were in an advanced state of disease which would have killed her within months.[24][n 5]

29 Hanbury Street (centre). The door through which Chapman and her murderer walked to the yard where her body was discovered is seen beneath the numerals of the property sign

8 September[edit]

According to both the lodging-house deputy, Timothy Donovan, and the watchman, John Evans, shortly after midnight on 8 September, Chapman had been lacking the required money for her nightly lodging. She drank a pint of beer in the kitchen with fellow lodger Frederick Stevens at approximately 12:10 a.m. before informing another lodger that she had earlier visited her sister in Vauxhall, and that her family had given her 5d.[37] Stevens then observed Chapman take a box of pills from her pocket. This box then broke, whereupon Chapman wrapped the pills in a section of envelope she had taken from a mantlepiece before leaving the property.[38] At approximately 1:35 a.m., Chapman returned to the lodging-house with a baked potato[39] which she ate before again leaving the premises with a likely intention of earning the money to pay for a bed via prostituting herself,[40] stating: "I won't be long, Brummie. See that Tim keeps the bed for me."[41] Evans last saw Chapman walking in the direction of Spitalfields Market.[42]

A Mrs Elizabeth Long[43] testified at the subsequent inquest into Chapman's murder that she had observed Chapman talking with a man at 5:30 a.m. The two had stood just beyond the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields.[n 6] Long described this man as being over 40 years old, slightly taller than Chapman, with dark hair, and of a foreign, "shabby-genteel" appearance.[45] He was wearing a brown low-crowned felt hat and possibly a dark coat.[45] According to Long, the man had asked Chapman the question, "Will you?" to which Chapman replied, "Yes."[46]

Long was certain as to Chapman's identity and the time of this sighting, as she had heard the chiming of a nearby clock strike the half-hour just before she had entered Hanbury Street.[47] If she had indeed seen Chapman, she was likely the last person to see her alive, and in the company of her murderer.[48]

Murder[edit]

Shortly before 5:00 a.m. on 8 September, the son of a resident of 29 Hanbury Street, John Richardson, entered the back yard of the property to check the padlocked cellar in the yard was still intact and to trim a loose piece of leather from his boot.[49] Richardson verified the cellar was still padlocked, then sat on the rear steps of the property to trim the loose leather from his boot, noting nothing untoward.[50] He then exited the property via the front door approximately three minutes later, having not proceeded beyond the steps to the back yard.[51]

At approximately 5:15 a.m., a tenant of 27 Hanbury Street named Albert Cadosch entered the yard of the property to use the lavatory. Cadosch later informed police he had heard a woman say, "No, no!" before hearing the sound of something or someone falling against the fence dividing the back yards of numbers 27 and 29 Hanbury Street.[52] He did not investigate these sounds.[53]

The entrance to the yard of 29 Hanbury Street. Chapman's body was found lying parallel to the fence with her head almost touching the rear steps of this property on 8 September 1888
Mortuary photograph of Annie Chapman

Annie Chapman's mutilated body was discovered shortly before 6:00 a.m. by an elderly resident of 29 Hanbury Street named John Davis.[54] Davis noticed that the front door was now open, while the back door was shut. Her body was lying on the ground near the doorway to the back yard, with her head six inches (15 cm) from the steps to the property.[55] Davis alerted three men named James Green, James Kent, and Henry Holland to his discovery, before all three ran down Commercial Street to find a policeman as Davis reported his discovery at the nearest police station.[56]

At the corner of Hanbury Street, Green, Kent, and Holland found Divisional Inspector Joseph Luniss Chandler and told him, "Another woman has been murdered!" Chandler followed the men to Chapman's body before requesting the assistance of police surgeon Dr George Bagster Phillips and more officers. Several policemen arrived within minutes. They were instructed to clear the passageway to the yard to ensure Dr Phillips had access. Phillips arrived at Hanbury Street at approximately 6:30 a.m.[57]

Dr Phillips was quickly able to establish a definite link between Chapman's murder and the murder of Mary Ann Nichols, which had occurred on 31 August.[58][n 7] Nichols had also suffered two deep slash wounds to the throat, inflicted from the left to the right of her neck, before her murderer had mutilated her abdomen, and a blade of similar size and design had been used in both murders. Phillips also observed six areas of blood spattering upon the wall of the house between the steps and wooden palings dividing 27 and 29 Hanbury Street.[60] Some of these spatterings were 18 inches (45 cm) above the ground.[61]

Two pills, which Chapman had been prescribed for a lung condition, a section of a torn envelope, a small piece of frayed coarse muslin, and a comb were recovered close to her body.[19] A leather apron, partially submerged in a dish of water located close to a tap, was also discovered close to her body.[55]

Contemporary press reports also claim that two farthings were also found in the yard of Hanbury Street close to Chapman's body, although no reference is made to these coins in any surviving contemporary police records.[62][n 8] The local inspector of the Metropolitan Police Service, Edmund Reid of H Division Whitechapel, was reported as mentioning these coins at an inquest in 1889, and the acting Commissioner of the City Police, Major Henry Smith, also referenced these coins in his memoirs.[50] Smith's memoirs, written more than twenty years after the Whitechapel murders, are generally considered to be both unreliable and embellished for dramatic effect.[64][n 9]

The passageway between the entrance and back yard of 29 Hanbury Street.

Inquest[edit]

The official inquest into Chapman's death was opened at the Working Lad's Institute, Whitechapel, on 10 September.[65] This inquest was presided over by the Middlesex coroner, Wynne Edwin Baxter.[66] The first day of the inquest heard testimony from four witnesses, including John Davies, who testified to his discovery of Chapman's body. Davies testified he had lived at Hanbury Street for two weeks and had never seen the door to the yard of the property locked. He added that any individual who knew where the latch to the front door of the property was could open it to facilitate access to the backyard. Also to testify were Timothy Donovan and John Evans, both of whom testified they had positively identified the body of the deceased as Annie Chapman. Donovan also testified he had last seen Chapman alive at approximately 1:50 a.m. on 8 September, and the last words she had spoken to him were: "I have not sufficient money for my bed. Don't let it. I shan't be long before I am in."[67]

Character testimony[edit]

Fellow Crossingham's Lodging House resident Amelia Palmer also testified on the first day of the inquest that she had known Chapman for several years, and had been in the habit of writing letters for her. Palmer testified that although Chapman had a fondness for alcohol, she considered her a respectable woman who never used profane language.[68] She also testified Chapman had "not as a regular means of livelihood" been in the habit of selling sexual favours for money, adding she most often earned her income by performing crochet work or purchasing matches and flowers to sell for a small profit and had only begun resorting to prostitution following the death of her husband in December 1886. Every Friday, Chapman would travel to Stratford to "sell anything she had".[27] The lodging-house deputy, Timothy Donovan, testified Chapman had always been on good terms with other lodgers, with the quarrel and resulting fisticuffs between herself and Eliza Cooper on 31 August being the only incident of trouble at the premises involving her. Donovan also testified that although Chapman would typically drink to excess on Saturday nights, she was most often sober for the remainder of the week.[27]

Medical testimony[edit]

The third day of the inquest saw testimony from police called to the crime scene and the subsequent post-mortem. This medical testimony indicated that Chapman may have been murdered as late as 5:30 a.m. in the yard of Hanbury Street. Previous testimony from several tenants of 29 Hanbury Street had revealed none had seen or heard anything suspicious at the time of Chapman's murder,[69] with John Richardson testifying on the second day of the inquest that the passageway through the house to the back-yard was not locked, as it was frequented by residents at all hours of the day, and that the front door had been wide open at the time Chapman's body was discovered.[70] Richardson also testified he had often seen strangers, both men and women, loitering in the passageway of the house.[71][n 10]

On 13 September, Dr George Bagster Phillips described the body as he observed it at 6:30 a.m. in the back yard of the house at 29 Hanbury Street:[72]

The left arm was placed across the left breast. The legs were drawn up, the feet resting on the ground, and the knees turned outwards. The face was swollen and turned on the right side. The tongue protruded between the front teeth, but not beyond the lips. The tongue was evidently much swollen. The front teeth were perfect as far as the first molar, top and bottom and very fine teeth they were. The body was terribly mutilated ... the stiffness of the limbs was not marked but was evidently commencing. He noticed that the throat was dissevered deeply; that the incision through the skin were jagged and reached right round the neck ... On the wooden paling between the yard in question and the next, smears of blood, corresponding to where the head of the deceased lay, were to be seen. These were about 14 inches from the ground, and immediately above the part where the blood from the neck lay. ...

The instrument used at the throat and abdomen was the same. It must have been a very sharp knife with a thin narrow blade and must have been at least 6 to 8 inches in length, probably longer. He should say that the injuries could not have been inflicted by a bayonet or a sword bayonet. They could have been done by such an instrument as a medical man used for post-mortem purposes, but the ordinary surgical cases might not contain such an instrument. Those used by the slaughtermen, well ground down, might have caused them. He thought the knives used by those in the leather trade would not be long enough in the blade. There were indications of anatomical knowledge ... he should say that the deceased had been dead at least two hours, and probably more when he first saw her but it was right to mention that it was a fairly cool morning and that the body would be more apt to cool rapidly from its having lost a great quantity of blood. There was no evidence ... of a struggle having taken place. He was positive the deceased entered the yard alive ...

A handkerchief was round the throat of the deceased when he saw it early in the morning. He should say it was not tied on after the throat was cut.[73]

Illustrated Police News sketch of Dr George Bagster Phillips examining the body of Annie Chapman at 29 Hanbury Street

Chapman's throat had been cut from left to right so deeply the bones of her vertebral column bore striations,[74] and she had been disembowelled, with a section of the flesh from her stomach being placed upon her left shoulder and another section of skin and flesh—plus her small intestines—being removed and placed above her right shoulder.[75] The morgue examination revealed that part of her uterus and bladder was missing. Chapman's protruding tongue and swollen face led Dr Phillips to believe that she may have been asphyxiated with the handkerchief around her neck before her throat was cut,[76] and that her murderer had held her chin as he performed this act.[77] As there was no blood trail leading to the yard, he was certain that she was killed where she was found.

Phillips concluded that Chapman suffered from a long-standing lung disease, that she was sober at the time of her death, and that she had not consumed alcoholic beverages for at least some hours before death.[78] He was of the opinion that the murderer must have possessed anatomical knowledge to have sliced out her reproductive organs in a single movement with a blade about 6–8 inches (15–20 cm) long.[79] However, the idea that the murderer possessed surgical skill was dismissed by other experts.[80] As her body was not examined extensively at the scene, it has also been suggested that the organ was removed by mortuary staff, who took advantage of bodies that had already been opened to extract organs that they could then sell as surgical specimens.[81] In his summing up, Coroner Baxter raised the possibility that Chapman was murdered deliberately to obtain the uterus, on the basis that an American had made enquiries at a London medical school for the purchase of such organs.[82] The Lancet rejected Baxter's suggestion, scathingly pointing out "certain improbabilities and absurdities", and saying it was "a grave error of judgement".[83] The British Medical Journal was similarly dismissive, and reported that the physician who requested the samples was a highly reputable doctor, unnamed, who had left the country 18 months before the murder.[84] Baxter dropped the theory and never referred to it again.[85] The Chicago Tribune claimed the American doctor was from Philadelphia,[86] and author Philip Sugden later speculated that the man in question was the notorious Francis Tumblety.[87]

Discussing Chapman's time of death, Dr Phillips estimated that she had died either at or before 4:30 a.m., contradicting the inquest eyewitnesses Richardson, Long and Cadosch, all of whom indicated Chapman's murder had occurred after this time. However, Victorian methods of estimating the time of death of an individual, such as measuring body temperature, were crude by modern methodology. Phillips himself highlighted at the inquest that Chapman's body temperature could have cooled more quickly than normally expected.[88]

Conclusion[edit]

The inquest into Chapman's murder lasted five days, with the final day of hearings being adjourned until 26 September. No further witnesses testified on this date, although coroner Baxter informed the jury: "I have no doubt that if the perpetrator of this foul murder is eventually discovered, our efforts will not have been useless."

Following a short deliberation, the jury, having been instructed to consider precisely how, when, and by what means Chapman came about her death, returned a verdict of wilful murder against a person or persons unknown.[47]

Investigation[edit]

On 15 September, Chief Inspector Donald Swanson of Scotland Yard was placed in overall command of the investigation into Chapman's murder.[89] Swanson later reported that an "immediate and searching enquiry was made at all common lodging-houses to ascertain if anyone had entered [their premises] on the morning with blood on his hands or clothes, or under any suspicious circumstances".[90]

Leather Apron[edit]

Ghastly murder in the East End. Dreadful mutilation of a woman. Capture: Leather Apron
September 1888 newspaper broadsheet referring to the Whitechapel murderer as "Leather Apron"

A leather apron belonging to John Richardson lay under a tap in the yard of 29 Hanbury Street. This apron had been placed there by his mother, who had washed it on 6 September.[91] Richardson was investigated thoroughly by the police, but was eliminated from the enquiry.[92] Nonetheless, press reports of the discovery of this apron fuelled local rumours which had first been published in The Star on 4 September following the murder of Mary Ann Nichols[93] that a Jew from the district known as "Leather Apron" was responsible for the Whitechapel murders.[94]

Journalists, frustrated by the general unwillingness of the Criminal Investigation Department to reveal many details of their investigation to the public, and eager to capitalise on the increasing public unrest regarding the Whitechapel murders,[95] frequently resorted to writing reports of questionable veracity.[96] Imaginative descriptions of "Leather Apron", using crude Jewish stereotypes, appeared in the press.[97] The Manchester Guardian reported that: "Whatever information may be in the possession of the police they deem it necessary to keep secret ... It is believed their attention is particularly directed to ... a notorious character known as 'Leather Apron'."[98] Rival journalists dismissed these accounts as "a mythical outgrowth of the reporter's fancy".[99][100]

John Pizer, a 38-year-old Polish Jew who made footwear from leather, was known by the name "Leather Apron".[101] Via knifepoint, Pizer frequently intimidated local prostitutes.[102] He appeared before the Thames Magistrates' Court on 4 August 1888, charged with indecent assault. Pizer is also believed to have stabbed a man in the hand in 1887.[103]

Despite there being no direct evidence against Pizer, he was arrested by a Sergeant William Thicke on 10 September.[104][105][106] Although Pizer claimed to the contrary, Thicke knew of Pizer's local reputation, and his "Leather Apron" nick-name.[107]

Pizer was released from custody on 11 September[108] after police were able to verify his alibis on the nights of the murders of both Chapman and Nichols.[109] He was called as a witness on the second day of the inquest into Chapman's murder to publicly clear his name, and demolish the public suspicions that he was the killer.[110] Pizer also successfully obtained monetary compensation from at least one newspaper that had published several articles naming him as the prime suspect in the Whitechapel murders.[111]

Pawnbrokers[edit]

Two brass rings—one flat; one oval—Chapman is known to have worn were not recovered at the crime scene, either because she had pawned them or because they had been stolen, possibly by her murderer.[112] Theorising her murderer had removed these items of jewellery in order to pawn them, police unsuccessfully searched all the pawnbrokers in Spitalfields and Whitechapel.[62]

Edward Stanley[edit]

The section of a torn envelope recovered close to Chapman's body, bearing the crest of the Royal Sussex Regiment and postmarked 'London, 28 August 1888',[113] was briefly believed could be traced to Edward Stanley, thus placing him at the scene of Chapman's murder.[114] Stanley was soon eliminated as a suspect as his alibis for the nights of the murders of both Nichols and Chapman were quickly confirmed.[115] Between 6 August and 1 September, he was known to have been on active duty with the Hampshire Militia in Gosport,[116] and on the night of Chapman's murder, eyewitnesses confirmed Stanley had been at his lodgings.[117]

Further enquiries and arrests[edit]

In addition to John Pizer and Edward Stanley, police investigated and/or detained several other individuals in their investigation into Chapman's murder, all of whom were released from custody. On 9 September, a 53-year-old ship's cook named William Henry Piggott was detained after arriving at a Gravesend pub with a recent hand injury and shouting misogynistic remarks. A blood-stained shirt he had left in a local fish shop was quickly traced to Piggott, who claimed that he had been bitten by a woman and that the blood on the shirt was his own.[118] He was investigated, but soon released from custody.[119]

A Swiss butcher, Jacob Isenschmid, matched an eyewitness description of a blood-stained man seen acting suspiciously on the morning of Chapman's murder by a public house landlady, a Mrs Fiddymont. Isenschmid's distinctive appearance included a large ginger moustache, and he was known to have had a history of mental illness. He was arrested on suspicion of committing Chapman's murder on 13 September.[120]

On 18 September, a 40-year-old German hairdresser named Charles Ludwig was arrested after he attempted to stab a young man named Alexander Finlay at a coffee stall while intoxicated. Ludwig was arrested very shortly after this incident in the company of a visibly distressed prostitute, who later informed a policeman: "Dear me! He frightened me very much when he pulled a big knife out." Ludwig was also known to have been wanted by the City of London Police for attempting to slash a woman's throat with a razor.[121]

Isenschmid and Ludwig were both ultimately cleared of suspicion after two further murders were committed on the same date while both were in police custody. Isenschmid was later detained in a mental asylum.[122] Other suspects named in contemporary police records and newspapers pertaining to the investigation into Chapman's murder include a local trader named Friedrich Schumacher, pedlar Edward McKenna, apothecary and mental patient Oswald Puckridge, and insane medical student John Sanders. No evidence exists against any of these individuals.[123]

The "Dear Boss" letter addressed to the Central News Agency and received on 27 September.

Media moniker[edit]

Main article: Dear Boss letter

On 27 September, the Central News Agency received the "Dear Boss" letter, written by an individual claiming to be the murderer. The author of this letter paid reference to the press naming him as "Leather Apron", stating: "That joke about Leather Apron gave me fits". The author concluded this letter with the words "Yours truly, Jack the Ripper".[124] This name quickly supplanted "Leather Apron" as the media's favourite moniker for the murderer.[125]

Funeral[edit]

Chapman's body was moved from Hanbury Street to a mortuary in Montagu Street, Marylebone by Sergeant Edward Badham in a handcart large enough to hold one coffin. This was similar to the cart previously used to move the body of Mary Ann Nichols.[126]

Chapman was buried shortly after 9:00 a.m. on 14 September 1888 in a service paid for by her family. She was laid to rest in a communal grave within Manor Park Cemetery, Forest Gate, east London. At the request of Chapman's family, the funeral was not publicised, with no mourning coaches used throughout the service, and only the undertaker, police, and her relatives knowing of these arrangements. Consequently, relatives were the only people to attend the service.[127]

A hearse supplied by Hanbury Street undertaker Henry Smith travelled to the Whitechapel Mortuary in Montague Street to collect Chapman's body at 7:00 a.m. Her body was placed in an elm coffin draped in black and was then driven to Spitalfields undertaker Harry Hawes, who arranged the funeral. Chapman's relatives met the hearse outside the cemetery. Her coffin plate bore the words "Annie Chapman, died Sept. 8, 1888, aged 48 years."[128]

The precise location of Annie Chapman's grave within Manor Park Cemetery is now unknown. A plaque placed in the cemetery by authorities in 2008 reads: "Her remains are buried within this area.".[129]

Media[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

  • Jack the Ripper (1988). A Thames Television film drama series starring Michael Caine. Annie Chapman is played by actress Deirdre Costello.[133]
  • The Real Jack the Ripper (2010). Directed by David Mortin, this series casts Sharon Buhagiar as Annie Chapman and was first broadcast on 31 August 2010.[134]
  • Jack the Ripper: The Definitive Story (2011). A two-hour documentary which references original police reports and eyewitness accounts pertaining to the Whitechapel Murderer. Chapman is portrayed by Dianne Learmouth.[135]

Drama[edit]

  • Jack, the Last Victim (2005). This musical casts Michelle Jeffry as Annie Chapman.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Both Annie and John Chapman are believed to have occasionally visited their son at this institution.[17]
  2. ^ Chapman occupied bed No. 29 at Crossingham's Lodging House. Via an agreement with the lodging-house deputy, this bed was reserved for her each night.[29]
  3. ^ Edward Stanley is known to have falsely claimed to be an army veteran in receipt of a pension, thus leading to this nickname.
  4. ^ A fellow lodger at Crossingham's Lodging House, Amelia Palmer, later informed police this fistfight had occurred at the lodging-house on 31 August and not at the Britannia Public House.[35]
  5. ^ Chapman is known to have complained of feeling unwell to the last known individual she spoke to before encountering her murderer, stating: "It's no use my giving way. I must pull myself together and go out and get some money, otherwise, I shall have no lodgings."[33]
  6. ^ 29 Hanbury Street was a three-storey property occupied by 17 people, 16 of whom were present.[44]
  7. ^ Contemorary media publications such as The Illustrated Police News also linked Chapman's murder with two murders which had occurred within the Whitechapel district in 1888—those of Emma Elizabeth Smith and Martha Tabram.[59]
  8. ^ The vast majority of the City of London Police files relating to their investigation into the Whitechapel murders were destroyed in the Blitz.[63]
  9. ^ Smith's memoirs also claimed medical students frequently polished farthings in order that they could deceive East End prostitutes into believing they were sovereigns, and as such, the presence of two farthings at the crime scene suggested the culprit may have been a medical student. However, the price to solicit the services of an East End prostitute was as little as 4d—much less than the value of a sovereign.[50]
  10. ^ Albert Cadosch would testify as to what he had heard from 27 Hanbury Street at approximately 5:15 a.m. on the morning of Chapman's murder on the fourth day of the inquest.[47]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Tully, The Real Jack the Ripper: The Secret of Prisoner 1167, p. 290
  2. ^ Norder, Ripper Notes: How the Newspapers Covered the Jack the Ripper Murders p. 47
  3. ^ "Whitechapel is Panic Stricken At Another Fiendish Crime. A Fourth Victim of the Maniac". casebook.org. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Rumbelow, The Complete Jack the Ripper: Fully Revised and Updated, p. 39
  5. ^ Wilson, Yardley, Lynes Serial Killers and the Phenomenon of Serial Murder: A Student Textbook, p. 73
  6. ^ "A Timeline of Events in the Life and Death of Annie Chapman". casebook.org. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  7. ^ Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, p. 68
  8. ^ "Frightful Suicide". Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser. 20 June 1863. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  9. ^ Rubenhold, p. 107
  10. ^ Amelia Farmer, quoted at the inquest by Wilson and Odell, p. 27
  11. ^ Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, pp. 50–51, 69
  12. ^ a b Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, p. 65
  13. ^ a b c 'Annie Chapman: Jack the Ripper Victim A Short Biography'. Written and published by Neal Shelden (2001)
  14. ^ a b c Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, p. 66
  15. ^ a b "Annie Chapman aka Dark Annie, Annie Siffey, Sievey or Sivvey". casebook.org. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  16. ^ Jack the Ripper: From the Cradle to the Grave ISBN 978-1-481-79895-2 p. 114
  17. ^ a b c d Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, p. 67
  18. ^ a b Gray, London's Shadows: The Dark Side of the Victorian City, p. 163
  19. ^ a b c Eddleston, Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia, p. 29
  20. ^ The Complete History of Jack the Ripper ISBN 978-1-841-19397-7 ch. 5
  21. ^ "The Whitechapel Murder". The Times. 27 September 1888. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  22. ^ Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 188
  23. ^ The News from Whitechapel: Jack the Ripper in the Daily Telegraph ISBN 978-0-786-41385-0 p. 43
  24. ^ a b Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History ISBN 978-1-317-86633-6 p. 188
  25. ^ a b Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History ISBN 0-582-50631-X p. 188
  26. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, p. 66
  27. ^ a b c Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, p. 70
  28. ^ "The Man Who Shook a City". crimeandinvestigation.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  29. ^ a b Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, p. 72
  30. ^ "Annie Chapman: Murdered 8 September 1888". jack-the-ripper.org. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  31. ^ "New Lead in Jack the Ripper Case Emerges from Stately Home's Archives". whtimes.co.uk. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  32. ^ Fido, p. 28
  33. ^ a b Bell, Capturing Jack the Ripper: In the Boots of a Bobby in Victorian England, p. 114
  34. ^ The News from Whitechapel: Jack the Ripper in the Daily Telegraph ISBN 978-0-786-41385-0 p. 67
  35. ^ Jack the Ripper: Prince or Pauper ISBN 978-1-326-47658-8 p. 25
  36. ^ "Annie Chapman: Murdered 8 September 1888". jack-the-ripper.org. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  37. ^ Eddleston, Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia, p. 31
  38. ^ Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History ISBN 978-1-317-86633-6 p. 189
  39. ^ Ripper Notes: Murder by Numbers ISBN 978-0-975-91293-5 p. 17
  40. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, p. 66; Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, p. 73; Fido, pp. 28–30; Wilson and Odell, pp. 27–28
  41. ^ Jack the Ripper: The Theories & the Facts of the Whitechapel Murders ISBN 978-1-445-60084-0 ch. 2
  42. ^ Bell, Capturing Jack the Ripper: In the Boots of a Bobby in Victorian England, p. 113
  43. ^ Newspaper reports also refer to her as Mrs Darrell, which caused authors such as Martin Fido to mistakenly think Darrell and Long were two different women (see Fido, pp. 30–31, 94). In the police records, however, she is identified as "Long Mrs. alias Durrell" (HO 144/221/A49301C f. 136, quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 289).
  44. ^ Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, p. 76
  45. ^ a b Begg, p. 153; Cook, p. 163; Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, p. 98; Marriott, pp. 59–75
  46. ^ Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History, p. 153
  47. ^ a b c "Inquest: Annie Chapman". casebook.org. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  48. ^ Tully, The Real Jack the Ripper: The Secret of Prisoner 1167, p. 369
  49. ^ Honeycombe, The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970, p. 57
  50. ^ a b c Fido, p. 31
  51. ^ Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, pp. 76-77
  52. ^ Begg, p. 153; Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, p. 100; Marriott, pp. 59–75
  53. ^ Jack the Ripper ISBN 978-1-904-04869-5 p. 37
  54. ^ "Another Murder at the East End". The Times. 10 September 1888. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  55. ^ a b Eddleston, Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia, p. 255
  56. ^ "Annie Chapman aka Dark Annie, Annie Siffey, Sievey or Sivvey". casebook.org. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  57. ^ Bell, Capturing Jack the Ripper: In the Boots of a Bobby in Victorian England, p. 101
  58. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 51–55; Marriott, Trevor, p. 13
  59. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 47–55
  60. ^ "Inquest: Annie Chapman". casebook.org. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  61. ^ Bell, Capturing Jack the Ripper: In the Boots of a Bobby in Victorian England, p. 102
  62. ^ a b Evans and Rumbelow, p. 69
  63. ^ "Home: Introduction to the Case". casebook.org. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  64. ^ Fido, pp. 50, 120
  65. ^ Jack the Ripper: The Complete Casebook ISBN 978-1-977-37535-3 p. 76
  66. ^ Ripper Notes: Death in London's East End ISBN 978-0-975-91295-9 p. 8
  67. ^ "Inquest: Annie Chapman". casebook.org. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  68. ^ "The Daily Telegraph: Wednesday 19 September 1888". casebook.org. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  69. ^ Coroner Baxter quoted in Marriott, p. 71
  70. ^ Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, p. 71
  71. ^ Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, p. 78
  72. ^ Bell, Capturing Jack the Ripper: In the Boots of a Bobby in Victorian England, p. 106
  73. ^ The Times, 14 September 1888, quoted in Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, pp. 85–88
  74. ^ Cook, Jack the Ripper, p. 158
  75. ^ The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970 ISBN 978-0-863-79040-9 pp. 55-56
  76. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, p. 72; Fido, p. 34
  77. ^ Bell, Capturing Jack the Ripper: In the Boots of a Bobby in Victorian England, p. 109
  78. ^ Phillips's inquest testimony quoted in Marriott, pp. 53–54
  79. ^ Cook, p. 221; Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 71–72; Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, pp. 67–68, 87; Marriott, pp. 26–29; Rumbelow, p. 42
  80. ^ Fido, p. 35; Marriott, pp. 77–79
  81. ^ Marriott, pp. 77–79
  82. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, p. 89; Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, p. 106; Fido, p. 35; Marriott, p. 73
  83. ^ The Lancet, 29 September 1888, quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 89–90
  84. ^ British Medical Journal, 6 October 1888, quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 92 and Fido, p. 36
  85. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, p. 90; Fido, p. 36
  86. ^ Chicago Tribune, 7 October 1888, quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 93
  87. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, p. 93
  88. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 73–74
  89. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, pp. 69, 85
  90. ^ Report of Superintendent Swanson, 19 October 1888, quoted in Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, p. 68
  91. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, p. 69: Marriott, p. 38
  92. ^ Donald Swanson quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 73, see also p. 75
  93. ^ Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, pp. 86-87
  94. ^ Cook, pp. 63–64; Evans and Rumbelow, p. 69; Wilson and Odell, p. 232
  95. ^ "The Whitechapel Murders". Bowral Free Press. 13 November 1888. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  96. ^ Begg, p. 214
  97. ^ e.g. Manchester Guardian, 10 September 1888, and Austin Statesman, 5 September 1888, quoted in Begg, pp. 98–99; The Star, 5 September 1888, quoted in Evans and Rumbelow, p. 80
  98. ^ Manchester Guardian, 6 September 1888, quoted in Begg, p. 98
  99. ^ Leytonstone Express and Independent, 8 September 1888, quoted in Begg, p. 99
  100. '^ See also Daily News, 10 September 1888, quoted in Fido, p. 37
  101. ^ e.g. Marriott, p. 251; Rumbelow, p. 49
  102. ^ Marriott, p. 251
  103. ^ Begg, Jack the Ripper: The Facts, p. 92-93
  104. ^ Eddleston, Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia, p. 32
  105. ^ "Jack the Ripper: The Suspects". The Telegraph. 8 November 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  106. ^ Report by Inspector Joseph Helson, CID 'J' Division, in the Metropolitan Police archive, MEPO 3/140 ff. 235–238, quoted in Begg, p. 99 and Evans and Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, p. 24
  107. ^ "Times (London): Whitechapel Murder". casebook.org. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  108. ^ "The Daily Telegraph: Wednesday 19 September 1888". casebook.org. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
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  110. ^ Fido, p. 38
  111. ^ O'Connor, T. P. (1929). Memoirs of an Old Parliamentarian. London: Ernest Benn. Vol. 2, p. 257, quoted in Begg, p. 166 and Cook, pp. 72–73
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  114. ^ "East End Outrages: Another Brutal Murder". The Observer. 9 September 1888. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  115. ^ Fido, p. 32
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  118. ^ Evans and Rumbelow, p. 83
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  120. ^ Eddleston, Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia, p. 216
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  126. ^ Marriott, p. 46
  127. ^ Ripper Notes: Death in London's East End ISBN 978-0-975-91295-9 p. 94
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Bibliography[edit]

  • Begg, Paul (2003). Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History. London: Pearson Education. ISBN 0-582-50631-X
  • Begg, Paul (2004). Jack the Ripper: The Facts. Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 978-0-760-77121-1
  • Bell, Neil R. A. (2016). Capturing Jack the Ripper: In the Boots of a Bobby in Victorian England. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-445-62162-3
  • Cook, Andrew (2009). Jack the Ripper. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84868-327-3
  • Eddleston, John J. (2002). Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia. London: Metro Books. ISBN 1-84358-046-2
  • Evans, Stewart P.; Rumbelow, Donald (2006). Jack the Ripper: Scotland Yard Investigates. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-4228-2
  • Evans, Stewart P.; Skinner, Keith (2000). The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Constable and Robinson. ISBN 1-84119-225-2
  • Evans, Stewart P.; Skinner, Keith (2001). Jack the Ripper: Letters from Hell. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-2549-3
  • Fido, Martin (1987). The Crimes, Death and Detection of Jack the Ripper. Vermont: Trafalgar Square. ISBN 978-0-297-79136-2
  • Gordon, R. Michael (2000). Alias Jack the Ripper: Beyond the Usual Whitechapel Suspects. North Carolina: McFarland Publishing. ISBN 978-0-786-40898-6
  • Harris, Melvin (1994). The True Face of Jack the Ripper. London: Michael O'Mara Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-854-79193-1
  • Holmes, Ronald M.; Holmes, Stephen T. (2002). Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-761-92594-5
  • Honeycombe, Gordon (1982). The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970. London: Bloomsbury Books. ISBN 978-0-863-79040-9
  • Lynch, Terry; Davies, David (2008). Jack the Ripper: The Whitechapel Murderer. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions. ISBN 978-1-840-22077-3
  • Marriott, Trevor (2005). Jack the Ripper: The 21st Century Investigation. London: John Blake. ISBN 1-84454-103-7
  • Rumbelow, Donald (2004). The Complete Jack the Ripper: Fully Revised and Updated. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-017395-1
  • Sugden, Philip (2002). The Complete History of Jack the Ripper. Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0-7867-0276-1
  • Waddell, Bill (1993). The Black Museum: New Scotland Yard. London: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-90332-5
  • Whittington-Egan, Richard; Whittington-Egan, Molly (1992). The Murder Almanac. Glasgow: Neil Wilson Publishing. ISBN 978-1-897-78404-4
  • Whittington-Egan, Richard (2013). Jack the Ripper: The Definitive Casebook. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-445-61768-8
  • Wilson, Colin; Odell, Robin (1987) Jack the Ripper: Summing Up and Verdict. Bantam Press. ISBN 0-593-01020-5

External links[edit]

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