Talk:Jack the Ripper suspects

The main Jack the Ripper page is getting so long I thought these suspects might be better served on a separate page. Anon, 6 Nov2004.

I like how the people advanced as suspects is now it's own article, although I think maybe the main one deserves a little text. I've moved over discussion from the main page that seems more appropriate on the suspect page. DreamGuy 22:49, Nov 18, 2004 (UTC)

Alphabetical order -- Prince Albert Victor

Most of the entries are in alphabetical order of surname, but Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence is under "V", even though Victor was has middle name; his surname was Saxe-Coburg. Perhaps we should list him by his official Ducal title, i.e. "C" for Clarence. Any thoughts? P Ingerson 22:39, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Article Title?

The title of the page doesn't quite sound right. I know previously there was one called something like "Jack the Ripper Suspects" which sounded a little better. Was it just that calling some of these people suspects stretches the definition of that word? DreamGuy 22:49, Nov 18, 2004 (UTC)

Promoting suspects to their own pages

I also liked how information on Sickert, Lewiss Carroll, Prince Eddy were summarized here and then moved to the articles specifically about those individuals. I think that makes this essay more readable and the other articles more interesting.

I think some of the others listed here might be able to be promoted out too. Dr. Cream was fairly interesting (and is already mentioned on some serial killer pages) and a known murderer in his own right, plus I've seen several newspaper articles recently cover his case, so he's not as obscure as some of these others. Tumblety, too, has been in a number of news articles and was actually famous long before the Ripper murders. It's conceivable others might be worth their own articles too. DreamGuy 22:49, Nov 18, 2004 (UTC)

Lewis Carroll & Prince Albert being killers

Please explain why Lewis Carroll & Prince Albert are seriously considered as killers. Currently, there is absolutely no explanation, other than the mere presence of these two names in the list. -- User:Menchi, 11 Sep 2003 (UTC)

They're not "SERIOUSLY" considered suspects (and our article points out that some of the listed suspects cannot be taken seriously), but some nut-jobs have nonetheless published entire books devoted to proving they committed the murders. For Prince Albert, see his Wikipedia article, or here; for Lewis Carroll, see here. -- Someone else 05:24, 12 Sep 2003 (UTC)

Do we really have to have Lewis Carroll here? The author of the book attacking him lists as his qualification "twenty-five years in the data processing field" (ref [1]). Sounds a lot to me like someone self-publishing a pile of tripe. If I published a book claiming that Queen Elizabeth II was actually Ramses II, returned from the planet Nepton, would that rate it a mention in the Queen's article? I guess I'd advocate deleting Carroll from the list. Jwrosenzweig 01:04, 11 Oct 2003 (UTC)

He's listed because he's been seriously advanced as a suspect. Your (gladly hypothetical<G>) book would merit a mention in an (as yet hypothetical) "conspiracy theories about QE II" article, rather than in hers, just as Lewis Carrol's "suspect" status belongs here and not in his article: unfortunately most theories about Jack the Ripper are basically nuts, so I think it's reasonable to list them here while making that clear. -- Someone else 01:09, 11 Oct 2003 (UTC)

It also rates mention in the wikipedia article about the planet Nepton itself, which is still pretty much of a stub.

Fair enough, Someone. :) I'll let it be, then...must get back to that book; I've found startling new evidence that Prince Charles is Attila the Hun. ;) Jwrosenzweig 01:19, 11 Oct 2003 (UTC)

Well, if you publish it, it will have to compete with the theory that the Prince of Wales is in fact the Antichrist, (the incriminating dragon on his escutcheon appears to be the clinching proof).... Seriously, nutso theories are (to me anyway) intrinsically interesting: the challenge here is to include them without appearing to endorse them! Recommended reading: "The AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea" by Tim Cohen <G> --Someone else 01:27, 11 Oct 2003 (UTC)

A statement from the article is somewhat dubious :
Boarding a ship in New York on March 12, 1880 he arrived in Liverpool six days later.
I don't think it was possible at that time. Maybe six weeks rather ? Kpjas

Depends on the ship. As a point of compariston, the first vessel built of steel (in 1881) was the Servia, a merchant steamer which crossed the Atlantic in 7 days. Steampowered ocean crossings had been routine for decades by that time.. But it's more likely to be off by a day than by weeks. A ship leaving 12 Mar 1880 and arriving 18 Mar 1880 could have had 7 days travel, but if you do the math by subtraction (18-12) you'll get 6 days. -- Someone else 02:57, 21 Sep 2003 (UTC)

Nothing about Sickert at all?

I gather that the earliest versions of this article over-emphasized the Cornwell theory, but I do think the present lay-out over-corrects that. To leave just a blank after Sickert's name on the list of suspects, even assuming that some of your readers will follow the link to the article about him ... is a bit POV, is it not?

The Sickert theory is certainly more serious and respectable than "Lewis Carroll did it"! Unless the Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit were in on the conspiracy, too.- (unsigned)

The assumption is that they will keep reading until the end of the article. -- Nunh-huh 04:25, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

- Still, I've added a little bit where the name first appears, including an encouragement that they keep reading for more.

It's important we do not bias towards her to much, as an article on the BBC today [2] states that experts usually dismiss her theory. There are certainly some better ideas out there Grunners 15:18, 26 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Tumblety vs uteruses

Didn't I read someplace that, when he fled, Tumblety left behind him a number of gynecological specimens (obtained legitimately) in formaldehyde? The suggestion being that he had an unhealthy obsession in that regard. -- Finlay McWalter | Talk 22:57, 24 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Actually, no. Tumblety didn't leave any uteri anywhere that has been proven. Tumblety had a number of enemies based upon forging discharge papers for soldiers, selling quack medicine, and being accused in a plot to kill Abraham Lincoln (he almost deserves a quirky article all on his own). When he was named in papers as having been arrested in London, along with the speculation that he might be linked to the Ripper murders, That's when suddenly one of his old enemies started telling papers that Tumblety used to collect uteri. And since the uterus was taken in two of the Ripper murders, it seems like a rather clumsy and transparent attempt to csat farther suspicion on Tumblety. Of course I suppose it's possible it really happened, but it's just hearsay from someone with a good reason to lie at this point. -DN Oct. 7, 2004

Moving information back to here

I think that the details about the various suspects should be moved back to this page, UNLESS their only notoriety is a connection to the Ripper. Therefore I propose the the information about Sickert and Price Eddy be moved out of theier respective articles and into this one. It seems wrong to me to unduly blacken these individuals' names because someone trying make a few quid linked a prominent person with Jack the Ripper. Regarding the Lewis Carroll theory, this is more than presposterous. So whilst I certainly don't think that his article should contain much in a way of a reference to this theory, I'm not even sure if it deserves mention on this page. IVoteTurkey 13:04, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)