George Hutchinson (Jack the Ripper suspect)

George Hutchinson is the name of a British worker who made a formal statement to police after the murder of Mary Jane Kelly on 9 November 1888. The statement survives in its entirety. In it, he provided an exhaustive description of a man who could have been Kelly's killer. In a modern theory, Hutchinson himself became accused of being Kelly's murderer, and by extension, of having being the serial killer commonly referred to as Jack the Ripper.

Hutchinson's statement

On 12 November 1888, three days after Mary Jane Kelly's murder at Miller's Court, 36 Dorset Street in London's East End, Hutchinson made a statement at the Commercial Street police station. The statement was recorded by Sergeant Edward Badham. Hutchinson was described as an unemployed labourer and former groom.

Hutchinson claimed to have sighted the victim hours before her death, in the company of a client who was too elegant for the poor area of Whitechapel. Hutchinson said that at about 2 o'clock in the morning of 9 November 1888, he was walking on Commercial Street to his home, and just before he reached Flower and Dean Street, he saw the soon-to-be victim. He said she greeted him by name and asked for a loan of sixpence. Hutchinson replied that he couldn't help, as he had spent all of his money. She told him that she had to find some money and proceeded to head toward Thrawl Street.

Almost immediately, a man coming from the opposite direction to Mary tapped her shoulder and whispered something in her ear; possibly a joke, since they both laughed. Hutchinson said that he then heard the man say: "You will be alright for what I have told you." The man then put his right arm on the woman's shoulders and they both hugged.

Hutchinson's statement said that the man was carrying "a kind of a small parcel in his left hand with a kind of strap round it".

Hutchinson said he paid much attention to Mary's companion, because he was surprised by his foreign appearance – "Jewish appearance", he ventured – as well as the elegance with which he dressed, an extraordinary thing in that very deprived area. The witness decided to go under the gas lamp that illuminated the entrance of the Queen's Head tavern, in order to take advantage of the better lighting and take a closer look.

As the couple passed in front of him, Kelly's client – noticing that he was being observed – scrutinized the witness with a sullen attitude and immediately lowered his head. As he lowered the hat over his eyes, his identification became difficult.

The curious witness narrated that – by that elusive gesture – he bent down to see the individual's face well. The duo headed for Dorset Street, closely followed by Hutchinson, who saw them chat for three minutes before they entered Miller's Court, where Mary had her room.

Then the companion whispered something, to which the young woman responded: "Come, I will make you feel comfortable, dear." After that, he hugged and kissed her. Before entering, Mary stopped and told him that she had lost her handkerchief, whereupon the man took out a red handkerchief and gave it to her.

Finally, both entered the inner courtyard of the building, and Hutchinson could no longer continue spying, choosing to wait outside for three quarters of an hour for them to leave. As neither came out during that period, Hutchinson left.

Hutchinson described Kelly's client as a man approximately 34 or 35 years of age, 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) tall, with a pale complexion, dark eyes and eyelashes, a small moustache and dark hair. He was dressed in a long, dark coat with a collar and cuffs adorned with astrakhan over a short, black jacket. He wore light pants, a dark vest, and black felt hat. He wore boots and gaiters with white buttons. On his vest, he had a very thick gold chain. He wore a black tie with a horseshoe pin. His appearance was respectable and he "walked very sharp".[1][2][3][4]

In his time, nobody was suspicious of Hutchinson. The principal investigator of the case, Inspector Frederick Abberline, interrogated him in person, and days later told a newspaper that he estimated that Hutchinson's deposition was truthful, and that he seemed sincere. Apparently, Abberline took the testifier's version to heart, who claimed to have known Mary Jane Kelly for three years, and was friends with her.

Hutchinson also testified before the press that the day after the murder, he went out searching for the man and actually saw him. He said that he began following him with the intention of hunting him down, but the stranger noted his presence, hurried his pace and slipped through the streets of Spitalfields. After that, Hutchinson never saw the man again.[5][6]

Jack the Ripper suspect

Critics of this criminal case ponder whether Hutchinson was a false witness who exaggerated what little he could have known, as it was imbued with a media eagerness and the desire to gain notoriety.

Alan Moore pointed out: "There is something unconvincing in the large amount of details he provides, and I tend to suspect that much of them were invented after the event, a man eager to become the center of attention".[7] Not only did Hutchinson provide a disconcertingly specific amount of detail, he also claimed to have waited outside Kelly's residence for approximately 45 minutes, at 2am in November, when it would have been extremely cold and likely prohibitively unpleasant to do so.

Other authors were even more severe with this problematic witness, and they glimpsed that under his exaggerated statements, a much more sordid intention was hidden than a mere desire for notoriety. In recent times, Hutchinson became syndicated of being Jack the Ripper himself. His main accuser is Robert "Bob" Hinton, who in his book "From Hell: The Jack the Ripper Mystery", published in 1998, nominated Hutchinson as Mary Jane Kelly's killer and, eventually, the notorious serial killer.[8]

The extensive statements made by him to the authorities are seen as a smokescreen, intended to hide his guilt. The truth could have been that, hopelessly in love with Kelly, he might have done it in a fit of anger and spite, after being despised by her. The killer feared the neighbours would identify him. For example, Sara Lewis, who lived nearby, said she saw a man hovering strangely at the entrance of Miller's Court at dawn of 9 November. That individual was possibly Hutchinson, who knew that testimonies were dangerous, as they would surely come. His deposition, filed three days after Kelly's murder – giving him time to think what to do – had the purpose of avoiding being considered a suspect in the murder if he was identified. That way, he made an alibi with which he justified his presence at the crime scene.

Notes and references
  1. Stewart Evans, Keigh Skinner, The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook, editorial Constable y Robinson Ltd, Londres, Inglaterra (2001), pp. 418-420.
  2. Paul Begg, Jack the Ripper: The definitive history, Editorial Pearson Education Ltd, Londres, Inglaterra (2005), pp. 294-296.
  3. Colin Wilson, Robin Odell, Jack el Destripador: Recapitulación y veredicto, Editorial Planeta, Barcelona, España (1989), pp. 83-84.
  4. Gabriel Pombo, El animal más peligroso: Un thriller victoriano, Montevideo, 2016, ISBN 9789974912946, pp 91-93.
  5. Gabriel Pombo, Jack el Destripador: La leyenda continúa, Montevideo, Uruguay (2010), pp. 112-115.
  6. Gabriel Pombo, Jack el Destripador: La leyenda continúa (reedición ampliada, en google libros), editorial Torre del Vigía, Montevideo, 2015, ISBN 978 9974 99 868 1, pág 77-82.
  7. Alan Moore, Eddie Campbell, From Hell (cómic), Editorial Planeta De Agostini, Barcelona, España (2003), apéndice de notas, comentario a viñetas de págs. 341-344.
  8. Bob Hinton, From Hell: The Jack the Ripper Mystery, Editorial Old Bakehouse, Londres, Inglaterra (1998).
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See also
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