Mid-Month Murderer - Jack The Ripper Elizabeth Stride
30th September 1888 Jack the Ripper struck again, but this day would be different, this day is known as the double event because he killed two women that night.
Elizabeth Stride
Elizabeth Stride was born on 27th November 1843, on the farm owned by her father, not far outside of Gothenburg, Sweden. In 1865 at the age of 22, Elizabeth was registered by her local police as a prostitute, sadly in April of that year she gave birth to a little girl who was stillborn. Life as a prostitute especially in those time was hard and Elizabeth was treated for venereal diseases on a couple of occasions.
In February 1866 she applied to move to the Swedish Parish in London, this was approved and she arrived on the 10th July. When she registered she said that she was an unmarried women. While in London she lived with a man called Micheal Kidney on an on and off basis. He said that he thought she worked with a family in Hyde Park and had family in London.
On 7th March 1869 Elizabeth married John Stride at St Giles in the Fields, they moved to India Dock Road in Poplar and opened a coffee shop together, but 6 years later they sold the shop. Elizabeth was claiming financial support from the Swedish Church, she told them that her husband and children had died while they were aboard the Princess Alice, which was a steam boat, when it collided with another boat on the Thames in 1878. This was to be a lie as John Stride was registered as dying in 1884. She asked for the support of the church over many years and was later described by the clerk of the Swedish Church as ''very poor''.
In the 2 years before her murder Elizabeth was taken before a magistrate 8 times, each time was for being drunk and disorderly. At the time of her murder she was lodging on Flower and Dean Street.
At 6.30 pm on 30th September Elizabeth was seen at the Queen's Head Pub by Elizabeth Tanner, they had a drink together and then went back to their lodgings. Elizabeth left again between 7 and 8 pm, she saw Catherine Lane whom she asked to keep hold of a small piece of green velvet for her until she returned, she also showed Catherine that she had earned 6d from helping at the lodging house by cleaning some rooms.
At 11 pm Elizabeth was seen leaving the Bricklayer’s Arms pub on Settle Street with a man who was short and had a moustache. By 11.45 pm she was seen on Berner Street by William Marshall. She was talking to a short man, with a sailor's hat on, Marshall heard the man saying
''You would say anything but your prayers''
A fruit seller called Matthew Parker claimed to have sold Elizabeth, and an unkown man, some grapes at 12 pm. PC William Smith saw Elizabeth with man in a dark coat on Berner Street at 12.35 am, Israel Schwartz was walking down Berner Street at 12.45 am, he says he saw a man throwing a women to the ground, another man across the street yelled
'Lipski'
Schwartz then turned round and walked away. Lipski was a name used to chastise Jewish people, because of a man called Israel Lipski who had killed a women in 1887 by pouring nitric acid down her throat. He was convicted and hanged. It was a term some people would use as an anti-sematic slur, trying to state that all Jewish men were murderers. It is unknown if the man who yelled it was aiming it at the man who was throwing Elizabeth to the ground or if it was aimed at Schwartz. Israel was taken the next morning to the mortuary which is where he identified Elizabeth as being the women he saw.
At 1 am Louis Diemschutz was walking into Dutfield's yard with his pony and trap, as he entered his pony refused to go any further, even with Louis trying to entice him in, so he used him lamp and he found Elizabeth's body lay on the ground. He was unsure if she was dead or simply asleep, so he ran into the men's working club next to the yard to ask for help. He came back with Isaac Kazebrodsky and Morris Edge, they went over and discovered that Elizabeth's throat had been cut.
When Louis entered the yard he must have disturbed The Ripper before he had a chance to mutilate Elizabeth. He later told police that the murderer must have been in the yard when he went to her body. I think that he was right, there is no way he could have left before, he must have left when Louis went to get help. At 1.05 am PC Henry Lamb and PC Edward Collins arrived at the yard, Lamb felt Elizabeth's face and found that is was still warm, but could not find a pulse.
Dr Fredrick Blackwell got to the yard at 1.16 am, that was when Elizabeth was pronounced dead. He was joined by Dr Phillips (the man who had preformed Annie Chapman's post-mortem). They noted how Elizabeth was laid on her left side with her face towards the wall, she had a 6'' cut to her throat but it wasn't deep enough to cut her spine, there was clotted blood found near her body, a stream of blood led from Elizabeth’s body to the back door of the club.
Inspector Addeline along with other officers believed that Elizabeth was a Ripper victim as the injuries matched the others, but that he was disturbed and couldn't finish what he started. Because of this Elizabeth was nicknamed ''Lucky Liz'' by the newspapers as The Ripper didn't finish the disembowelment.
At Elizabeth's inquest is was revealed that she did not have any grapes in her stomach, it was later found that Matthew Parker was an unreliable witness as he told the police and the press different stories.
Originally Elizabeth’s body was misidentified by a Mrs Mary Malcom who thought she was her sister Elizabeth Watts, but when her sister turned up the police had to start the identification process all over. Eventually she was named as Elizabeth Stirde by John Arundell and Charles Preston who had been with Catherine Lane when Elizabeth gave her the piece of green velvet. Elizabeth was buried in a pauper's grave on 6th October 1888.
As I said at the start of this blog the 30th September was the double event, The Ripper hadn't managed to finish the job he started with Elizabeth which meant there was another women out there who was next. That women was Catherine Eddowes.
If you would like to learn more I have put a list together of my sources, so please feel free to have a read, listen and watch :
Thank you
The History Chronicle.
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