Jack The Ripper - Mark Whitehead [25]
Dr Brown’s findings from the crime scene and autopsy are conflated here. From the site he noted that the body was still warm and had been there for half an hour at the most. He believed that death was caused by the throat being cut, opening the left carotid artery. Her throat was then cut from left to right, severing the larynx and neck down to the vertebrae. The abdomen had been laid open from the breast bone to the pubes by an upwards jagged incision. The liver had been slit with separate incisions.The intestines had been drawn out and placed over the right shoulder, one piece of about two feet had been severed completely and placed between the body and the left arm, apparently by design. The right ear lobe and auricle had been cut through. Further cuts were made, opening the abdomen, extending across the thighs and labia and across over the liver. The pancreas and spleen had also been cut. The left kidney had been carefully taken out and removed. (Brown notes: ‘I should say that someone who knew the position of the kidney must have done it.’) The lining membrane over the uterus was cut through and the womb cut through horizontally, leaving a stump of 3/4 inch – the rest had been taken away. Brown would further note that the removal of the noted organs would be ‘of no use for any professional purpose’.
Eddowes was the first victim to suffer facial mutilation.The left and right eyelid sustained cuts. There was a deep cut to the bone from the bridge of the nose down to the right cheek at the jawline.The tip of the nose had been detached by a cut that also divided the upper lip. There were other cuts at the top of the nose, at the right angle of the mouth and to both cheeks raising triangular flaps of about 1.5 inches in area.
Brown concluded that the murder and mutilations must have taken place at the spot where the body was found. As with the cases of Nichols, Chapman and Stride, it was likely that the murderer had been on Eddowes’ right-hand side to avoid the worst of the blood. Brown estimated the knife to have been at least six inches long and attributed to the killer both anatomical knowledge (the kidneys, being covered with membrane, could easily be overlooked by someone without such knowledge) and surgical skill. Brown did not believe the killer was a doctor. Of the others present at the post-mortem, both Sequeira and Saunders expressed uncertainty over whether the killer had sought out the kidney or discovered it by accident but both concurred with Brown that he possessed some skill with a knife. Phillips expressed similar beliefs but saw less expertise demonstrated on Eddowes than on Chapman and thus doubted that the murders had been committed by the same man.
More recent medical testimony from examining the photographs express doubt at the killer’s surgical ability but, given the speed (he had approximately ten minutes) and surroundings (practically unlit with the constant fear of discovery) in which the killer performed his operation, it is still astounding that he managed half of what he achieved in mutilating Eddowes’ body. Dr Brown’s belief that only one person committed the murder led the inquest jury’s verdict of ‘Wilful murder by some person unknown’.
While the upper classes expressed their sympathies in the press for the two women with outraged calls for social reform, the East End did their best to show tribute in their final send-offs. Elizabeth Stride’s funeral took place on 8 October. She was buried in a pauper’s grave at East London cemetery. The funeral was sparsely attended. In contrast, Catharine Eddowes’ funeral procession from Golden Lane to the City of London cemetery in Ilford saw crowds lining most of the streets along the way and the funeral paid for by the undertaker, Mr G Hawkes of Spitalfields. In attendance were John Kelly and four of Catharine’s sisters. According to various sources, the procession was followed