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Chris Scott
Inspector
Username: Chris
Post Number: 368
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Friday, August 08, 2003 - 7:04 pm: |       |
Hi all
Found this piece in the Newark Daily Advocate of 13 April 1892. Intriguing when it says the letter referred to explained the motive for Eddowes' killing.
 |
Jeffrey Bloomfied
Detective Sergeant
Username: Mayerling
Post Number: 106
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, August 08, 2003 - 10:01 pm: | |
Hi Chris,
Deeming is a fascinating, and under studied "suspect". I wrote a small essay about him in 1988, that was published in MEDICINE, SCIENCE, AND THE LAW, entitled "THE ORIGINAL
SUSPECT", the purpose being to try to show what
the actual theory of Deeming's being the Ripper
was (or could have been) and whether it was strong
enough to merit serious consideration. I concluded it really wasn't all that strong. However, it did link Deeming with the murders of
Stride and Eddowes (though I knew nothing about
this letter, nor the article in the Newark Daily
Advocate.
The main problems with Deeming are that those
killings that were associated with him were of
his wives and his children, and he did his best
to hide traces of the killings (burying the bodies
of his first wife, Marie, and their four children,
in the kitchen of the house he rented at Rainhill,
near Liverpool (in 1891), and then burying his
second wife in Melbourne, Australia, in 1892).
This is not like the Ripper, who enjoyed leaving
a lot of dead, mutilated corpses in the open.
Another problem was that Deeming was a con artist
as well as a killer, so whatever secrets were his
could not be revealed by him because he was rarely
telling the truth. This is unfortunate, because
Deeming may have left a manuscript story of his
life when he was hanged in May 1892, It has never
been located (it probably was destroyed decades
ago), but even if it was to turn up it would
probably be of less value for serious Whitechapel
discussion than the Maybrick Diary.
Finally, when Tom Cullen wrote his book AUTUMN
OF TERROR, he ruled out Deeming as a candidate
because Deeming was in prison at the time of the
murders in Whitechapel. Cullen based this on
L.C. Douthwaite's chapter on Deeming in his book,
MASS MURDER. But I discovered, in rereading that
book, that Douthwaite counted the Whitechapel
Murders as going from 1888 to the murder of
Frances Cole in Feb. 1891. If you accept that,
then Douthwaite (and Cullen) are right, because
Deeming was in prison for eight months for fraud
in 1890 - 91 (the period included February 1891).
But, if you concentrated on the 1888 murders only
(as most of us do), then Deeming was not in prison after all. However, his whereabouts for
parts of 1888 are in doubt.
Hope you find more information about that item
from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Best wishes,
Jeff |
Martin Fido
Detective Sergeant
Username: Fido
Post Number: 132
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 7:03 am: | |
Don't I recollect some one either saying or establishing that Deeming put himself in the frame with either a confession or guilty-sounding insinuations, apparently in the hope that his execution in Australia might be deferred and he would be sent back to England for further investigation?
All the best,
Martin F |
Jon Smyth
Detective Sergeant
Username: Jon
Post Number: 79
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 9:00 am: | |
It would be of great value to be able to pin down Deeming's activities in Johannesburg in 1888.
If anyone is here on-line in Johannesburg who could research this period it would be of great interest. They must have a public records office and hopefully a newspaper library.
Here's a good site for some background on Deeming.
http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/exhibs/deeming/text1.htm
Regards, Jon |
Chris Scott
Inspector
Username: Chris
Post Number: 371
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 10:46 am: | |
Martin
I have certainly seen reports that hint at the suggestion you make. I have also seen reports that suggest that because of the possible plea of insanity, he put himself in the frame for two of the Whitechapel murders so that he would be brought back to England for trial where a successful plea of insanity would mean he would avoid the death penalty. I can only assume from this that the arrangements in Australia at the time governing legal responsibility and insanity were different from in the UK but have no firm info on this aspect
Regards
Chris |
Martin Fido
Detective Sergeant
Username: Fido
Post Number: 135
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 2:00 pm: | |
Wouldn't it be the case that he had either not pleaded insanity or had lost his case on that plea for the Melbourne murder for which he was executed?
All the best,
Martin F |
Glenn L Andersson
Sergeant
Username: Glenna
Post Number: 50
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 4:13 pm: | |
If he, according to Jeffrey Bloomfield, also was a con artist, that would be enough to raise questions about the credibility in his statements, I think.
All the best
Glenn L Andersson
Crime historian, Sweden |
Jeffrey Bloomfied
Detective Sergeant
Username: Mayerling
Post Number: 107
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 5:27 pm: | |
Hi all,
My article was published in MEDICINE, SCIENCE,
and the LAW , Volume 28, Number 4, October 1888,
and entitled The Original Suspect. It was on
pages 286 - 290. I am just including the cite
if anyone wants to read it.
Althought there have been several biographies of
Deeming (Fred Clune and J. S. O'Sullivan wrote two), his career has always been sort of in the
shadows of two other killers - Jack and Dr. Neill
Cream. Had Deeming murdered his first wife and
children in Australia, and been tried for the
second wife's murder in Liverpool (the reverse of
what happened), he would be better known. Instead, because of its conclusion in the antipodes in 1892, he is like a phatom. Cream
murdered in North America as well as in England,
but the trial was in England - it was better centered for the sake of memory. And Jack too
was centered in England (in London - like Cream).
As with real estate problems, murder memorability
needs "location, location, location".
All of his biographers do mention the rumors about
the Ripper being Deeming. One has to remember that it was frequently the case that the Ripper would be compared to other murderers of the day,
and that others would possibly be linked as potential candidates (such as Bury, Cream, even
Mrs. Pearcey). This doesn't mean any of them
were the Ripper, but it shows the public was
willing to grasp at the idea that the Ripper was
able to be finally captured and punished.
The way the rumors followed Deeming worked like
this. The murder of Emily Mather in Melbourne
was revealed by late January 1892 (Emily was
murdered December 24, 1891). Deeming was captured
in the Southern Cross gold fields in February 1892. Deeming was back in Melbourne by March 1892. The news returns to England. Marie Deemings family starts realizing that they have
not heard of her for a long time, so they approach
the authorities to look at Dinham Villa in Rainhill, near Liverpool. The remains of the family are found there in late March 1892. This
revelation made the case the international sensation it became in early 1892. It also led
to the British Government having a warrant for
Deeming's arrest for Marie's murder if the Melbourne authorities had no success against him
for Emily's. One keeps this in mind for later
developments.
The international press started looking into Deeming's career, and began pegging all sorts of
stories to it - easy to understand, given his
career as a con man in several continents. He
was linked to the murder of at least one man
in South Africa, about the time he was there (in
1888, by the way). How many were actually truly
linked to Deeming is nearly impossible to tell now. Probably police files that would document
any actual activities are long since gone (just
think of the amount of Ripper material that is
missing and think that Deeming did not have the
permanent interest of the Ripper).
The tendency of the stories concerning Deeming
was they linked him to one of the murders of September 29/30, 1888. One did try to link him to Mary Kelly. A newspaper item from Canada appeared in THE TIMES of London on April 13, 1892 appeared that said he knew Kelly and Catherine Kelly, but was rejected because it placed Deeming in Canada in 1882 (when he wasn't there).
THE MELBOURNE EVENING STANDARD published an item
on 8 April 1892 that was originally cabled from
London. A dressmaker claimed she was with a man
named Lawson on Sept. 29/30, 1888 who knew details about the murder of Catherine Eddowes.
Lawson was an alias used by Deeming.
There were also the two bloodstained surgical knives owned by Deeming. He liked to collect
weapons. Apparently none of the victims he did
kill were slain with the surgical knives.
While Deeming was on trial his defense team (led
by Alfred Deakin, future Prime Minister of Australia), kept denying the rumors about Deeming
and the Ripper killings. Once he was sentenced
to death for killing Emily, the defense team did
a 180 degree turn and said that the Privy Council
should review the death sentence because of the
issue of the possible revelations of other killings done by Deeming elsewhere in the world.
Mr. John D. Fitzgerald wrote an interesting essay
on Deeming's crimes in STUDIES OF AUSTRALIAN
CRIME (1924), and was a former Minister for Justice of New South Wales. His comment of the
strategy for the appeal is worth quoting:
He said it was "(p)robably the most amazing reason
ever advanced for the respite of a convicted murderer...." It would not be the last time that
a pitiless killer tried this. In 1989 Theodore
Bundy, his last appeal dead in the water, tried
to use his knowledge of hitherto unsolved killings
he committed around the U.S., tried to use this
knowledge to gain a few more days of life before
his electrocution. Like Deeming's appeal, it
did not work.
The Privy Council rejected Deeming in a stunning
upset decision. There had been a series of
decisions before the Privy Council since the 1860s, all involving appeals from Murder Cases,
where the Council affirmed the decision, but said
that in the interest of fairness to the defendants the sentence had to be reduced to life
imprisonment. Legal magazines felt that the case
that would be most decisive would be the 1885
appeal of the death sentence of Louis Riel of
Canada, for treason. Riel had tried to base his
appeal on insanity, but was rejected (and executed - a decision that still haunts Canadian
politics). It turned out Lord Halsbury and
the other judges did not turn to Riel for guidance. They totally avoided the precedents of
thirty years, and chose a case about the disbarment of a lawyer as on target - that matters
of fact regarding a case are best handled by the
local courts of the colonies,not appelate courts
thousands of miles away in England. Short and
neat, insanity plea or possible English/Whitechapel killings, Halsbury gave the
green light for all colonial trial court systems to divorce their decisions from the threat of
London's interference. He also gave the green
light to Fred Deeming dancing in the air by his
neck. It is hard to be really upset for the sake
of Fred Deeming.
By the way, Deeming is linked to Neill Cream by
his English legal team. The barrister who spoke
for Deeming before Halsbury and the Privy Council
was Gerald Geoghegan, who was the barrister for
Cream in front of Mr. Justice Hawkins at the
1892 poisoning trial).
Best wishes,
Jeff |
Jon Smyth
Detective Sergeant
Username: Jon
Post Number: 80
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 09, 2003 - 10:26 pm: | |
Jeff, nice bio, you seem to have put some effort into your interest.
Glenn, to coin a phrase...
"When a Greek tells you 'all Greeks are liars', do you believe him?"
Therein 'lies' the rub.
Regards, Jon
P.S.
Jeff, Gerald Geohegan was also the defence lawyer for Israel Lipski, (I knew you needed to know that  ) |
Jeffrey Bloomfied
Detective Sergeant
Username: Mayerling
Post Number: 108
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 12:27 am: | |
Hi Jon,
You are right, I did go beyond the norm about
studying Deeming as a suspect. A curious case.
They are still uncertain why Deeming started killing wives and children.
[Best theory on the death of Marie and the kids,
was that Deeming was being blackmailed by Marie
into settling down with her and the kids, or she'd send him back to prison - possible, but that
doesn't explain his romancing Emily, marrying her,
dragging her off to Australia with him, and then
murdering her in Melbourne. If he did not want
another "ball and chain" to gum up his lifestyle,
why bring her with him? Maybe she suspected
something about the death of Marie and the children, but then why would she have stayed with
Deeming knowing that?]
I did know that Geoghegan was Lipski's junior
barrister (Aeneas McIntyre was his senior barrister). Gerald Geoghegan is an interesting
figure. He was thought to be one of the most
promising barristers of the late 1880s and early
1890s, but (as Martin Friedland mentions in his
book on Lipski) he had begun to drink heavily.
In 1902 Geoghegan died of an overdose of some
sedative. Politely it was considered an accidental overdose.
Geoghegan's father was an Irish antiquarian and
poet, whose poems occasionally pop up in anthologies. The father died in 1889.
Best wishes,
Jeff |
Jon Smyth
Detective Sergeant
Username: Jon
Post Number: 81
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 11:04 am: | |
Hi Jeff.
Funny thing was many years ago I thought, if any murderer had the facial features I would attribute to the Ripper, (from an aesthetics point of view) it was Deeming, especially those of his death mask.
And of course, there was that "carroty moustache" (Kelly's client?) that he wore, and a couple of those five victims of his in Rainhill were strangled(?) and the others had their throats cut(?). I guess someone could do a number on Deeming being the Ripper if they could just get him out of Johannesburg in 1888. Heavens, we know many suspects have been thrown at us on less.
Thanks for the input on a very 'odd' individual.
Best Regards, Jon
|
Jeffrey Bloomfied
Detective Sergeant
Username: Mayerling
Post Number: 109
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 1:15 pm: | |
Hi Jon,
In the matter of the Whitechapel killer's identity, I keep thinking of the old Cole Porter
standard, "ANYTHING GOES". I have never openly
supported any one candidate for the, err, honors
over the others. I have written on Deeming and
Cream, but find flaws with both as candidates (but
both are rather rich as creepy characters, so are
worth writing about). I have recently discussed
Tumblety and Druitt on the Boards, and I have
assisted in research on another suspect.
As for Deeming in 1888, let me quote from my article "The Original Suspect" (p. 287):
"It is hard to say where Deeming was from August to November 1888. After fleeing Sydney in
January 1888, Deeming and his family went to Port
Adelaide. They took ship to St. Helene, and then went to Capetown. From February to August 1888
Deeming was involved in mining frauds in South
Africa (Fitzgerald, 1924; Griffiths, 1901).
Just before Deeming's trial in Melbourne [in
April, 1892], it was reported that a member of the Melbourne Police Force (named Brant) identified Deeming as the killer of a man named Graham and two natives, in Johannesburg on 18
September, 1888. Brant had been a police detective there at the time. There were also
rumours about Deeming's involvement in the sudden
death of a man named Keays (THE TIMES, 1 April 1892). The TIMES of 4 April 1892 disposed of both
charges. Keays died of natural causes. As for
Graham, the Johannesburg authorities felt that
Deeming was not in the city at the time.
So, where was Deeming? It is not possible to say now. Most likely, he was in another part of
South Africa committing a fraud, though there is
some evidence that he was in London at theis time.
Deeming's best biographer, J.S. O'Sullivan,
totally rejects this evidene on very valid grounds. When these stories began to appear,
Deeming had become an extremely notorious murder
trial defendant. The newspapers fed the public many incredible stories about him, to boost
circulation. The public accepted these stories,
depicting him as thoroughly depraved and evil. In
the eyes of many people it was impossible that two
such villains as the Ripper and Deeming could
exist at the same time. Therefore it was thought
that they must be the same man (O'Sullivan, 1968).
The only point that these stories have in common is that they tend to link Deeming with only
two Whitechapel Murders: those of Elizabeth Stride
and Catherine Eddowes on 29/30 September, 1888.
Now this is peculiar because no similar particularism is shown in the cases of the other
suspects. Nobody has, for instance, suggested that Montague Druitt killed only Annie Chapman.
Only one attempt was made to link Deeming with another victim (Mary Kelly). This was a newspaper item from Canada, which was rejected as
soon as it appeared (THE TIMES, 13 April 1892).
The story linked Deeming with Catherine Eddowes and Mary Kelly, but THE TIMES rejected it because it placed Deeming in Canada in 1882.
On 8 April, 1892 a story appeared in the MELBOURNE EVENING STANDARD that was cabled from London. A dressmaker there claimed she had been out with a man named Lawson on 29/30 September,
1888, and that he knew details about the murder of Catherine Eddowes. Lawson happened to be an alias used occasionally by Deeming (O'Sullivan,
1968). It is easy to pick holes in this. The
unnamed dressmaker could have been a publicity
seeker, or a person with a mental disorder. If the story was true, why had she waited four years
to reveal it? Considering the "yellow journalism"
practised in Melbourne (with regard to Deeming) the story could have been made up. Finally, assuming it was true, why was it supposed to be
Deeming that this woman knew? Lawson is a common
last name. It could have been another man."
The article went on to discuss the pair of
surgical knives Deeming had, and what happened to
them (they may have ended up with Deeming's death
mask, handed over to Scotland Yard). The fact is
the evidence of Deeming's involvement in Whitechapel is too full of holes to be as worthy
of study as say Joseph Barnett's, Tumblety's,
Stevenson's, Chapman's, or Druitt's. But it is worth
a look back occasionally.
Personally I think Fred Deeming was in Johannesburg that autumn, but wherever he was, he
was up to nothing good.
Best wishes,
Jeff |
Neale Carter
Sergeant
Username: Ncarter
Post Number: 13
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, August 10, 2003 - 10:45 pm: | |
Hi all,
Fascinating stuff on Deeming. I used to live very close to the house in Windsor (a Melbourne suburb). Let me know if there is any specifically local research I may be able to assist with.
Neale |
Jeffrey Bloomfied
Detective Sergeant
Username: Mayerling
Post Number: 112
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, August 11, 2003 - 10:47 pm: | |
Hi Neale,
I doubt if the house Deeming killed and buried
Emily in is still standing, but if you can get us
a photograph of the location, it would be of some
interest.
Thank you for your interest.
Jeff |
Neale Carter
Sergeant
Username: Ncarter
Post Number: 14
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 12, 2003 - 10:29 pm: | |
Jeff,
As you may know, Melbourne has one of the best preserved set of Victorian buildings anywhere. Windsor in particular has many original Victorian cottages still standing. I'll check on the Deeming house and let you know.
Neale |
Andrew Spallek
Detective Sergeant
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 73
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 3:01 pm: | |
Martin, I too remember reading of an alleged confession of sorts on Deeming's part to the Whitechapel killings. I also remember the source dismssing this possibility -- but I don't remember why. It may have been the erroneous date of his imprisonment in SA.
After doing some reading up here on Deeming, I believe I had dismissed him too soon as a possible suspect. I think his sociopathic personality is a good match for JTR. The differences in MO regarding the hiding of his family's corpses and not the Whitechapel victims' is explained in that he would have been an immediate suspect if his family's murders were discovered but he did not have to fear this with prostitutes with whom he had no known connection (the Eddowes "letter" notwithstanding).
The drawback is that aside from the mysterious "dressmaker" (highly dubious), there is no evidence to connect him with the Whitecahpel murders. His whereabouts at the time is problematic, but I have not seen conclusive evidence that places Deeming in SA or elsewhere in Autumn 1888.
A thought -- what was the sailing time between South Africa and London in 1888? It isn't possible that he could have made the round trip between August 31 and Sept 8th is it? I rather think it must have been a week's trip in either direction.
Still would like to investigate the alleged Johannesburg Ripper murders of 1889. See the thread under Shades of Whitechapel.
Andy
|
Jon Smyth
Detective Sergeant
Username: Jon
Post Number: 90
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2003 - 10:39 pm: | |
"....A thought -- what was the sailing time between South Africa and London in 1888?"
I also research the Zulu wars and thought I could find a reference to sailing times between Durban & Southampton somewhere, I am still looking but tonight I find mention of the voyage from Durban to the island of St Helens taking 6 weeks (Feb 18 - Mar 30).
That might give you some idea as I think the trip from Durban to Southampton is almost 4 times the distance from Durban to St Helens.
I'll keep looking.
regards, Jon
P.S.
There's also another reference of it taking 12 days to sail from Durban to Port Elizabeth, which is 500 miles. |
Andrew Spallek
Detective Sergeant
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 74
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2003 - 2:09 am: | |
Thanks, Jon. By the time of the Titanic (1912)ships were crossing the Atlantic (3000 miles) in a few days. But that was more than 20 years later. But I wonder what about clippers such as the Cutty Sark. They were very fast for their day.
Andy
|
Alexander Chisholm
Sergeant
Username: Alex
Post Number: 25
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2003 - 7:46 am: | |
This is probably of little use in determining times from South Africa, but it seems a typical Atlantic crossing in 1888 was eight days.
When Richard Mansfield travelled to England for his Lyceum season, he left New York aboard “The City of Rome” steamer on July 11, and docked in Liverpool on July 19.
Best Wishes
alex
|
Andrew Spallek
Detective Sergeant
Username: Aspallek
Post Number: 75
Registered: 5-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2003 - 10:26 am: | |
Thanks, Alex, that helps. The distance between London and Jo'burg is @ 7000 NM (by air via commercial airway routing) as opposed to @ 3000 London - New York. It would seem that a round trip to SA would take in excess of 1 month on a passenger steamer. Even if a clipper were twice as fast, it would still take 2-3 weeks for a round-trip ("return-trip" in deference to my English friends).
As I presumed, there is not enough time for Deeming to have gone to SA and back between August 31 and Sept. 8. Therefore, if we can positively place Deeming in SA during the Autumn of 1888, we can eliminate him as a Ripper suspect (assuming the same person killed Nichols and Chapman, which does not seem in doubt).
Andy
|
Chris Scott
Inspector
Username: Chris
Post Number: 408
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 1:08 pm: | |
I found this resume of Deeming's "career" in the Williamsport Sunday Grit from 8 May 1892 and thought it might be of interest
 |
Jeffrey Bloomfied
Detective Sergeant
Username: Mayerling
Post Number: 115
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2003 - 7:51 pm: | |
Hi Chris,
I am curious now about the unsolved murder of
Mrs. Langley at Hull, England on July 19, 1891.
Have you found any account of it?
Best wishes,
Jeff |
Gary Bannon
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Saturday, March 13, 2004 - 8:06 pm: | |
I knew there was a connection between the Ripper and St.Helens. It was probably Deeming. |
Bernard McIver
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Friday, August 06, 2004 - 3:04 am: | |
Hello Jeff,
We are researching our Families History & have just come across an interesting link with Frederick Bailey Deeming (alias Williams, alias Lawson).
Tricia's line on her Mothers side is Keays. Family belief has been that two of Tricia's Great Uncles left Victoria Aust. for South Africa, but nothing further was known & no trace could be found.
Information just to hand from Victoria reveals that James Keays died in South Africa on 8 Aug. 1889 aged 28 yrs. He was the son of Patrick & Catherine Keays of Narioka,Victoria.
Local newspaper reports (Nathalia Herald 31 March & 7 April 1892) state that James and a Brother we believe to be William went to the goldfield at Charters Towers, Qld. in 1888, and there met up with an engineer named Harry Lawson. Lawson invited the brothers to accompany him to South Africa where the prospects were better. James agreed and went with Lawson to Sydney, and from there to visit his parents in Narioka. He rejoined Lawson in Sydney and they embarked on a ship in Melbourne bound for the Cape. Two other miners who were to join them were unable to do so because they had been robbed of 170 Pounds at the hotel where they had been staying with Lawson.
James sent a letter to his Mother to say he had reached the Cape safely, and enclosing a photo of himself with Lawson. He hoped to reach the goldfield soon. This was the last letter received from James. Shortly afterwards (dont know how long!) a letter was received from Lawson announcing the death of James from fever, and describing how he (Lawson) had rendered the last services for him by closing his eyes in death. Lawson also said that he was the only person at the funeral. (Note: This tends to portray Lawson in a somewhat different light than some reports.)
With the publicity surrounding the Windsor Murder and the publishing of a picture of Williams(Lawson) together with a facsimile of his handwriting, James's Parents saw a resemblance to the Lawson in their photo, and also to the handwriting in Lawsons letter of 1889. After some deliberation they handed the letter & photo to Detective Considene, one of the investigating officers. General opinion appeared to support their findings.
We have no knowledge of any action taken by the police in connection with the letter & photo, or of the whereabouts of these items.
The articles in the Nathalia Herald mentioned speculation that James Keays may have been the victim of foul play, and called for caution until the police had made enquiries.
In fact, as shown in your posting dated 10 August 2003, THE TIMES 4 April 1892 asserted that Keays died of natural causes, and this would have probably been the finding of the police.
From the Keays family point of view we would hope to be able to confirm the cause of death & place of burial of James. We are attempting to trace the ship and date of departure for James & Lawson, which may assist in tracing the movements of Deeming,Williams, Lawson.
You may be able to advise where we could obtain copies of the articles in THE TIMES of 1 April & 4 April 1892.
We will keep you posted if we find anything of interest.
Good Hunting!
Best Wishes, Bernard & Patricia McIver
|
Bernard McIver
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Sunday, August 08, 2004 - 11:34 pm: | |
Hi All,
Regarding the sailing time between the Cape & England, this may help somewhat in deciding the issue.
In 1888 the Government of the Colony granted a mail contract jointly to Union Steamship Co. of Southampton & Castle Packet Co.of London.
The contract required a passage time of 20days to the Cape, with an extension of the service to Durban. Ships were scheduled to depart every Thursday, alternatively from Southamton & London.
I dont know the commencement date for this service but one would have to presume that prior sailings would have taken considerably longer.
Bernard McIver |
Jeffrey Bloomfied
Inspector
Username: Mayerling
Post Number: 431
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, August 09, 2004 - 8:59 pm: | |
Hello Bernard and Patricia,
This is an example of not staying on top of the Casebook boards constantly. For the last week I have just skimmed those items that are highlighted on the side, so that I did not examine what else has been discussed on the various board strands.
The story of the possible connection of James Keays and Deeming is fascinating, but you yourself have seen the difficulties in proving it (or even just strengthening the possible connection). A lot of "ifs" involved: Did James die of natural causes or was he poisoned? Was he traveling with an actual engineer named Harry Lawson, or was he traveling with another man named Frederick Deeming, or was he traveling with another man with another real name? Did the police (in Melbourne or Liverpool or Cape Colony) really prove to their satisfaction that James Keays died from natural causes? Even minor points are not settled: for example, those two miners who were robbed of 170 pounds were staying at the same hotel as Lawson was. Is that significant (i.e., that Lawson stole their money) or a coincidence? And if Lawson was Fred Deeming, where were Maria and the kids at this time (we are three years away from the tragedy at Rainhill)?
As I was reading the story of the last journey of James Keays from Queensland to the Cape, I recalled a somewhat forgotten contemporary crime that occurred in 1889 - 1890 in Canada. This was the Blenheim Forest Murder in Ontario, sometimes referred to as the "Murder Farm" Case. In 1889 a young man named Frederick Benwell made the mistake of contacting one Reginald Birchall (who had been advertising in London newspapers). Birchall claimed to have a prosperous farm in Ontario, and wanted one or more junior partners. As Birchall was an Oxford alumni he seemed to have impeccable credentials. Benwall and another man named Pelly traveled to the U.S. with Birchall and his wife. They went from New York City to Niagara Falls by train, and then Benwell was invited (alone) to see the farm. He went off with Birchall, while Pelly was touring Niagara with Mrs. Birchall. Birchall returned to say that Benwell enjoyed the farm and started settling in. Pelly asked to be taken, but Birchall said he had some business in Niagara to take care of first. Then, while crossing a bridge near the falls, Birchall seemed to push into Pelly several times, narrowly avoiding knocking him into the torrent. At one point, when they seemed alone for a moment, Birchall's demeanour changed (but a stranger popped up in time). Pelly decided to leave Niagara and the company of Birchall and his wife. He returned to New York City to hear about the discovery (in Blenheim Forrest, near Niagara) of a man's corpse. The man was shot in the back. Soon, due to some interesting detective work by Ontario's Chief of Police Detectives (John Wilson Murray) the corpse was identified as Frederick Benwell, and Reginald Birchall was arrested. Pelly returned to tell his half of the story. Birchall, despite a spirited defense, was convicted of murdering Benwell and hanged. The fate of Benwell does sound remarkably similar in some ways to the possible fate of James Keays. One wonders how much of James Keays' property was eventually returned to his family. If most of it was, it would be more proof of his dying of natural causes, but if nothing was returned it suggests that the cause of death was very possibly a murder based on greed or theft.
I am fully looking forward to anymore information you may locate regarding James Keays (and his brother) and the mysterious Harry Lawson.
Best wishes,
Jeff Bloomfield |
Bernard McIver
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Sunday, August 15, 2004 - 12:50 am: | |
Hello Jeff,
Since we posted our first message we have obtained copies of The Times dated 31 March & 4 April 1892 from our State Library, and they make interesting reading.
Firstly though, we have identified the brother of James who was with him in Queensland as being William. William stayed in Queensland and married there on 6 July 1889. He died in Victoria in 1932.
A Reuter's Special Service report,datelined Melbourne 30 March, details the relationship between the Keays brothers and Harry Lawson, and would be the prime source of information contained in the Nathalia Herald which we quoted in our message of 6 August. We detect no variance in these reports, except that The Times does not mention that James went to Narioka before rejoining Lawson, and does not clarify who was staying at the hotel when the other two miners were robbed. (Just Lawson or Lawson & James?)
Immediately under this report, Reuters, datelined Melbourne 31 March, state: "Detective Brant, of Melbourne, has identified Deeming's photograph as that of a man wanted for the murder of a white named Graham and of a Kaffir and a Hottentot, who were all murdered at Johannesburg in 1888". (The timing of this report coincides with James's father passing the photo and letter to the Victorian Police.)
Reuters Special Service,
datelined Johannesburg 3 April, deals with the possible link between Deeming and the triple murder, and also whether James was the victim of foul play. Reporting on the police enquiries they state: "The investigation, so far as it has gone, seems to have effectually disposed of one at least of these suggestions. It was soon discovered that the most intimate friend of Keays was a man named Larsen, not Lawson, and that he was not only a totally different person from the Harry Lawson who appears to have been identified as Deeming, but is still resident in Johannesburg in the employment of the Stanhope Company.
Mr.Larsen, with whom the police at once communicated, gave them all the information in his power as to the death of his friend, and there was no difficulty in establishing beyond a doubt that the James Keays in question died of fever at Johannesburg on May 16 1889, and that a certificate, signed by the doctor who attended him, was officially recorded at the time."
The report went on to deal with Deeming's connection with the triple murder, and said that as the crime was committed at night, the police could not place suspicion on any particular individual. Under the circumstances the police could not see how the alleged identification of Deeming as the author of these crimes is posssible. (The following appeared in the same issue
Reuter datelined Capetown 3 April states:
"The Johannesburg police, who are enquiring into Deeming's antecedents, have been unable to find any confirmation of the accused's supposed identity with the author of the murders perpetrated there in 1888. It has been satisfactorily proved that James Keays died of fever in 1889 and that his friend who accompanied him to South Africa from Queensland was not Deeming but a man named Larsen."
This latter, brief report, appears to contain an element of journalistic licence, as no where else is there any suggestion that Larsen travelled with James from Queensland. Lawson and Larsen could well be two different persons.
To further complicate matters, the following death notice appeared in Nathalia Herald dated 8 August 1889: "Keays-James - On 3rd June 1889 at Durban (Natal), South Africa, from a relapse of Madagascar fever, the dearly beloved son of Patrick and Catherine Keays, Narioka. Age 28 years. May God have mercy on his soul, Our good and faithful son.
We now have two dates and places, but we hope to clarify this as we are trying to obtain a Death Certificate from South Africa.
Meanwhile, we will be searching Melbourne papers covering the trial, for any further clues on Lawson's movements in Australia.
Best Wishes,
Bernard & Patricia McIver.
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