Lima Daily Democratic Times
Ohio, U.S.A.
14 November 1888
The London Police Show Their Ignorance in the Whitechapel Murders
Lima Daily Democratic Times
A Probable Clew
Some Hope of Catching the Whitechapel Murderer
London, Nov. 14.
The hopes of the police of catching the Whitechapel murderer, which had almost entirely
died out, were raised to the acme of buoyancy yesterday in consequence of the testimony, at
the Kelly inquest, of George Hutchinson, a groom, who had known the victim for some years,
and who saw her with a male companion shortly before 2 o'clock on the morning of the
murder.
Hutchinson testified that he was a well dressed man, with a Jewish cast of countenance,
accost the woman on the street at the hour mentioned on Friday morning, and the
circumstance of his acquaintance with her induced him to follow the pair as they walked
together. He looked straight into the man's face as he turned to accompany the woman, and
followed them to Miller court, out of mere curiosity. He had no thought of the previous
murders and certainly no suspicion that the man contemplated violence, since his
conspicuous manifestations of affection for his companion as they walked along, formed a
large part of his incentive to keep them in sight.
After the couple entered the house Hutchinson heard sounds of merriment in the girl's room
and remained at the entrance to the court for fully three quarters of an our. About 3
o'clock the sounds ceased and he walked into the court, but finding that the light in the
room had been extinguished he went home. During the hour occupied in standing at the
entrance to, or promenading the court, he did not see a policeman. There is every reason to
believe Hutchinson's statement and the police place great reliance in his description of
the man, believing that it will enable them to run him down.
The witness who testified to having seen the woman enter the house with a man with a
blotched face was evidently mistaken as to the night, as his description of her companion
is totally unlike that of Hutchinson in every particular. the bulk of the evidence taken
fixes the time of the murder at between 3.30 and 4 o'clock. It has transpired that in
addition to the facial mutilation of the murdered woman the uterus was wholly skilfully
removed and laid in a corner of the bed.