| Jack the Ripper: A Suspect Guide |
This text is from the E-book Jack the Ripper: A Suspect Guide by Christopher J. Morley (2005). Click here to return to the table of contents. The text is unedited, and any errors or omissions rest with the author. Our thanks go out to Christopher J. Morley for his permission to publish his E-book.
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According to reports in the Trenton Times 18 December and the Decatur Saturday Herald 22 December 1888. 'In Montreal, a crank whose real name is, John Laughon, was arrested after assaulting Miss Florrie Newcomb. The man darted out of a gateway as she was walking along a darkened street, and caught her by the arm, and said, 'You must come with me'. Her screams alerted two men who apprehended him without a struggle. When he was taken into custody he told the police, 'I am Jack the Ripper. All Whitechapel is looking for me. I have just arrived. I intended to give myself up, as I have already killed fifteen, and I'll yet complete the number if you let me go. You had better hang me by the neck until I am dead'. He then began to laugh uproariously. When he was searched, a letter in his handwriting and signed, Jack the Ripper, was found in his possession. Along with 25 cents and a very large murderous looking knife. He also wrote a letter to the chief of police in which he claimed to be Jack the Ripper, and stated that he wanted an investigation, and wished to be hung. The newspapers stated, 'he is a great liar'. Laughon, it is said, was 25 years old, a diminutive individual about four feet six inches in height, who spoke with an unmistakable cockney accent.
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