George Hutchinson (American)
Suggested as a Ripper suspect by the Pall Mall Gazette, it said of Hutchinson, 'Is he the Whitechapel murderer'. In 1881 George Hutchinson (not to be confused with the Mary Kelly witness, George Hutchinson) was an inmate of Elgin asylum. Not considered dangerous, he was granted a great deal of freedom, and took a particularly interest in the process of killing animals at the asylum slaughtering house, occupying his time by skilfully fashioning tooth picks out of animal bones. He escaped and murdered a prostitute in Chicago, mutilating her in a manner similar to the later Whitechapel murders. He was recaptured, only to escape again and was at large at the time of the Ripper murders, though there is no evidence he was in London at that time. The original and full name of the Elgin asylum was The Northern Illinois Hospital and Asylum, opened in 1872, it closed In 1960 and was demolished in 1972. A rumour which persisted for years was that the State of Illinois approached the City of Elgin with plans to construct a mental institution or a college, offering Elgin one or the other. Stories suggest that they opted for the mental institution.
