Carrie Brown
a.k.a. "Old Shakespeare"
One of the few alleged Ripper victims actually to have been killed
outside of London, Carrie Brown remains, for the most part, a
mystery. An older, American prostitute, Carrie's lifeless body
was discovered in the room of the East River Hotel on
the Manhattan waterfront of New York, U.S.A., on the night of
April 23-24, 1891. Before the release of Sugden's The Complete
Jack the Ripper, very little was known of her, and even less
was actually deemed worth writing about. She was, and still is,
mentioned solely as a connection to the suspect George
Chapman, who at the time of the murder was living in nearby
Jersey City, New Jersey.
Known fondly by her acquaintances as "Old Shakespeare" due to her
tendency to recite her favorite poet's sonnets after a few drinks,
Carrie Brown checked into the East River Hotel, on the southeast
corner of Catherine Slip and Water Streets, with a man between
10:30 and 11:00 on the night of April 23rd. Her lifeless body was
discovered lying on the bed the next morning, naked from the
armpits down, according to the night clerk who found her. Her body
was mutilated, and she had been strangled, but there are few details
known about her injuries. The details of the autopsy were played down
a great deal by the press, and all that we can know for sure is that
there were 'cuts and stab wounds all over it.' The doctor who
performed the autopsy, named Jenkins, is said to have thought that
the killer had attempted to completely gut his victim. Other than
that, the exactness of her injuries remain a mystery.
The man with whom she had entered was never traced, although an
Algerian Arab named Ameer Ben Ali was arrested and later convicted
for the crime. Sentenced to life imprisonment, but vehemently
denying his guilt, Ali was released eleven years later when
new evidence showed that bloodstains found in Ali's room (which were
primarily used to secure his conviction) might have been accidentally
strewn by an irresponsible investigation. Governor Benjamin
Odell had him released and the American Judicial System declared
him innocent of the crime -- so who killed Carrie Brown?
The man with Carrie Brown that night was seen only by one witness,
an assistant housekeeper at the East River Hotel named Mary Miniter.
She described her companion as:
- About 32 years of age.
- Five feet, eight inches tall.
- Slim build.
- Long, sharp nose.
- Heavy moustache of light color.
- Foreign in appearance, possibly German.
- Dark-brown cutaway coat.
- Black trousers.
- Old black derby hat with dented crown.
Admittedly, Miniter did not get a good long look at the suspicious man.
As he booked the room with Brown, Miniter claimed that he had remained
inconspicuous in the background and seemed 'anxious to avoid observation.'
The name of Jack the Ripper was quickly heard around the rumour
mill, and newspaper headlines brought the story back for another turn.
CHOKED, THEN MUTILATED
A MURDER LIKE ONE OF JACK THE RIPPER'S DEEDS
WHITECHAPEL'S HORRORS REPEATED
IN AN EAST SIDE LODGING HOUSE
New York Times
Newspapers refused to let the matter stand where police wished to
leave it, which was far, far away from the spectre of Jack the Ripper.
The New York Times wrote:
There has not been a case in years that has called forth so much
detective talent. Inspector Byrnes has said that it would be
impossible for crimes such as Jack the Ripper committed in
London to occur in New York and the murderer not be found. He has
not forgotten his words on the subject. He also remembers that
he has a photographed letter, sent by a person who signed himself
Jack the Ripper, dated 'Hell', and received eighteen months ago.
It was this statement which has prompted one theory concerning
the death of Carrie Brown which says that the New York Police
Department was involved. Having made such a boast that 'if Jack
the Ripper came to America, he would surely be caught,' these
theorists claim that they had Brown killed and planted the evidence
in Ameer Ben Ali's room the next day while 'investigating.' This
would serve to further embarass the 'competing' London police, while
giving praise and adulation to the N.Y.P.D..
Though this story is far-fetched indeed, the logic behind it simply
doesn't make sense. If the N.Y.P.D. had wanted to cast themselves in
the light of 'the force who caught the Ripper,' they would not have
played down the possibility of a connexion with Jack the Ripper. Still,
it does explain the reason for the bloodstains suddenly 'appearing'
in Ali's room, if indeed they were as a result of the police and
reporters who flooded the room the morning after the murder.
Another story emerged in 1901, accusing a Danish farmboy who was
working in Cranford, New Jersey at the time of the murder. According
to his employer, the man was absent that night, and returned home in the
morning, only to leave a few days later, never to return. Soon after,
the employer found a key similar to those used in the East River
Hotel as well as a bloodstained shirt in his room. Unfortunately,
the fact that this information was revealed an entire decade later
must make it the object of suspicion.
And so the murder of Carrie Brown remains, unsolved. The question of
whether or not it was a Ripper-related murder can not, at present, be
sufficiently answered. Detailed medical reports must be found concerning
the exact nature of her injuries, and these must be matched to the M.O.
of Jack the Ripper's canonical victims. If they do indeed match the
injuries of, say, Chapman or Eddowes, then some serious rethinking
concerning the case of Jack the Ripper needs to be done.
| Mortuary photographs of Carrie
Brown: Click for larger versions... |
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