Emma Elizabeth Smith
Although forty-five years of age, a mother or two, a widower and a prostitute, Emma Smith is
generally looked upon as something of a mystery. Her acquaintances gave
her a much higher standing than others of her kind would have received, and
the events which were to lead to her death must still cause the casual
reader to wonder at the absolute strength of this woman.
Emma claimed to have both a son and a daughter living somewhere in the area
of Finsbury Park, and was often heard to say that they should do something
to help her situation. She had been a prostitute for some time now, at least
since she last saw her husband (she claimed to have been a widow, but also
claimed she left her husband in 1877). Emma was also somewhat of a belligerent
woman, often seen with a black eye and other various cuts and bruises as a
result of many a drunken brawl.
She had been living in George Street for about a year and a half, with a
routine practically set in stone: she'd leave her lodgings between six and
seven in the evening, practice her trade for the night, and return in the
small hours of the next morning. And so it went on Bank Holiday night,
Easter Monday (April 3, 1888) that she left around 6:00 PM searching for
trade. She was next seen around 12:15 AM talking to a man dressed in dark
clothes and a white scarf in Fairance Street, Limehouse. The next time she
was seen was about four hours later, when she staggered into her lodgings
at George Street, her face bloodied and her ear cut, with her woolen shoulder
wrap pressed between her thighs to clog the injury which would later lead
to her death.
As she would later report, she was returning home that night, probably the
worse for drink, when at least three, maybe four youths began following her
from Whitechapel Church. They would stop her on the corner of Brick Lane
and Wentworth Street, where they beat, raped, and viciously jabbed a blunt
object into her vagina, tearing the perineum. The boys emptied her purse
before leaving her to die on
the street. Here is where the story becomes incredible.
Having just been beaten and raped, and having sustained a sizeable (and no
doubt excruciatingly painful) injury, Emma Smith stood up and walked
back to her lodgings at George Street. She had apparently removed her shoulder
wrap and placed it between her thighs to soak up the blood which had
undoubtedly been flowing from her ripped perineum. The deputy and another
lodger at George Street, amazed that she could even have made it this far,
rushed her to the London Hospital on Whitechapel Road, apparently against
Emma's will. Once there, she fought unconsciousness long enough to describe
her assailants and the details of her assault. Finally, Emma could no longer
stay off the severity of her injuries and succumbed to a coma, in which she
would die four days later.
It is believed by most that it was one of the many Whitechapel gangs which
killed Emma Smith, and not the Ripper. The Old Nichol gang was known
to patrol the area in which the incident occurred, extorting money from
prostitutes and other downtrodden women in return for their protection. In
fact, it wasn't until September of 1888 that she was first attributed as a
Ripper victim by the press.
Emma's death is also important in that many believe it may have been a
contributing factor in the creation of the mythical "Fairy Fay" murder (if,
indeed, it is taken to have been a mythical murder). Some authors note
that "Fairy Fay" was said to have been killed by a stake jabbed into her
abdomen -- much like Emma was killed by a blunt object stabbed into her
vagina. Therefore, many claim, it was the means of Emma's murder combined
with the date of Rose Mylett's death which led to the creation of the "Fairy
Fay" murder.
Whether or not Emma's death should be attributed to the Ripper is a question
responded to in the negative by almost all Ripperologists. There is no reason
to doubt her story that she was attacked by three (or four) men, and no
other Ripper victim (except for the possibility of Stride, according to
Israel Schwartz's account) was believed to have been killed by more than one
man. Also, the fact that she was raped is not consistent with the other
Ripper victims.
In fact, to accept Emma as a veritable victim, one must accept that the Ripper
was either part of a group at one time, or even part of a gang like the
Old Nichols. Unfortunately, there is little evidence to back this theory.
Brick Lane
Most reports on the
death of Emma Smith have her as being assaulted just
outside Taylor Brothers Mustard and Cocoa Mill which was on the north-east
corner of the Wentworth/Old Montague Street crossroads. At the northern end,
Brick Lane ran into the criminal "Nichol" slum, while the southern end was
a bit more respectable and known for its large Jewish population. On the
corner of Brick Lane and Thrawl Street was
The Frying Pan, the pub
in which Polly Nichols spent the last night of her life drinking. It was
also widely reported at one time that
Jill the Ripper lived in or
around Brick Lane.
Emma Smith and "Fingers Freddy"
There is also a recently alleged theory concerning Emma Smith which involves
a shady character known only as Fingers Freddy. In his writings for
The Sun in 1972, Superintendant Arthur Butler described the story of Fingers
Freddy, who he claimed was a street showman who would perform various magic
tricks while accomplices would pick his spectators' pockets. It was also
alleged that this man was Emma Smith's protector, and that the two knew
Jill the Ripper (who, you will remember, was said to have lived
somewhere in Brick Lane), and planned to blackmail her by threatening to
expose her as an illegal abortionist (this probably assumes the fact that the
two did not realize that this woman was in fact the Whitechapel fiend).
Smith then turned up dead, and Freddy disappeared immediately after. It is
unknown whether or not Freddy was also killed, as he may simply have fled
the area knowing his life was in danger.
