Woman Murdered In Hampstead In 1890

JACK KEEPS HIS WORD.

The Whitechapel Demon Murders Another Woman - Her Head Nearly Severed.
Shocking Spectacle Presented by the Corpse - Scared Away Before Completing the Mutilation.

LONDON, Oct. 24. - Half of London was horrified last night in learning of a fearful murder committed at Hampstead with "Jack the Ripper" ferocity. A woman was found at exactly 7 o'clock, in Crossfield roads. She was lying on the pavement in a pool of blood, and past all human assistance. Doctors were summoned and said she had been dead quite half an hour. The victim had evidently lingered some 10 minutes after she was attacked. The body was then removed to the police station, and there it was found that the head had been almost severed from the body, and there were several deep holes at the back of the skull, which showed the ferocity with which the woman had been attacked. The woman was dressed tidily. The police say she had the appearance of a domestic servant. Her age was about 33. There is no doubt that her death was not caused by a tremendous swipe across her throat, but by the blows on the skull, which presented a shocking sight.
The police think it was the work of "Jack the Ripper," as it presents all the appearances of the crimes of a year ago. In fact, a letter was received at the Hampstead police station, yesterday, from the "Ripper," saying that he had just returned from a visit to Ireland, and intended to do some work at Hampstead and Wandsworth. From tonight's crime it looks as if he carried out his threat all too soon for the sleepy police officials, who once more are baffled. The assassin got clear away.
A cabman called at the police station at 10 o'clock on hearing of the crime. He said he had driven a gentleman about 6:30 to Chalk Farm station, which is about two miles from the place of the tragedy. He was in a great hurry, and promised the driver double fare if he got to the station in five minutes. The cabman drove fast, and received a bright shilling for his work. He says the man's clothes were muddy and his collar disarranged. But the man evidently thought his condition would excite suspicion, and forestalled inquiry by saying that he had been playing football and wanted to get home quickly and change his dirty things. This explanation satisfied the cabman, who had been well paid for his trouble.
Though the crime does not present the shocking brutality exhibited in the past of "Jack the Ripper's" tragedies, the police think the man was disturbed, and did not have time to hack the body about but a fearful gash across the throat leaves little doubt that the "Ripper" was the real murderer.
The street in which the body was found was quite select, and is tenanted by middle-class people who have business in the city during the day, and arrive home about 6 o'clock, so that the murderer must have had but little time to attack his victim and get away unnoticed.
Detectives swarmed over the place tonight. Batches of men have been drafted to Whitechapel and all parts of East London to search for the murderer.

STABBED FROM BEHIND.

LONDON, Oct. 25. - The condition of the woman's body found at South Hampstead indicates that her murder was the most horrible of any that had occurred in England since "Jack the Ripper's" horrible Whitechapel series. The character of the wounds clearly establishes the fact that the woman was stabbed by some one from behind; after which her body was hacked and slashed almost into pieces. The scene of the crime is a lonely part of the London suburbs, inhabited by the lowest class of abandoned women. It is supposed to be frequently patrolled by police, but the constables themselves admit that they performed that duty with feelings of trepidation. The suspicion arises that their visits are not as frequent as they might be. It is generally believed that the murder is the work of "Jack the Ripper," who has changed the scene of his crimes in order to baffle the police. The latter are tracking a man who was seen near the place where the body was found, and who drove away at a furious pace. The inhabitants of the vicinity are intensely excited over the affair.

THE BODY EXAMINED.

A medical expert has made a careful examination of the body of the woman found last night murdered in South Hampstead. The examination shows the murder was committed in a manner not characteristic of Jack the Ripper, and also negatives the suggestion that the victim was of the Whitechapel type, which has thus far furnished the Ripper's prey. The body is that of a woman apparently 30 years of age, clad in material, the texture and cut of which indicated the wearer to have been a person of some refinement. The underclothes were found to be marked, a fact upon which the police place great stress, as furnishing a clue to the murderer. When a boy found it, it was seen that the woman's throat had been cut and the skull fractured. The pockets were empty. Near the body the police found an empty perambulator, containing a blood stained fur rug. The officers surmise that the perambulator was used to carry the body of the victim from the place where the murder was committed to the point at which it was found.

Source: Victoria Daily Colonist, Sunday October 26, 1890, Page 3