I’m looking for a man called George.

My graphologist chum said:
He’s a bloke.
Really! That’s amazing.
My graphologist rolled his eyes. Not many girls are called . . .  so you just want to know what sense I get from this man? He’s dead.
Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes.
Okay. There’s not much here. And letters, words, in isolation don’t mean so much. We’re looking for repetition of a pattern – at least three  . . .  that’s unlikely with this small sample.
So it’s pretty much worthless?
No. I can give you an impression . . . but . . .  He likes attention . . .  see the way the end stroke rises up above the end line. He craves attention. This end stroke is even higher than the upper stroke.
He’s sexually active and adventurous. Promiscuous. See the incredibly extended lower zone. But he’s a bit of a bigot . . .  his narrow middle E loop is non existent.
He has a sense of humour . . . see the long initial upper wavy line. Bit of a joker . . . but it’s barbed . . .  he tends to sarcasm . . . He’s also. . . impatient . . .  he’ll act without delay as seen by the dots ahead of the I’s and crossed T’s. But he’s quite at home in his skin.
Alright, anything in there that looks odd?
Odd how?
Out of the ordinary.
It’s handwriting. It’s all unique . . .
Now it’s my turn to sigh.
The X’s. They are aggressive. Nothing soft about the way he shapes that X. He presses so hard the contours of the nib are denoted. Crossed swords. Skull and crossbones . . .  that’s what it reminds me of. Out of place . . . it’s darker and he’s pressing heavier for that letter. Then there’s the capital K in the middle of a lowercase word . . . figurehead . . .  wants to be considered a leader. But the upperzone stroke is detached from the buckle, which looks like a golf club?! It’s all angular . . . and  big. . . like the X. Something about the X especially bothers him.
Is he capable of killing?
My graphologist’s Jaw drops. Finally he responds . . . I can’t say. There is aggression here but it’s disciplined . . . the sample is too small.
What about the signatures of George Hutchinson? Are they written by the same man?
No.
You’re sure?
As certain as I can be. Look at the formation of the G. It’s big and with wide loops . . . fluid . . . then look at this narrow little thing . . . and this is the signature that’s most superficially like these other six signatures. The man who wrote those (handwriting samples of men called G Hutchinson) didn’t write these. The same author wrote these three signatures (witness statement taken at Commercial Street Police Station and signed on three separate sheets of paper) although there appears a difference, but not if the surname is ignored. The first name, George, is written by the same hand and with confidence.
You’re sure?
Yes.

Right. So what does it mean? It means I’m looking for a man called George. I don’t know where he lives but he has a connection to Romford? – allegedly. He has military bearing and is stout. He could be around twenty-eight years of age. Job done!
Well I found Alfred Long’s alias (James Short) and I found Mary Kelly’s 'husband' (John Davies) how difficult can this be? I need another lateral thought and my mind is revolving about his military bearing, but that still leaves a gamut of army personnel. He states he has known Mary Kelly for three years . . . rules out Wales . . .  excludes Mary Kelly’s life in the West End and her sojourn in France. There is mention that Joe Flemming is George Hutchinson . . .  A George Hutchinson’s father was a stonemason – as was Joe Flemming . . .  So is there a George Flemming, with a connection to Essex, and who worked as a groom? Three lemons in a row . . . is that the Jackpot? Worth a look. I'll recognise that G anywhere . . .

I’m writing another book about Jack the Ripper. In this novel, I kill the bastard.

Facsimile of Jack the Ripper letter

Facsimile of Jack the Ripper letter sent to Central News Agency

Martyrs of Civilisation

Tall and fair.

David Wilson Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University:
It is screaming out connection, ­connection, connection. 'There is no such thing as coincidence when you are ­dealing with serial killers.'
I know I've previously quoted that statement. I don't necessarily think that Jack the Ripper killed five women. Contemporary reports claim any number of victims. Three women stand out. They shared similarities and differed from the other Whitechapel murder victims by dint of their age and stature (average male height was 5ft. 5in. in 1888). :

The Whitehall Mystery victim. 2nd October 1888 over 24 or 25 and under 30. It appeared that she was full fleshed, well nourished. Stout. Dark hair, fair skin. 5ft. 8in.

Mary Kelly. 9th November approximately 25 years of age. Stout. Golden hair, fair skin. 5ft. 7in.

Elizabeth Jackson. 4th June 1889 under the age range of 25 Stout. Sandy coloured hair, fair skin. 5ft. 5 in.

Mary Kelly often visited The Elephant and Castle (south side of the river). Elizabeth's Jackson's torso was found just two miles distant in Battersea Park (south side of the river.) The Whitehall Mystery's torso was discovered about two miles from The Elephant and Castle and curiously approximately two miles from Battersea Park.

Alas an alias.

Date of Joining: 8 December 1879.
Date:     1879 Dec 8
Held by:     The National Archives, Kew
Legal status:     Public Record
Language:     English
Closure status:     Open Document, Open Description
Lavey     Frederick     —     —     1878     British Army Service Records 1760-1915

George Sullivan alias Frederick Levy alias Frederick Lavey, born Waterford, Ireland.
Attestation papers to serve in the Royal Marines at Chatham 1878 (when aged 24).
Discharged 1879 as Worthless and Incorrigible.
Failed to report he had been previously invalided out of 9th Lancers.

Howell or Cook or Levy or Stock     Thomas or Frederick     —     —     1887     England & Wales, Crime, Prisons & Punishment, 1770-1935.

I'd like to view this bloke's signature. I'm pursuing long shots!

Plain for all to see.

These are comparison George Hutchinson signatures and now the differences have been pointed out I can see them quite clearly.

The upper loop on G remains within the cup on all of George Hutchinson's witness signatures. End stoke finishes down not up. Small case case h is looped on George Hutchinson's statement in all three cases. The E following the capital G is looped.
Mm, I wonder whether there's an uppercase G in any of the ripper letters ...?

Who is George Hutchinson?

I handed a graphologist photocopies of George Hutchinson’s signatures from his statement given at Commercial Street station on the 12th Nov. He knew nothing of the person and isn’t someone who follows or has more than rudimentary knowledge of Jack the Ripper. Hutchinson’s name meant nothing to him and I separated the signatures from the statement.

This is what he said:

This person is old. The style of the writing . . . and it’s shaky . . . tentative. It’s funny . . . the George is confident but the surname is . . . lacks . . . confidence . . . or rhythm. He’s not used to writing this name. Is this his signature? I can believe the George is his name. He’s accustomed to writing it. It is the same, give or take the natural and expected variants form one signature to another. Look at the H. He can’t decide how to form it or how to connect it to the mid-zone following letter. He so lacks assurance that the letter H is blotted in this signature where his nib has dithered over the paper . . . and see here . . . it’s almost as if . . .  the letters are reducing in size . . .  he doesn’t want to write this. Doesn’t want to be . . . I don’t know . . .  I’d say he’s embarrassed about it. Shy? Perhaps he’s writing this name and it isn’t . . .  his . . .  and he doesn’t like the lie . . . subconsciously . . . Is that right?

Are you saying that Hutchinson isn’t his surname?

I don’t know . . .  but he’s written the name George with authority. If I were to guess I’d say this isn’t his surname and whatever his surname . . . it probably doesn’t begin with the letter H.

Mary Jane Kelly

Mary Jane Kelly's portrait from facial mapping.
 Detective Inspector Walter Dew:
"All this was horrifying enough, but the mental picture of that sight which remains most vividly with me is the poor woman's eyes. They were wide open, and seemed to be staring straight at me with a look of terror".

Police detectives crime fighting

George Hutchinson's other 'arf.

George Hutchinson is irksome. I have read he worked as a groom, presumably working with horses. He was stout and had military bearing and that is about the sum of George Hutchinson.

Sarah Lewis, a laundress of 24 Great Pearl Street gave this statement and description to the police:

He was not tall – but stout – had on a wideawake black hat – I did not notice his clothes – another young man with a woman passed along – The man standing in the street was looking up the court as if waiting for someone to come out.

George Hutchison stated that he was outside Miller’s court at the time commensurate with Lewis’s statement. So her description is confirmed by George Hutchinson.

Israel Swcharz’s description of the attacker – Elizabeth Stride:

At around 12.45am he turned into Berner Street and noticed a man walking ahead of him. The man stopped to talk to a woman who was standing in the gateway of Dutfield’s Yard. The man was about 5 feet, 5 inches tall, aged around 30 with dark hair, a fair complexion, a small brown moustache. He had a full face, broad shoulders and appeared to be slightly intoxicated.

William Marshall's description:

William Marshall lived at 64 Berner Street. He saw a couple kissing on the pavement outside number 63. He heard the man tell the woman that she would say 'anything but your prayers'.

According to Marshall the man was middle aged with the appearance of a clerk He was about 5 foot 6 inches tall, somewhat stout, respectably dresses and clean shaven. He wore a small, black, cutaway coat, dark trousers, and a round cap with a small sailor-like peak cap.

 The theme here is stout.

 Aliases were used, not infrequently, by army personnel – as I discovered when I found Alfred Long’s army alias and included in my book ‘Long Arm of the Law’. A terrible pun but it apes Alfred Long’s use of his alias, James Short. That sort of comedic in-joke is reminiscent of some of the ‘humorous' Ripper letters. But anyway, George Hutchinson hasn't been found (not convincingly) in the records. My guess is he used an alias. Was he known as George Hutchinson in Whitechapel? We only have his word that he was. He didn’t attend Mary Kelly’s inquest. Residents of Whitechapel couldn’t therefore accuse him of not being who he claimed he was.

I’m wondering if he too was in the 9th Lancers -- old pals with Alfred Long and working as a groom in this cavalry unit (soldiers looked after their own horses but the army employed grooms). Which takes me back to Lewis’s statement, ‘The man standing in the street was looking up the court as if waiting for someone to come out’.

Perhaps he was. 

Perhaps it was a serial killing pairing? A not unknown phenomena:

Over one third of all serial murders are committed by teams. Most involve two offenders. 13 percent of all serial killers are male-female. Without exception, every group of offenders has one person who maintains control of the other members, whether through coercion, intimidation, or other persuasive techniques. Nearly all of these "leaders" are men. Although women are frequently involved with serial murder teams, they generally are not the decision-makers or main enforcers.

Most criminal teams quickly fall apart. Typically, they make a mistake, such as leaving a witness alive, quarrelling, or going further in brutality than one partner can bear.
The most dangerous teams involve male/male pairings, and of those, the most aggressive are equals who realise they now have a partner as depraved as they are. With no moral boundaries, they work together to affirm and expand their range of criminal creativity. Katherine M. Ramsland

Purely speculation on my part BUT ...


David Wilson Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University:
It is screaming out connection, ­connection, connection. 'There is no such thing as coincidence when you are ­dealing with serial killers.'

Serial killer deja vou.

Dennis Andrew Nilsen (born 23 November 1945, Fraserburgh, Scotland) also known as the Muswell Hill Murderer and the Kindly Killer is a British serial killer who lived in London.
Nilsen killed at least fifteen men and boys in gruesome circumstances between 1978 and 1983, and was known to retain corpses for sex acts. He was eventually caught after his disposal of dismembered human entrails blocked his household drains: the drain cleaning company found that the drains were congested with human flesh and contacted the police.
In 1961, at sixteen, Nilsen enlisted in the British Army and became a cook in Aden, Cyprus and Berlin. He became a cook, serving as a butcher in the Army Catering Corps, learning the skills that served him so well during his five-year killing spree. He left the army in 1972 and served briefly as a police officer.
This biography sounds familiar. Working in a kitchen. Even to the age at which he joined the army and following with joining the police force.
Serial killers seek occupations whereby they gain control of others.

Cat directs murderer with axe

So much wrong with this image. I couldn't resist.