Dear Boss and Saucy Jack documents. As can be seen, they are almost identical.
Thursday, 31 August 2017
Dear boss and Saucy Jack
A simple method of confirming whether handwriting is by one person is to place a transparent grid over the two comparison samples.
Dear Boss and Saucy Jack documents. As can be seen, they are almost identical.
Dear Boss and Saucy Jack documents. As can be seen, they are almost identical.
Tuesday, 29 August 2017
Monday, 28 August 2017
Sunday, 27 August 2017
Dr Crippen's pocket watch
A gilt pocket-watch, which Dr Crippen gave to his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, whose husband, Stanley Smith, wore until his death.
Friday, 25 August 2017
Hangman's training instruction
Memorandum of Instructions for
carrying out the details of an Execution
1. The trap doors shall be stained a dark colour
and their outer edges shall be defined by a white line three inches broad
painted round the edge of the pit outside the traps.
2. On the day preceding an execution the
apparatus for the execution shall be tested in the following manner under the
supervision of the Works Officer, the Governor being present:-
The working of the scaffold will first be
tested without any weight. Then a bag of sand of the same weight as the culprit
will be attached to the rope and so adjusted as to allow the bag a drop equal
to, or rather more than, that which the culprit should receive, so that the
rope may be stretched with a force of about 1,000 foot-pounds. The working of
the apparatus under these conditions will then be tested. The bag must be of
the approved pattern, with a thick and well-padded neck, so as to prevent any
injury to the rope and leather. As the gutta-percha round the thimble of the
execution ropes hardens in cold weather, care should be taken to have it warmed
and manipulated immediately before the bag is tested.
3. After the
completion of this testing the scaffold and all the appliances will be locked
up, and the key kept by the Governor or other responsible officer until the
morning of the execution; but the bag of sand should remain suspended all the
night preceding the execution, so as to take the stretch out of the rope.
4. The executioner and any persons
appointed to assist in the operation should make themselves thoroughly
acquainted with the working of the apparatus.
5. In order to prevent accidents during the
preliminary tests and procedure the lever will be fixed by a safety-pin, and
the Works or other Prison Officer charged with the care of the apparatus prior
to the execution will be responsible that the pin is properly in position. The
responsibility for withdrawing the pin at the execution will rest on the
executioner.
6. Death by hanging ought to result from
dislocation of the neck. The length of the drop will be determined in
accordance with the attached “Table of Drops.”
7. The required length of drop is regulated as
follows:
(a) At the end of the rope which forms the
noose the executioner should see that 13 inches from the centre of the ring are
marked off by a line painted round the rope; this is to be a fixed quantity,
which, with the stretching of this portion of the rope and the lengthening of
the neck and body of the culprit, will represent the average depth of the head
and circumference of the neck after constriction.
(b) About two hours before the execution
the bag of sand will be raised out of the pit and be allowed another drop so as
to completely stretch the rope. Then while the bag of sand is still suspended,
the executioner will measure off from the painted line on the rope the required
length of drop, and will make a chalk mark
on the rope at the end of this length. A piece of copper wire fastened
to the chain will now be stretched down the rope till it reaches the chalk
mark, and will be cut off there so that the cut end of the copper wire shall
terminate at the upper end of the [page break in the facsimile] measured length
of drop. The bag of sand will be then
raised from the pit, and disconnected from the rope. The chain will now be so
adjusted at the bracket that the lower end of the copper wire shall reach the same level from the floor of the scaffold as
the height of the prisoner. The known height of the prisoner can be readily
measured on the scaffold by a graduated rule of six foot long. When the chain
has been raised to the proper height, the cotter must be securely fixed through
the bracket and chain. The executioner will
now make a chalk mark on the floor of the scaffold, in a plumb line with
the chain, where the prisoner should stand.
(c) These details will be carried out as
soon as possible after 6 a.m. so as to allow the rope time to regain a portion
of its elasticity before the execution, and, if possible, the gutta-percha on
the rope should again be warmed.
8. The copper wire will now be detached,
and after allowing sufficient amount of rope for the easy adjustment of the
noose, the slack of the rope should be fastened to the chain above the level of
the head of the culprit with a pack-thread. The pack-thread should be just
strong enough to support the rope without breaking.
9. When all the preparations are completed
the scaffold should remain in the charge of a responsible officer while the
executioner goes to the pinioning room.
10. The pinioning apparatus will be applied
in some room or place as close as practicable to the scaffold. When the culprit
is pinioned and his neck is bared he will be at once conducted to the scaffold.
11. On reaching the scaffold the procedure
will be as follows:–
(1) The executioner will:-
(i) Place the culprit exactly under the
part of the beam to which the rope is attached.
(ii) Put on the white linen cap.
(iii) Put on the rope round the neck quite
tightly (with the cap between the rope and the neck), the metal eye being
directed forwards, and placed in front of the angle of the lower jaw, so that
with the constriction of the neck it may come underneath the chin. The noose
should be kept tight by means of a stiff leather washer, or an india-rubber
washer, or a wedge.
(2) While the executioner is carrying out
the procedure in paragraph (1) the assistant executioner will:-
(i) Strap the culprit's legs tightly.
(ii) Step back beyond the white safety line
so as to be well clear of the trap doors.
(iii) Give an agreed visual signal to the
executioner to show that he is clear.
(3) On receipt of the signal from his assistant
the executioner will:-
(i) Withdraw the safety pin.
(ii) Pull the lever which lets down the
trap doors.
12. The culprit should hang one hour, and
then the body will be carefully raised from
the pit. The rope will be removed from the neck, and also the straps from the
body. In laying out the body for the inquest, the head will be raised
three inches by placing a small piece of wood under it.
Thursday, 24 August 2017
Ethel Neave
A distraction. Several newspaper reports state that Ethel Le Neve had a child in 1909. I know Ethel was in England at the date of Harvey Crippen's execution, November 23rd, 1910, but when did she sail to New York?
Update: No. Can't be Ethel.
Update: No. Can't be Ethel.
Wednesday, 23 August 2017
Dr Crippen’s salad bowl
Had events worked out a little differently Margate might have been the scene of Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen’s well remembered murder of his wife, for which he was hanged after the first arrest ever made through wireless.
So thought Mrs Sarah Forster in the 1930s, of 27 Addiscombe Road, former proprietress of a Marine Terrace boarding house where Crippen’s wife stayed in the early years of the century.
In the 1930s Mrs Foster donated a cut glass bowl to Margate Museum (bet the people in charge have no idea today and I wonder if it is still there?!). It was used by the notorious doctor to mix a salad for his wife.Crippen’s wife, Cora, was an actress and under her professional name Belle Elmore, came to Margate in October 1904 to play in “East Lynne” at The Hippodrome in Cecil Square, (then known as The Grand Theatre). During the run of the show she stayed at Mrs Fosters boarding house at 28 Marine Terrace (Now Wetherspoons) and was visited at the weekend by her husband.
They went for walks and Dr Crippen bought her some ice cream. Later she was taken ill and Dr Crippen remarked to Mrs Foster that she was always ready to make a fuss over the least little pain. He added that she would have more heart attacks.
Belle Elmore’s condition became worse and during the night, after Dr Crippen had returned to London, Dr Sawyer was summoned. Cora was suffering from poisoning and he thought it must have been from fish. But she had had no fish, so the ice cream may have been to blame.
Dr Crippen was not suspected of any responsibility in the matter.
Dr Crippen visited his wife several times while illness compelled her to remain at Margate. He asked Mrs Foster for a punch bowl in which to mix a special salad, which he always made his wife when she had a heart attack. There was no punch bowl at the house, so he went out to buy one.
But Margate traders had no demand for punch bowls, so a cut glass bowl was purchased.
Mrs Foster saw him produce bottles and watched while he mixed the ingredients of the salad.
Six years later Dr Crippen was accused of killing his wife by poisoning and hid the remains under the cellar floor at Cora’s London residence.
Was he trying to poison her at Margate?
Page from Margate history
So thought Mrs Sarah Forster in the 1930s, of 27 Addiscombe Road, former proprietress of a Marine Terrace boarding house where Crippen’s wife stayed in the early years of the century.
In the 1930s Mrs Foster donated a cut glass bowl to Margate Museum (bet the people in charge have no idea today and I wonder if it is still there?!). It was used by the notorious doctor to mix a salad for his wife.Crippen’s wife, Cora, was an actress and under her professional name Belle Elmore, came to Margate in October 1904 to play in “East Lynne” at The Hippodrome in Cecil Square, (then known as The Grand Theatre). During the run of the show she stayed at Mrs Fosters boarding house at 28 Marine Terrace (Now Wetherspoons) and was visited at the weekend by her husband.
They went for walks and Dr Crippen bought her some ice cream. Later she was taken ill and Dr Crippen remarked to Mrs Foster that she was always ready to make a fuss over the least little pain. He added that she would have more heart attacks.
Belle Elmore’s condition became worse and during the night, after Dr Crippen had returned to London, Dr Sawyer was summoned. Cora was suffering from poisoning and he thought it must have been from fish. But she had had no fish, so the ice cream may have been to blame.
Dr Crippen was not suspected of any responsibility in the matter.
Dr Crippen visited his wife several times while illness compelled her to remain at Margate. He asked Mrs Foster for a punch bowl in which to mix a special salad, which he always made his wife when she had a heart attack. There was no punch bowl at the house, so he went out to buy one.
But Margate traders had no demand for punch bowls, so a cut glass bowl was purchased.
Mrs Foster saw him produce bottles and watched while he mixed the ingredients of the salad.
Six years later Dr Crippen was accused of killing his wife by poisoning and hid the remains under the cellar floor at Cora’s London residence.
Was he trying to poison her at Margate?
Page from Margate history
Monday, 21 August 2017
Sunday, 20 August 2017
Sandy McNabb outside 39 Hilldrop Crescent.
Sandy McNabb, Edwardian comedian, bought 39 Hilldrop Crescent for £100 and opened the house, for a short period, as a tourist exhibition.
Saturday, 19 August 2017
Hawley Harvey Crippen and Dorothea Helen Puente.
In 2007 a campaign began to exonerate Hawley Harvey Crippen of the murder of his wife, Cora Crippen, aka Belle Elmore.
John Trestrail, a toxicologist led the research into Dr Crippen, poisoners rarely inflict external damage on their victims. "A poisoner wants the death to appear natural so he can get a death certificate. This is the only case I know of where the victim was dismembered. It doesn't make sense." In my database of 1,100 poisoning cases, this is the only one which involves dismemberment," said Mr Trestrail, who heads the regional poison centre in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Perhaps John Trestail should have looked at the Dorothea Puente case.
On November 11, 1988, police unearth a corpse buried in the lawn of 59-year-old Dorothea Puente’s home in Sacramento, California. Puente operated a residential home for elderly people, and an investigation led to the discovery of six more bodies buried on her property.
One of the victims found buried in Dorothea Puente's yard was mutilated in order to conceal its identity; its head, hands and lower legs were gone. A forensic worker finally identified the body as that of Betty Palmer, one of Puente's boarders. Her missing parts were never found, despite all of the searches of the house and yard conducted by the police. After Betty Palmer was buried in the backyard, Puente created a fake ID that had her face, but Palmer's name and information on it. She used this to collect Palmer's benefits. Puente was a diagnosed schizophrenic who had already been in trouble with the law. She had previously served prison time for check forgery, as well as drugging and robbing people she met in bars. After her release, she opened a boarding house for elderly people. In 1986, social worker Peggy Nickerson sent 19 clients to Puente’s home. When some of the residents mysteriously disappeared, Nickerson grew suspicious. Puente’s neighbours, who reported the smell of rotting flesh emanating from her vicinity, validated Nickerson’s concern. Although all the buried bodies were found to contain traces of the sedative Flurazepam, the coroner was unable to identify an exact cause of death. Still, during a trial that lasted five months and included 3,100 exhibits, prosecutors were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Puente had murdered her boarders, most likely to collect their Social Security cheques. Though she was formally charged with nine counts of murder and convicted on three, authorities suspected that Puente might have been responsible for as many as 25 deaths. She died on March 27, 2011 at age 82 from natural causes at a California women’s prison facility in Chowchilla.
The question is why would Dorothea poison then mutilate the bodies? Crippen and Puente have two things in common, slightness of build, and a desire to capitalise on the deaths of their subject/subjects.
Both killers feared the victim overwhelming them in their fight for life. Dorothea persisted cashing her victims' cheques and Hawley continued using his wife's jewels to finance his lifestyle – after all, he was her next of kin. What was hers, was his.
John Trestrail, a toxicologist led the research into Dr Crippen, poisoners rarely inflict external damage on their victims. "A poisoner wants the death to appear natural so he can get a death certificate. This is the only case I know of where the victim was dismembered. It doesn't make sense." In my database of 1,100 poisoning cases, this is the only one which involves dismemberment," said Mr Trestrail, who heads the regional poison centre in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Perhaps John Trestail should have looked at the Dorothea Puente case.
One of the victims found buried in Dorothea Puente's yard was mutilated in order to conceal its identity; its head, hands and lower legs were gone. A forensic worker finally identified the body as that of Betty Palmer, one of Puente's boarders. Her missing parts were never found, despite all of the searches of the house and yard conducted by the police. After Betty Palmer was buried in the backyard, Puente created a fake ID that had her face, but Palmer's name and information on it. She used this to collect Palmer's benefits. Puente was a diagnosed schizophrenic who had already been in trouble with the law. She had previously served prison time for check forgery, as well as drugging and robbing people she met in bars. After her release, she opened a boarding house for elderly people. In 1986, social worker Peggy Nickerson sent 19 clients to Puente’s home. When some of the residents mysteriously disappeared, Nickerson grew suspicious. Puente’s neighbours, who reported the smell of rotting flesh emanating from her vicinity, validated Nickerson’s concern. Although all the buried bodies were found to contain traces of the sedative Flurazepam, the coroner was unable to identify an exact cause of death. Still, during a trial that lasted five months and included 3,100 exhibits, prosecutors were able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Puente had murdered her boarders, most likely to collect their Social Security cheques. Though she was formally charged with nine counts of murder and convicted on three, authorities suspected that Puente might have been responsible for as many as 25 deaths. She died on March 27, 2011 at age 82 from natural causes at a California women’s prison facility in Chowchilla.
The question is why would Dorothea poison then mutilate the bodies? Crippen and Puente have two things in common, slightness of build, and a desire to capitalise on the deaths of their subject/subjects.
Both killers feared the victim overwhelming them in their fight for life. Dorothea persisted cashing her victims' cheques and Hawley continued using his wife's jewels to finance his lifestyle – after all, he was her next of kin. What was hers, was his.
Sunday, 13 August 2017
Tuesday, 8 August 2017
Monday, 7 August 2017
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