The vast majority of Ripper experts of recent years believe the American Francis Tumblety to be the prime suspect for the killings. Tumblety did not emerge as a real suspect until 1993, when a letter belonging to a crime writer was unearthed that mentioned Tumblety.
This letter also cast doubt on the authenticity of the letters previously attributed to the Ripper. The ‘Littlechild Letter’ was written in 1913 by an ageing police officer, Chief Inspector Littlechild, who was the head of Britain’s Special Branch and at the time of the Whitechapel murders was investigating terrorist activities. His letter, written to George R. Sims, of 12 Clarence Terrace, Regent’s Park, London, has been edited to focus on its reference to the murders:
8, The Chase,
Clapham Common S.W.
23rd September 1913
Dear Sir,
… Knowing the great interest you take in all matters criminal, and abnormal, I am just going to inflict one more letter on you on the ‘Ripper’ subject. Letters as a rule are only a nuisance when they call for a reply but this does not need one. I will try and be brief.
I never heard of a Dr D. in connection with the Whitechapel murders but amongst the suspects, and to my mind a very likely one, was a Dr T. (which sounds much like D.) He was an American quack named Tumblety and was at one time a frequent visitor to London and on these occasions constantly brought under the notice of police, there being a large dossier concerning him at Scotland Yard. Although a ‘Sycopathia [sic] Sexualis’ subject he was not known as a ‘Sadist’ (which the murderer unquestionably was) but his feelings toward women were remarkable and bitter in the extreme, a fact on record. Tumblety was arrested at the time of the murders in connection with unnatural offences and charged at Marlborough Street, remanded on bail, jumped his bail, and got away to Boulogne. He shortly left Boulogne and was never heard of afterwards. It was believed he committed suicide but certain it is that from this time the ‘Ripper’ murders came to an end.
With regard to the term ‘Jack the Ripper’ it was generally believed at the Yard that Tom Bullen of the Central News was the originator, but it is probable Moore, who was his chief, was the inventor. It was a smart piece of journalistic work. No journalist of my time got such privileges from Scotland Yard as Bullen. …
… I knew Major Griffiths for many years. He probably got his information from Anderson who only ‘thought he knew’.
Faithfully yours,
J. G. Littlechild
Having studied this letter, I find nothing other than the writer’s suspicions, which recall Macnaghten’s assumptions, in the absence of solid evidence, about his own suspects. Anderson, referred to at the end of the letter, is Sir Robert Anderson, who was Assistant Commissioner, in charge of CID, in 1888. In later years, Sir Robert also stated on record that the police knew the identity of the Ripper. Although he did not name the person, he intimated that he had been caged in a lunatic asylum. This suggests the killer could have been Kosminski. However, I cannot believe – regardless of whether the murderer could have been prosecuted or, having been declared insane, could not – that in a major case such as the Whitechapel murders the police would have failed to reassure the public that the murderer could kill no more. However, since no such step was taken, I must assume that Anderson’s views were no more than suspicion and that we may never know on what basis he formed them.
So what did my enquiries into Francis Tumblety reveal? He was born in America and at the time of the murders was 56 and posing as a doctor. Eccentric but shrewd, he was financially stable. He had a tendency towards violence.
Tumblety had behind him a failed marriage to a woman who turned out to be a prostitute, and, as far as a motive for murder is concerned, this experience may have given him a hatred of such women. Afterwards he became a practising homosexual, turning his attentions to younger men. He is known to have had a collection of female body parts in a cabinet at his home in America many years before coming to Britain. It is not known how he acquired this collection, but nothing is documented that suggests it was by killing and mutilating women. From the facts of this collection and his practice as a doctor, bogus though this was, the inference has been drawn that Tumblety may have had some anatomical knowledge. However, if my theory of how organs came to be removed from Ripper victims is correct, this suggestion must be dismissed.
Tumblety was in London at the time of the murders. It has been suggested that he may have been lodging in the East End, as it is known the police were watching a lodging-house there for an American suspected of being involved in terrorist activities. If this is so, he may have had some knowledge of the area, but there is no evidence to corroborate the suggestion that he was in the East End.
It is alleged that a bloodstained garment was found in a lodging-house at 22 Batty Street after the Stride and Eddowes murders on 30 September 1888. A ‘mysterious’ American man had quickly disappeared after arriving back at the lodging-house at 2am on the night of the double murder. However, there has never been confirmation of either the discovery of the bloodstained garment or the American’s movements on the night of the murders, and it would appear that this story was another invention of the press.
From my personal experience and knowledge of police work, if Chief Inspector Littlechild’s officers from Special Branch were watching a suspect they would certainly have identified who that person was and would be closely watching him day and night. However, they may have had this information but not shared it with other branches of the police service, as still happens today. If the suspect was Tumblety, I am sure he would have been put forward at that time as a suspect. The only explanation for this not happening is that Special Branch felt terrorism was far more serious than murder and deliberately suppressed any information they had that suggested he was the murderer. However, I seriously doubt that this was the case.
Many years before coming to England, Tumblety had been arrested in America in connection with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, although there was no evidence of his involvement. Therefore, it was obvious he was not averse to becoming involved in political issues, and it would be wrong to totally dismiss the terrorist theory.
In November 1888, Tumblety was arrested in London for offences of gross indecency involving male persons. He subsequently obtained bail and fled the country on 24 November, making his way back to America via France. Scotland Yard and the American police were in contact many times concerning his flight from France to New York. A detective inspector was supposedly sent to New York at the time, perhaps to pursue Tumblety or to liaise with the American Police, although for what purpose we do not know. Some say it was in connection with the killing. However, I feel inclined to believe it was about terrorism.
Tumblety seemingly evaded capture in New York City once again. However, according to an unconfirmed account, the New York Police traced him to a lodging-house at 79th East 10th Street. Supposedly, they kept watch on him but could not arrest him as there was no evidence of his being involved in the Whitechapel murders and the offence of jumping bail was not one that gave the British Police extradition powers. Tumblety is said to have remained at this address until December and then disappeared yet again. He was not heard of again until 1893, when he turned up at his sister’s house.
I firmly believe Tumblety’s status of prime suspect is undeserved. His homosexuality would rule him out as a suspect, for homosexual serial killers are concerned solely with male victims and would be uninterested in female prostitutes.
How many victims were there? If there were more than five and Alice McKenzie (killed on 17 July 1889) and Francis Coles (13 February 1891) are included, Tumblety is ruled out, because he fled England in November 1888 and never returned.
In truth, there is no more direct evidence to suggest he was Jack the Ripper than there is for any of the suspects I have looked at so far. After all, if he was a prime suspect wanted for questioning, and if it is true that his whereabouts were known up until December 1888, he could have been arrested and interviewed at some stage before his death. Given that this did not happen, we may assume that in the eyes of the authorities at the time he was not suspected of the Whitechapel murders.
Tumblety died in America in 1903. The property listed for him at the time of death included two imitation gold rings. It was suggested in the press that these were the rings that were ripped from the fingers of Annie Chapman. I suspect this was another story hatched by the newspapers to boost sales.