Whitechapel 1888The evidence, and its limits

Case · 30 September 1888

Catherine Eddowes

South-west corner of Mitre Square, Aldgate (City of London)

Her life

Born
1842-04-14 (Graisley Green, Wolverhampton)
Died
1888-09-30 (c. 1.35-1.44 a.m., Mitre Square, Aldgate, City of London)
Age
46
Also known as
Kate Eddowes; Kate Kelly; Catherine Conway; gave name as 'Mary Ann Kelly' at Bishopsgate; Conway; Mary Ann Kelly; Jane Kelly

Editorial biographyCompiled by the research team from the sources listed below. It summarises those sources and is not itself evidence.

Catherine Eddowes was born on 14 April 1842 in Graisley Green, Wolverhampton, the daughter of George Eddowes, a tinplate worker, and Catherine Evans. The family moved to Bermondsey, where she attended St John's Charity School. After her mother died in 1855 and her father soon afterwards, she returned to relatives in Wolverhampton. In the early 1860s she left with Thomas Conway, an army pensioner, with whom she travelled selling chapbooks; she had 'TC' tattooed on her forearm. They had three children, Annie (born 1865) and two sons, but never married, and separated about 1880-81 over her drinking and his violence. From about 1881 she lived with John Kelly, a market labourer, at Cooney's lodging house, 55 Flower and Dean Street, earning money by hawking and charring. Friends called her intelligent and 'a very jolly woman, always singing', with a fierce temper when drunk. She was suffering from Bright's disease. In September 1888 she and Kelly walked back from hop-picking in Kent penniless. On 29-30 September she was arrested for drunkenness, released from Bishopsgate police station at 1 a.m., and murdered in Mitre Square, within the City of London, less than an hour after Stride's death. She was buried at the City of London Cemetery, Little Ilford, on 8 October 1888.

Last known movements

Compiled timelineEntries are the research team's summaries of the cited sources, not quotations. The time on the left is as reported, and the ≈ line is this site's interpretation of it.

Times in 1888 came from witnesses' estimates, church clocks and police beats, and they rarely agree to the minute. Open an entry to see how its time was read and which testimony mentions the people involved.

  1. Fri 28 Sep(time not stated)

    Back in London from hop-picking; she sends Kelly to Cooney's and spends the night in the Shoe Lane (Mile End per some accounts) casual ward.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    28 September 1888 (time not stated). Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: date only: whole day. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook: Jack the Ripper, victim page "eddowes"
    Related testimony
    Linked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  2. Sat 29 Sep, c. 8.00 a.m.-morning07:45–12:00

    Meets Kelly; his boots are pawned for 2s 6d under the name 'Jane Kelly'; the couple breakfast together at Cooney's.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    29 September 1888, 07:45–12:00. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: time to end of "morning"; "c." widens start by 15 min. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    Linked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  3. c. 2.00 p.m.13:45–14:15

    Parts from John Kelly in Houndsditch, saying she will try to find her daughter in Bermondsey and be back by four.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    29 September 1888, 13:45–14:15. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: "c." read as ±15 min. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    Linked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  4. 8.30 p.m.20:30

    PC Louis Robinson finds her drunk on the pavement outside 29 Aldgate High Street.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    29 September 1888, 20:30. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: stated clock time; no widening. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    Linked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  5. 8.45 p.m.20:45

    Taken to Bishopsgate Police Station; gives her name as 'Nothing' and is put in a cell.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    29 September 1888, 20:45. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: stated clock time; no widening. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    none linked yetLinked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  6. Sun 30 Sep, 12.55 a.m.00:55

    PC Hutt finds her sober; she gives her name and address as 'Mary Ann Kelly, 6 Fashion Street'.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    30 September 1888, 00:55. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: stated clock time; no widening. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    Linked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  7. c. 1.00 a.m.00:45–01:15

    Released ('All right. Good night, old cock'); turns left towards Houndsditch.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    30 September 1888, 00:45–01:15. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: "c." read as ±15 min. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    none linked yetLinked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  8. 1.30 a.m.01:30

    PC Watkins patrols Mitre Square and sees nothing.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    30 September 1888, 01:30. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: stated clock time; no widening. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    Linked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  9. c. 1.35 a.m.01:20–01:50

    Joseph Lawende, Joseph Levy and Harry Harris see a woman, identified by her clothes as Eddowes, with a man at the corner of Church Passage leading to Mitre Square. Last sighting.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    30 September 1888, 01:20–01:50. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: "c." read as ±15 min. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    Linked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  10. 1.44 a.m.01:44

    PC Watkins finds the body in the south-west corner of the square and calls the watchman George Morris.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    30 September 1888, 01:44. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: stated clock time; no widening. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    Linked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  11. 1.55 a.m.01:55

    Dr Sequeira arrives; Dr Gordon Brown arrives about 2.18-2.20 a.m.

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    30 September 1888, 01:55. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: stated clock time; no widening. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    Linked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.
  12. c. 2.55 a.m.02:40–03:10

    PC Alfred Long finds a bloodied piece of her apron in Goulston Street beneath the chalked 'Juwes' message (he says it was not there at 2.20 a.m.).

    Evidence and interpretation
    Time interpretation
    30 September 1888, 02:40–03:10. Compiled timeline entry. Normalization: "c." read as ±15 min. Underlying times are witness estimates or police timings; see related testimony.
    Cited by this site's research
    Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 1 (4 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 5 October 1888, p. 3; Casebook transcription: Catherine Eddowes inquest, day 2 (11 October 1888), from The Daily Telegraph, 12 October 1888, p. 2
    Related testimony
    Linked by matching names in the entry. This does not mean the testimony has been assessed as supporting it.

Investigate this case

Follow the evidence: places on the map, times on the timeline, each claim back to its source passage, then compare suspects and stress-test a theory.

Base map: Booth's poverty map, published 1889 (a year after the murders), georeferenced by this site to about ±10–15 m. Colours are Booth's social classes, not crime data. Details and limits

Charles Booth, Descriptive Map of London Poverty 1889, North-Eastern sheet (Whitechapel and Spitalfields extract). Wellcome Collection (L0074439), via Wikimedia Commons. Charles Booth, Life and Labour of the People. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Source file.

Derived image Georeferenced by this site: the 1889 scan was warped to fit modern coordinates using 9 surviving street junctions (RMS error about 10 m, worst 15 m).

Published 1889, the year after the murders, and drawn on an Ordnance Survey base: details may differ from August 1888. Colours show Booth's 1889 classification of each street's inhabitants (his own, now-dated categories, from black 'lowest class' to gold 'wealthy'); they are not records of the murders. Location markers are positioned from this site's readings of the 1891-5 OS 1:1,056 plan, not from this image, so marker and image can disagree by 10-30 m.

  1. Scene: Mitre Square — Catherine Eddowes (with the Goulston Street apron and writing), as an interactive schematic plan
  2. Map: places, movements and uncertainty
  3. Timeline: who was where, and when
  4. Reconstruction: Lawende's couple = Eddowes and her killer
  5. Reconstruction: Lawende's couple not Eddowes
  6. Reconstruction: Killer route option 1: main roads (Berner St -> Church Passage)
  7. Reconstruction: Killer route option 2: back streets
  8. Reconstruction: Killer route option 3: entering by Mitre Street
  9. Reconstruction: Eddowes's own walk from Bishopsgate (two route options)
  10. Reconstruction: Apron left 2:20-2:55 (Long reliable)
  11. Reconstruction: Apron left ~1:50-2:10 (Long missed it)
  12. Suspects: compare on the evidence, focused on this case
  13. Workbench: stress-test this case's reconstructions
  14. Workbench: which crimes are linked (all five)

Inquest

Editorial summary

Because Mitre Square lay inside the City of London, Eddowes's inquest was held by the City coroner, Samuel Langham, at Golden Lane, with the City Solicitor Henry Crawford examining witnesses on behalf of the police. The first day (4 October) heard identification evidence from her sister Eliza Gold and partner John Kelly, the lodging-house deputy, PC Watkins's discovery, Inspector Collard's account of the scene, and the lengthy evidence of the City Police surgeon Dr Frederick Gordon Brown. Brown described the facial mutilation, the removed left kidney and uterus, a sharp pointed knife at least six inches long, and a killer with 'a good deal of knowledge as to the position of the abdominal organs' who needed at least five minutes. The second day (11 October) filled in her final hours: the drunken arrest in Aldgate, release from Bishopsgate at 1 a.m., Joseph Lawende's sighting of her with a man at Church Passage at 1.35 a.m. (his description deliberately withheld at Crawford's request), and PC Long's discovery of the apron fragment and chalked message in Goulston Street. Jurors pressed Long and Halse on why the tenements were not searched and why the writing was erased; Long's notebook ('Jews') and Halse's copy ('Juwes are not') differed. Dr Sequeira disagreed with Brown on the killer's skill, and Dr Saunders found no poison in the stomach. Langham declined to adjourn further and suggested a verdict of wilful murder against 'some person unknown', since the medical evidence indicated a single killer; the jury agreed immediately and gave their fees to Eddowes's daughter, Annie Phillips.

Read the inquest: 22 witnesses, with verbatim reports

Police photographs

Mortuary or scene photographs taken in 1888. They are hidden until you choose to see them.

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Mortuary photograph, 1888 (face, showing facial mutilation)

This is a photograph of a deceased person taken by the police in 1888. Some show severe injuries.

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