Elizabeth Stride

Killed 30th September 1888

Dutfields Yard

Throat Slashed

Three weeks after ol’ Annie was murdered, a good pal o’ mine Elizabeth Stride, Long Liz we called ‘er, ‘ad ‘er throat cut in the early hours of the 30^th of September

She lost ‘er husband and was left destitute without two brass farthins to rub together. She took to the booze rather sharpish and had to pay for it by sellin ‘er body just like the others.

She moved from her digs Brick Lane to a common lodging house at number 32 Flower and Dean Street and stayed there til 1885, when she met Michael Kidney, a waterside Labourer. They soon shacked up together at 33 Dorset Street. They were always rowin and fightin. On the 25^th September, she’d ‘ad enough wiv Kidney and went back to her old lodgings at 32 Flower and Dean Street.

At 1.a.m on Sunday 30th September 1888, a Jewish bloke called Louis Diemshutz returned with his horse and cart to his home at the International Working Men’s Educational Club, No. 40 Berner Street, in Whitechapel. He had been working that day at Westow Hill market, in Crystal Palace.

As he turned into the gateway of the club yard, known as Dutfields Yard, his horse shied to the left which caused Diemshutz to look down at the ground next to the club wall.

Because it was dark, he struggled to see what was on the ground beneath him. He saw that there was something there, so he struck a match and bent over to get a closer look. The wind instantly snuffed out the match, so he ran upstairs in to the club to fetch a candle as he saw what he thought was a drunken woman laying on the ground.

Diemshutz got a candle and the help of a bloke called Isaac Kozebrodski to lift the drunken woman off the premises. As they approached the body they could see blood. They thought there was about two quarts of blood had coagulated upon the cobbles directly by the body from the neck. Diemshutz let out a cry which brought members from the club upstairs to see what all the fuss was about.

They went lookin’ for a copper, running and shouting police as they went. Typical, they couldn’t find one, so they double backed on themselves. Another geezer called Morris eagle found a couple of coppers called PC Henry Lamb 252H and PC Collins in Commercial Road.

They rushed to the scene of the crime led by Eagle where they saw a crowd of people gathering at the gateway to the yard. PC Lamb managed to keep them back telling them that if they got blood on their clothes, they would bring trouble for themselves.

As he knelt down besides the woman’s body, PC Lamb touched her face, it was still a bit warm. He felt for a pulse but found nothing. He saw ol’ Liz’s body was not in a right state, her clothes were not disturbed and saw she had red and white flowers pinned to her fur trimmed jacket. He stated later, “that it was as if she had been laid quietly down”. He shouted for PC Collins to fetch the nearest doctor and for Eagle to Leman Street Police Station.

Dr Frederick William Blackwell of 100 Commercial Road was called to the scene. At 1.10.a.m. Dr.Blackwell arrived at Dutfields Yard. His reported findings are: (maybe have a bit of paper so it’s being read)

The deceased was lying on her left side obliquely across the passage, her face looking towards the right wall. Her legs were drawn up, her feet close against the wall of the right side of the passage. Her head was resting beyond the carriage-wheel rut, the neck lying over the rut. Her feet were three yards from the gateway. Her dress was unfastened at the neck. The neck and chest were quite warm, as were also the legs, and the face was slightly warm. The hands were cold. The right hand was open and on the chest, and was smeared with blood. The left hand, lying on the ground, was partially closed, and contained a small packet of cachous wrapped in tissue paper. There were no rings, nor marks of rings, on her hands. The appearance of the face was quite placid. The mouth was slightly open. The deceased had round her neck a check silk scarf, the bow of which was turned to the left and pulled very tight. In the neck there was a long incision which exactly corresponded with the lower border of the scarf. The border was slightly frayed, as if by a sharp knife. The incision in the neck commenced on the left side,     2 ½ inches below the angle of the jaw, and almost in a direct line with it, nearly severing the vessels on that side, cutting the windpipe completely in two, and terminating on the opposite side 1 ½ inches below the angle of the right jaw, but without severing the vessels on that side. I could not ascertain whether the bloody hand had been moved. The blood was running down the gutter into the drain in the opposite direction of the feet. There was about 1lb. of clotted blood close by the body, and a stream all the way from there to the back door of the club. Dr. Bagster Phillips was also alerted and arrived upon the scene at approximately 2.a.m. and agreed with Dr.Blackwells precise and accurate account. At 4.30.a.m. the body of Elizabeth Stride was taken to St.Georges mortuary. The description of her remains was: Age about 42, 5’2” in height, hair dark brown and curly, her complexion pale. Eyes were seen to be light grey, upper front teeth missing. The woman’s clothes consisted of a long black jacket trimmed with black fur, an old skirt, a dark-brown velvet bodice, two light serge petticoats, a white chemise, a pair of white stockings, a pair of side-spring boots and a black crape bonnet.