James Maybrick

James Maybrick

James Maybrick (born October 24, 1838 - May 11, 1889 ) was a cotton merchant from Liverpool . After his death, his wife, Florence Maybrick, was convicted in a high-profile trial on charges of poisoning him.

In a diary that emerged later, the author described his alleged acts as Jack the Ripper . This diary was published as an authentic confession by James Maybrick; later it was exposed as a fake.

Life

Because of his trading activities, Maybrick had to travel regularly. In 1871 he settled in Norfolk (USA) to open a new department. While staying there in 1874, he contracted malaria . He was then prescribed long-term medication containing arsenic .

In 1880 Maybrick decided to return to the company's headquarters in England . Six days after boarding a ship in New York on March 12, 1880, he reached Liverpool. During the trip he was introduced to Florence Elizabeth Chandler and almost immediately afterwards he began planning her marriage. Their marriage was postponed until July 27, 1881.

They had two children, James Chandler Maybrick and later a daughter, Gladys Evelyn Maybrick. Maybrick continued to divide his time between his company's American and English branches, which put a strain on the marriage. There is evidence that both spouses were having extramarital affairs. Maybrick later had another wife, Sarah Ann Robertson, without having been divorced from his first wife.

Maybrick's health collapsed on April 27, 1889, and his condition deteriorated, which ended with his death on May 11, 1889. The circumstances of his death were examined more closely and an analysis of his body revealed an overdose of arsenic as the cause of death. It remains unclear whether the overdose was administered by himself, his wife or a third person. However, his widow was arrested and sentenced to death.

Discussions of this case, particularly related to the justice of the trial, led to a conviction of imprisonment for life. A reopening of the case in 1904 resulted in her release. After surviving several illnesses, she died on October 23, 1941. At the time, the case was very popular, but the death of Florence Maybrick was largely forgotten.

Jack the Ripper's diary

Jack the Ripper: Retribution for Negligence (Sept. 29, 1888).

In 1992 a document was published, traded as James Maybrick's diary, which identified him as Jack the Ripper. The author did not mention his name, but he kept providing hints and references from Maybrick's known life and habits, so that it was made clear that it was him. The writer describes his actions and crimes in detail over several months and ascribes himself to the murder of the five victims, for which Jack the Ripper was usually held responsible.

The Diary of Jack the Ripper was published in 1993 amid much discussion, which also sparked an ongoing debate as to whether the diary contained an accurate account, whether it was really a portrayal of a late 19th century man who had committed the Ripper crimes , or whether it was made by clever forgers at a later date.

The debate has often been re-fueled, with one writer noted that "the saga of Maybrick's diary is confusing, complicated, and tortuous". The current consensus is that the diary is a fake. The conclusion was reached when various Jack the Ripper experts discovered that the diary contained inaccurate information about the crimes that did not arise until the 20th century. Samples of the ink were also taken to show that the diary had been written recently and only in a few sessions rather than several months, as stated at the beginning of the diary. It was written in an old scrapbook with the first twenty pages torn out, indicating that an old half-used book has been found with the original contents removed.

However, some "ripperologists" still insist on accepting this diary as real.

In addition to the diary, Maybrick was also assigned a pocket watch with the initials "JM" carved on the back , along with the initials of the so-called "recognized ripper victims". The general agreement is again that the watch, although also found to be antique, was reworked by a forger who added the initials. In 1995, Michael Barrett swore in a sworn statement that he was "the author of the manuscript written by my wife Anne Barrett from my dictation and known as the Jack the Ripper Diary." Explanation and then again their transcript.

literature

• Hendrik Püstow, Thomas Schachner: Jack the Ripper. Anatomy of a legend. Militzke Verlag, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 3-86189-753-9 .
• Shirley Harrison: The Journal of Jack the Ripper. The strange circumstances of the discovery. The evidence of authenticity. Bastei Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1994, ISBN 3-404-71500-4 .

Web links

• More about James Maybrick (also pictures (e.g. of the clock))