Was Robert Mann Jack The Ripper?

Answer 1

Mann seems to be a newer suspect, one of several in the last few years that appear to come out of nowhere. Robert Mann was an inmate of the Whitechapel Workhouse in charge of the mortuary. At around 4:00 a.m. on the morning of the discovery of Mary Ann Nichols body Mann was roused out of sleep and told to bring the body into the mortuary that was now sitting outside the door still in the 'cart'. Mann and fellow inmate James Hatfield hurried to take the body off the street and into the mortuary where they preceeded to remove the victim's clothes, some of which had to be cut/torn off the body. Once naked the men washed and cleaned the body, thinking they were making things easier for the attending doctor. Despite the reprimand they received for washing away evidence the same mistake was made on the next victim Annie Chapman.

There are several reasons why Mann was overlooked as a suspect at the time of the murders. And they are very solid reasons. Robert Mann was an inmate of the Whitechapel Workhouse which meant he was working off some kind of debt. People were sent to the workhouses if they couldn't pay their bills. Although it is hard to believe now, most of the very poorest of the poor were illiterate, unable to read or write. We can safely assume that the killer was able to read and write and had money for ink, paper, and postage. Mann probably lacked the skill and most definatly had no access to writing materials and we know he couldn't have bought them himself even if he could read and write. Since at least some of the letters, notes and postcards were authenticated by Scotland Yard as being from the killer that lets Mann out on this point alone.

Then there is the time factor. Nichols was last seen alive at 2:30 a.m. by her friend Nelly Holland. Her body was found an hour and fifteen minutes later. That would have been about a 3:45 a.m.. Mann was awakened from a sound sleep at 4:00 a.m., verified by Hatfield. It would be impossible for Mann to kill Nichols at 3:45, get rid of bloody clothing, and fall asleep to be awakened at 4:00 a.m. to attend the body. Had anybody done their 'homework' on the details of the crime Mann's name would have never been mentioned.