Dr. Thomas Neill Cream = Jack The Ripper?

When he was standing on the gallows prior to his execution in October of 1892, Dr. Thomas Neill Cream (aka Dr. Neill or the Lambeth Poisoner), a serial killer and poisoner, started his last words with “I am Jack the . . .” and then he was hung for murder in England before he could finish the sentence.


Nevertheless this led to speculation that he might have been the infamous Jack the Ripper, and it wasn’t the first time he’d called that name into his legal proceedings.  It took way too long to put Dr. Neill away.  A year before his execution, an inquest was called by the coroner in the death of Matilda Clover, a 27 year old sex worker that was found dead after a night with Dr. Neill.  This was initially dubbed a “natural” death due to alcohol withdrawal.  

A prominent physician in London, named Dr. William Broadbent, received a letter soon after Matilda’s death stating the writer knew she was murdered by Broadbent and would keep quiet for £25k.  Dr. Broadbent was innocent but following the deaths of many other sex workers on Lambeth street, other weathy members of the community were receiving letters accusing them of murder, complete with details of each crime.

Hence the coroner called the inquest to re-examine the cause of death.  He found it to be strychnine poisoning.  

Dr. Neill chose to show up at the inquest and produced a letter which he read aloud.  It stated that he, Dr. Neill is innocent, and was signed by “Jack the Ripper.”  Weird flex since nobody asked Dr. Neill to show up and the letter was obviously a ridiculous forgery.  

Considering that before all of this, Dr. Neill was imprisoned in Joliet Prison in Illinois, USA during the years of the Ripper killings, it seems unlikely that Dr. Neill, a murderer in his own right, was being truthful with his last words. 

Go figure.

Max

Doctor with a mustache.