Francis Tumblety (1833-1903)

The early years of Francis Tumblety’s life are not known for sure, but he was probably born in either Canada or Ireland, and his family moved to Rochester, NY about ten years later. Tumblety has been described as somewhat of a miscreant throughout his life, although his dishonest ways led to wealth throughout his life as some kind of Indian herb doctor. He got into trouble several times due to medicinal misconduct, but managed to get his way out of it, merely by moving. When he was scrutinized in the Ripper case in England, he moved back to New York, and after being followed for a time, he was hardly heard from again.

Tumblety was a rather bizarre man; he wore military uniforms with medals he did not deserve, which got him arrested twice. One of the most striking aspects of Tumblety in the Ripper case is his extreme misogyny. He would go into diatribes to his friends about the wickedness of women, "and especially fallen women,"(1) as described by Colonel Dunham who was invited to dinner with him one night. Dunham also told of Tumblety’s massive collection of anatomical specimens, most notably a large number of uteri. Dunham later reveals this about Tumblety:

When he was asked why he hated women, he said that when quite a young man he fell desperately in love with a pretty girl, rather his senior, who promised to reciprocate his affection. After a brief courtship he married her. The honeymoon was not over when he noticed a disposition on the part of his wife to flirt with other men. He remonstrated, she kissed him, called him a dear jealous fool -- and he believed her. Happening one day to pass in a cab through the worst part of the town he saw his wife and a man enter a gloomy-looking house. Then he learned that before her marriage his wife had been an inmate of that and many similar houses. Then he gave up all womankind.(2)

From these dinner stories, Tumblety is painted as a twisted misogynist who is particularly antagonistic towards prostitutes. Pairing this with his anatomical fascination, Tumblety becomes a very close match for the Ripper profile. Tumblety was discovered as a suspect when a letter written by Chief Inspector John Littlechild in 1913 was unearthed by researchers, claiming Tumblety was a "very likely suspect."
Tumblety was in London during the time of the murders, and had the resources and cleverness to evade capture, create aliases, and disappear.

(1) Tumblety’s friend and dinner guest, Colonel Dunham, quoted on http://www.casebook.org/suspects/tumblety.html
(2) Ibid.

Questions, Comments Problems? Don't Hesitate to contact us: webmaster@kirschnet.com