JACK THE RIPPER

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3070, 19 March 1892, Page 3

JACK THE RIPPER

(BY KLECTHK! TKLKlilt.W'll.— G'Ot'YllKiHT.) Loxnox, March 10. WIIKN Williams (who was arrested in Victoria in connection with the Windsor tragedy) arrived at Uiiinhill in July his clothes were dirty and disarranged, and he had every appearance of liaving travelled a long disance. He put up at the Commercial Hotel in the villnge, and engaged a bedroom. lie had very little lagga;:o with him. Shortly after his arrival lie was visited by a lady, whom he described as his sister. She only called on him once, and he afterwards gave out th-it she had gone to Port Said. Williams had not been long in Rainhill before he rented Denham Villa, paying six months's rent in advance. The house was situated in 6 lonely locality, and his cxcuse was that he wanted it for A. Colbrooks, who, however, never put in an appearance. . . Williams paid a flying visit to Liverpool, whero ho purchased furniture for the house. He tried to excluae all visitors from the premises, but in spite of his efforts a woman and two or three children were observed to gain admittance. Someone remarked upon this to Williams, but he was ready with an explanation, saying that the visitors were his sister and her children who bad gone away but had returned unexpectedly. Some time after this Williams complained to the landlord that the drainage of the villa was defective, and explained that he had been repairing the floors, and bad employed a plasterer to complete the cementing in of the hearth. This -was followed by a complaint from the charwoman with regard to an offensive smell about the premises. Williams then left the house and returned to the Commercial Hotel, whero he took up his abode, disposing of his furniture at the villa for what it would bring. It was after this return to the hotel that Williams entertained 17 of tie villagers at a banquet, during which he announced that he intended to marry Mary Mather. He showed his guests an amount of money be had in his possession, and his diamonds and other articles of jewellery. On several subsequent occasion he appeared in public in a military uniform. After his engagement to Miss Mather he lodged with her parents. The marriage took place hurriedly early in the morning, and the newlywedded cample left the village very suddenly. Strong objection was taken to the marriage by the girl s brother, but the other members of the family saw no reason why the union should not take place. To-day the police broke the cement casings under the floor. After digging for over an hour they were met by a sickening smell, which almost compelled them to retreat from the vicinity. . When the broken pieces of cement were cleared away, a table cloth and a woman's apron were exposed to view, and under these they first discovered the bodies of the woman and two children wrapped in an oilcloth and a quantity of Turkish towelling. The woman was lying on her back between the two children, who were lying face downwards. Further explorings revealed the bodies of a boy and another girl, buried at their mother's feet. All the bodies were buried in cement. The ages of the children were nine, seven, five years, and eighteen mouths respectively, while the woman's age .vas about 35 years. About the time he cemented the floor Williams must have been courting Miss Mather, and the police have assertained that he bought four fcarrells of cement, paying for them m Miss Mather's name. The revelations have caused intense,

excitement in Rainhill and Liverpool and' the public wildly declare that " Jack-the-Ripper " has now been discovered. The children found under the floor of the house occupied by Williams, in Rainhill, had only their nightshirts on, but the woman wos fully dressed, her clothes being of a particularly rich character. Her features were rather dark, and she was apparently a halfcaste. A rope was tied tightly rouud her body. March 1/.

Enquiries prosecuted by the police show that Frederick Deeming, alias Williams, was born near London. lie served as a steward in various sailing ships during the early part of his life, and in 1881 married a woman named Mary James, at Birkenhead. Tlicy had two cliildrcn, Bertha Mary, born in Sydney, and a boy named Sydney, bom at sea. "Williams returned to England in 1890, and a baby named Leila was born at Birkenhead. The bodies found at Itainhill are those of his wife and children. A copybook found in the house bears the name of Bertha Deeming. It has been ascertained that another woman is missing who was last seen in William's company. In 1890, Deeming under the name of Harry Lawson, an Australian farmer, lodged with Mrs Matheson, of Beverley, and married her daughter in May of that year. He gave lier a large quantity of jewellery but afterwards decamped and, eventually deserted her at Hull, at the end of the honeymoon, and took away with him all the jewellery he had given her. The articles had been obtained from local tradesmen under false pretences, and a warrant was issued against Lawson, who was arrested in Uruguay, and extradited to Hull, where he was imprisoned on the charge for nine months. During the proceedings it came out that he had been already married at Birkenhead. Williams was released last July. Many robberies occurred in the vicinity of Rainhill and St. Helens last year. From the position in which the bodies were found, it is supposed the cement was poured over them wet. The police are now digging in the pantry, which also bears traces of being newly cementcd. It is believed that*hcavy luggage Williams is known to have sent away contained the blood-stained clothes of his victims. It is supposed that the murders were committed in August, a few days after the villa was rented.^

Melbourne, March 18. Williams is now known to the police | under the names of Deeming, Lawson, Drew or Drouin, and Bailey. He first disappeared from Sydney in October, 1887, and is then supposed to have crone to England. He again returned to Sydney between that and the presont date. Ho alleged that his wife and children died in South Africa of intermittent fever.

WILLIAMS IN WELLINGTON. (BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION). Wellington, Thursday. It ia believed that Williams, the Windsor murderer, was in Wellington during 100 1 3! where he was i cloth hawker, and swindled a Cuba-street shopkeeper out of £80. He was believed to have (?one to South Africa from New Zealand.