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George Chapman (murderer)
Encyclopedia
George Chapman was a Polish serial killer
known as the Borough Poisoner. Born Seweryn Antonowicz Kłosowski in Poland
, he moved as an adult to England
, where he committed his crimes. He was convicted and executed after poisoning three women, but is remembered today mostly because some authorities suspected him of being the notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper
.
, whom he assisted in procedures such as the application of leech
es for blood-letting. He then enrolled on a course in practical surgery at the Warsaw
Praga hospital. This course was very brief, lasting from October 1885 to January 1886 (attested to by another certificate in his possession) but he continued to serve as a surgeon's assistant in Warsaw until December 1886. He later left Poland, although the year in which he came to England has not been ascertained. Witness testimony at his trial seems to indicate that he arrived in London between 1887 and 1888.
. Rich in the metallic element antimony
, improper usage of tartar-emetic causes a painful death with symptoms similar to arsenic
poisoning.
His motives for these murders are unclear. In one case, he stood to inherit £500, but there was no inheritance from the other two victims.
Suspicions surrounding Marsh's death led to a police investigation. It was found that she had been poisoned, as had the other two women, whose bodies were exhumed.
An indictment for murder could contain only one count and Chapman was therefore charged only with the murder of Maud Marsh. He was prosecuted by Sir Archibald Bodkin
and the Attorney-General, Sir Edward Carson, convicted on March 20, 1903, and hanged
at Wandsworth Prison
on April 7, 1903.
, Frederick Abberline
, is reported to have told George Godley
, the policeman who arrested Klosowski: "You've got Jack the Ripper at last!" In two 1903 interviews with the Pall Mall Gazette, Abberline spelled out his suspicions, referring to Klosowski by name. Speculation in contemporary newspaper accounts and books has led to Chapman, like fellow serial killer Thomas Neill Cream
, becoming one of many individuals cited as a possible suspect in the infamous Jack the Ripper murders of 1888. In The Complete History of Jack the Ripper, Philip Sugden argued that Chapman is the most likely candidate among known suspects, but that the case is far from proven. As far as is known, Chapman was not a suspect at the time of the murders either under his proper name, or as "Ludwig Schloski", a name he was using in London. Chapman was a later surname borrowed from one of his common-law wives
whom he did not poison — Annie Chapman (not to be confused with the Jack the Ripper victim of the same name
).
The case against Chapman rests mainly on the point that he undoubtedly was a violent man with a misogynistic streak. Chapman is known as a poisoner and not a mutilator, but was known to beat his common-law wives and was prone to other violent behaviour. In one incident often used as an argument to link him to the Ripper crimes, while in living in the United States, Chapman allegedly forced his wife, Lucy Klosowski, down on their bed and began to strangle her, only stopping to attend to a customer who had walked into the adjoining shop he owned. When he left, she was said to have found a knife under the pillow. He reportedly later told her that he had planned to kill her, even pointing out the spot where he would have buried her and reciting what he would have said to their neighbours.
It is even suggested that he may have carried out a Ripper-style killing in New York City
, the murder of Carrie Brown
, but recent research suggests he did not reach the United States until after this incident.
There is a lack of any hard evidence
that would link Chapman to the Ripper murders. Most scholars also believe the Ripper selected victims who were previously unknown to him, while Chapman killed acquaintances. One recent writer, John Eddleston, rates Chapman at only 2 ("a remote possibility") on his 0 to 5 rating of Ripper suspects, arguing that although Chapman lived in Whitechapel it was not near the murders, and as a 22-year-old immigrant he is unlikely to have had detailed knowledge of the area.
Chapman's story was dramatised twice by Towers of London
. Firstly in 1949 in Secrets of Scotland Yard as George Chapman... Poisoner, Publican and Lady Killer and then again in a 1951 episode of The Black Museum
entitled "The Straight Razor". Both conclude with a brief argument for Chapman's identity as Jack the Ripper.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
known as the Borough Poisoner. Born Seweryn Antonowicz Kłosowski in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, he moved as an adult to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he committed his crimes. He was convicted and executed after poisoning three women, but is remembered today mostly because some authorities suspected him of being the notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
.
Early life
Chapman was born in the village of Nagórna, near Koło, Poland. According to a certificate found in his personal effects after his arrest, he was apprenticed at age 15 to a provincial surgeon in ZwoleńZwolen
Zwoleń is a town in Poland, in Mazowsze Voivodeship, about 30 km east of Radom. It is the capital of Zwoleń County. Population is 8048 .- People :* Stanisław Chomętowski* Jan Karol Tarło* Stanisław Tarło...
, whom he assisted in procedures such as the application of leech
Leech
Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...
es for blood-letting. He then enrolled on a course in practical surgery at the Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
Praga hospital. This course was very brief, lasting from October 1885 to January 1886 (attested to by another certificate in his possession) but he continued to serve as a surgeon's assistant in Warsaw until December 1886. He later left Poland, although the year in which he came to England has not been ascertained. Witness testimony at his trial seems to indicate that he arrived in London between 1887 and 1888.
Crimes and execution
Chapman took several mistresses, who often posed as his wife, three of whom he subsequently poisoned to death. They were Mary Spink (died December 25, 1897), Elizabeth "Bessie" Taylor (died February 14, 1901) and Maud Marsh (died October 22, 1902). He administered the compound tartar-emetic to each of them, having purchased it from a chemist in HastingsHastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
. Rich in the metallic element antimony
Antimony
Antimony is a toxic chemical element with the symbol Sb and an atomic number of 51. A lustrous grey metalloid, it is found in nature mainly as the sulfide mineral stibnite...
, improper usage of tartar-emetic causes a painful death with symptoms similar to arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
poisoning.
His motives for these murders are unclear. In one case, he stood to inherit £500, but there was no inheritance from the other two victims.
Suspicions surrounding Marsh's death led to a police investigation. It was found that she had been poisoned, as had the other two women, whose bodies were exhumed.
An indictment for murder could contain only one count and Chapman was therefore charged only with the murder of Maud Marsh. He was prosecuted by Sir Archibald Bodkin
Archibald Bodkin
Sir Archibald Henry Bodkin KCB was an English lawyer and the Director of Public Prosecutions from 1920 to 1930. He particularly took a stand against the publication of what he saw as 'obscene' literature.-Early years:...
and the Attorney-General, Sir Edward Carson, convicted on March 20, 1903, and hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
at Wandsworth Prison
Wandsworth (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, south west London, England. It is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service and is the largest prison in London and one of the largest in western Europe, with similar capacity to Liverpool...
on April 7, 1903.
Jack the Ripper suspect
One of the detectives at Scotland YardScotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
, Frederick Abberline
Frederick Abberline
Frederick George Abberline was a Chief Inspector for the London Metropolitan Police and was a prominent police figure in the investigation into the Jack the Ripper murders of 1888.-Early life:...
, is reported to have told George Godley
George Godley
George Albert Godley was a police officer of the Metropolitan Police who was involved in the hunt for Jack the Ripper in 1888....
, the policeman who arrested Klosowski: "You've got Jack the Ripper at last!" In two 1903 interviews with the Pall Mall Gazette, Abberline spelled out his suspicions, referring to Klosowski by name. Speculation in contemporary newspaper accounts and books has led to Chapman, like fellow serial killer Thomas Neill Cream
Thomas Neill Cream
Dr. Thomas Neill Cream , also known as the Lambeth Poisoner, was a Scottish-born serial killer, who claimed his first proven victims in the United States and the rest in England, and possibly others in Canada and Scotland...
, becoming one of many individuals cited as a possible suspect in the infamous Jack the Ripper murders of 1888. In The Complete History of Jack the Ripper, Philip Sugden argued that Chapman is the most likely candidate among known suspects, but that the case is far from proven. As far as is known, Chapman was not a suspect at the time of the murders either under his proper name, or as "Ludwig Schloski", a name he was using in London. Chapman was a later surname borrowed from one of his common-law wives
Common-law marriage
Common-law marriage, sometimes called sui juris marriage, informal marriage or marriage by habit and repute, is a form of interpersonal status that is legally recognized in limited jurisdictions as a marriage even though no legally recognized marriage ceremony is performed or civil marriage...
whom he did not poison — Annie Chapman (not to be confused with the Jack the Ripper victim of the same name
Annie Chapman
Annie Chapman , born Eliza Ann Smith, was a victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper, who killed and mutilated five women in the Whitechapel area of London from late August to early November 1888.-Life and background:Annie Chapman was born Eliza Ann Smith...
).
The case against Chapman rests mainly on the point that he undoubtedly was a violent man with a misogynistic streak. Chapman is known as a poisoner and not a mutilator, but was known to beat his common-law wives and was prone to other violent behaviour. In one incident often used as an argument to link him to the Ripper crimes, while in living in the United States, Chapman allegedly forced his wife, Lucy Klosowski, down on their bed and began to strangle her, only stopping to attend to a customer who had walked into the adjoining shop he owned. When he left, she was said to have found a knife under the pillow. He reportedly later told her that he had planned to kill her, even pointing out the spot where he would have buried her and reciting what he would have said to their neighbours.
It is even suggested that he may have carried out a Ripper-style killing in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the murder of Carrie Brown
Carrie Brown (murder victim)
Carrie Brown was a New York prostitute who was murdered and mutilated in a lodging house. She is occasionally mentioned as an alleged victim of Jack the Ripper. Although known to use numerous aliases, a common practice in her occupation, she supposedly won her nickname of Shakespeare for her habit...
, but recent research suggests he did not reach the United States until after this incident.
There is a lack of any hard evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
that would link Chapman to the Ripper murders. Most scholars also believe the Ripper selected victims who were previously unknown to him, while Chapman killed acquaintances. One recent writer, John Eddleston, rates Chapman at only 2 ("a remote possibility") on his 0 to 5 rating of Ripper suspects, arguing that although Chapman lived in Whitechapel it was not near the murders, and as a 22-year-old immigrant he is unlikely to have had detailed knowledge of the area.
Chapman's story was dramatised twice by Towers of London
Harry Alan Towers
Harry Alan Towers was a British-born radio and film producer and screenwriter, regularly using the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over a hundred feature films and continued to write and produce well into his eighties...
. Firstly in 1949 in Secrets of Scotland Yard as George Chapman... Poisoner, Publican and Lady Killer and then again in a 1951 episode of The Black Museum
The Black Museum
The Black Museum was a 1951 radio crime drama program independently produced by Harry Alan Towers and based on real-life cases from the files of Scotland Yard's Black Museum. Ira Marion was the scriptwriter, and music for the series was composed and conducted by Sidney Torch...
entitled "The Straight Razor". Both conclude with a brief argument for Chapman's identity as Jack the Ripper.