John Netley
Encyclopedia
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...
.
Biography
Netley was born in PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His father was an omnibus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
driver, and he had a twin. By 1888, the time of the Whitechapel murders, John Netley was a Hackney carriage
Hackney carriage
A hackney or hackney carriage is a carriage or automobile for hire...
driver in London. In 1976, author Stephen Knight accused Netley of complicity in the crimes in his book Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution. According to Knight, Netley drove the coach in which Sir William Gull carried out the actual killings as part of a conspiracy involving the royal family and freemasonry. Most scholars reject the theory as a fantasy, and consider Netley to be innocent. However, Netley was a twin - his brother William Henry survived for only a few months - and as such, might well have been left-handed. Police surgeons examining the Ripper victims believed that the murderer was left-handed and according to the legends of Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
, a Masonic execution called for three executioners to be present and the final wound, the cutting of the throat, to be inflicted from left to right.
Knight's conspiracy theory
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
originated from the story of Joseph Sickert, who claimed to be the illegitimate son of Walter Sickert
Walter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert , born in Munich, Germany, was a painter who was a member of the Camden Town Group in London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the 20th century....
, another 'Ripper' suspect. He related that after the killings had concluded, Netley was heavily involved in attempts on the life of the young Alice Crook (supposedly the illegitimate daughter of Annie Crook and Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the grandson of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
), trying to run her down with his carriage. Joseph Sickert claimed that he drowned after the attempt, having run to Westminster where he jumped off the pier. Sickert was wrong in this and therefore could not have based his story on any contemporary evidence, as has often been suggested. A newspaper report was found of a man who gave his name as "Nickley" being rescued by from the river by the pier master, and later discharging himself from hospital. Nickley could have been a misheard Netley - or a quickly assumed name. Stephen Knight said that the Dictionary of British Surnames did not list Nickley.
John Netley most certainly did exist and he was described as a "carman" (i.e. a goods wagon driver) in the census returns for the period. He was employed by Messrs Thompson, McKay and Co., who described Netley as "very steady". Netley died in an accident when the wheel of his van hit an obelisk in London's Park Road, where it joins on to Baker Street
Baker Street
Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid the street out in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at a fictional 221B...
, near to Clarence Gate in Regent's Park
Regent's Park
Regent's Park is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the north-western part of central London, partly in the City of Westminster and partly in the London Borough of Camden...
. He was thrown from his van under the hooves of the horses where his head was crushed by a wheel. The jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
at his inquest
Inquest
Inquests in England and Wales are held into sudden and unexplained deaths and also into the circumstances of discovery of a certain class of valuable artefacts known as "treasure trove"...
returned a verdict
Verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. The term, from the Latin veredictum, literally means "to say the truth" and is derived from Middle English verdit, from Anglo-Norman: a compound of ver and dit In law, a verdict...
of accidental death, with a recommendation that the drivers of vans should be offered safety straps.
Portrayals in fiction
Netley has been featured in several works based on the Jack the Ripper and the Royal Family conspiracy theory. In the 1979 film Murder by DecreeMurder by Decree
Murder by Decree is an Anglo-Canadian thriller film involving Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in the case of the serial murderer Jack the Ripper...
, Netley was renamed William Slade, and played by actor Peter Jonfield. In the 1988 made for tv film Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper (1988 TV series)
Jack the Ripper is a 1988 four-part television movie/mini-series portraying a fictionalized account of the hunt for Jack the Ripper, the unidentified serial killer responsible for the Whitechapel murders of 1888...
, starring Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
, Netley was played by actor George Sweeney
George Sweeney (actor)
George Sweeney is a British film and television actor who commenced his acting career in the 1970s.Sweeney has numerous television credits, including Z-Cars , Rumpole of the Bailey , Dixon of Dock Green , Softly, Softly , The New Avengers , The Sweeney , Return...
;. Netley was again portrayed as Gull's accomplice in the graphic novel From Hell
From Hell
From Hell is a comic book series by writer Alan Moore and artist Eddie Campbell, originally published from 1991 to 1996, speculating upon the identity and motives of Jack the Ripper. The title is taken from the first words of the "From Hell" letter, which some authorities believe was an authentic...
. This version depicts Netley as semi-literate, and horrified by Gull's plans. In the 2001 film adaptation of From Hell
From Hell (film)
From Hell is a 2001 American crime drama horror mystery film directed by the Hughes brothers. It is an adaptation of the comic book series of the same name by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell about the Jack the Ripper murders.-Plot:...
, starring Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
, Netley was played by Jason Flemyng
Jason Flemyng
Jason Iain Flemyng is an English actor. He is known for his film work, which has included roles in British films such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch , both for Guy Ritchie, as well as Hollywood productions such as Rob Roy along with the Alan Moore comic book adaptations From...
.
External links
- http://www.casebook.org/ripper_media/book_reviews/non-fiction/castofthousands.john-netley.htmlNetley on the Casebook: Jack the RipperCasebook: Jack the RipperCasebook: Jack the Ripper is a website devoted to the historical mystery of the Jack the Ripper murders of Whitechapel and the surrounding areas of London in 1888 and possibly other years. The site was started in January 1996 and features suspect, victim and witness overviews as well as more than...
website] - Netley and the Royal Conspiracy