The Birtley Ripper - Barbaric Murder
Extract from Tough Times and Grisly Crimes
It was the early morning of Sunday, September 23, 1888. John Fish, a miner, was making his way along a colliery railway line near Gateshead in County Durham. John, who was employed at Ouston Colliery, had walked the route hundreds of times and, as daylight broke on that warm, sunny morning, he could have no idea of the horrific sight he was about to encounter.
As he approached Birtley North Side, he could make out the body of a young woman lying by the side of the tracks. But it was only as the miner got closer that he could see the woman’s throat had been cut and her body had been mutilated in such a barbaric manner that he would never forget what he had seen.
John ran for help and police were soon on the scene. They examined the wounds and soon ruled out any possibility of a train accident. This was murder and whoever carried out the crime was obviously a maniac.
The murder could also not have come at a more terrifying time. It was September 1888 and the country was gripped by the crimes of Jack the Ripper. The Ripper had already claimed at least three victims in the East End of London. Each was a woman of ill-repute, who had had her throat cut, before being butchered.
The crimes had been lapped up by the newspapers and had rapidly caught the country’s imagination. The news of the Birtley murder spread like wildfire, making newspaper headlines around the country.
