The first notion that he was a suspect in the Ripper murders appeared in 1962 in Phillippe Jullien's book, Edouard VII. Dr. Thomas Stowell published an article in 1970 accusing Eddy of being Jack the Ripper, basing his theory upon some papers of Sir William Gull. Stowell claimed that Gull was Eddy's doctor and was treating the prince for syphilis. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire The disease supposedly caused Eddy to go insane and commit the Whitechapel murders.

None of this can be proven however, since Stowell burned his papers and then died shortly after publishing his theories. Gull's papers have not been found.

Scholars have pounced upon this theory and discredited it. One key factor is that royal records show that Eddy was not anywhere close to London for the most important murder dates, and was in fact as far away as Scotland at the time of the murders of Stride and Eddowes.

Also, Eddy, who was not known for his sparkling intelligence, did not possess the medical knowledge to be a credible Ripper suspect. But that has not stopped the presses from printing up yet another book, Prince Jack by Frank Spiering, naming Eddy as the Ripper.

FRANCIS TUMBLETY
(1833-1903)

A more recent suspect emerged in Evans and Gainey's 1995 book, Jack the Ripper: First American Serial Killer. He was born either in Canada or Ireland in 1833. The family found its way to Rochester, NY, by 1849.

The portrait of Tumblety which
appeared on the front cover of
his second booklet, 1889

First reports of Francis are not promising. In 1848, he was described by neighbors as "a dirty, awkward, ignorant, uncared-for, good-for-nothing boy...utterly devoid of education." In 1850, he moved to Detroit and set up a practice as a physician sometime later. There is no indication that he ever finished school or even attended medical school. Despite that detail, he became quite a prosperous doctor.

He moved all across North America, setting up various medical practices and living in flamboyant splendor. Occasionally he would run afoul of the law and would set up his practice somewhere else.

At one point he went to Liverpool, in 1874, and carried on a homosexual affair with Sir Henry Hall Caine. When he returned to New York, he became known for his "mania for the company of young men and grown-up youths." He was also known as despising women, particularly "fallen women."

Tumbley arrested

Eventually, he moved back to Rochester and lived with his sister. He died in 1903 in St. Louis, after earning considerable wealth as a medical quack.

Chief Inspector John
Littlechild

All in all, he is an interesting suspect and proof that there is still information that can be unearthed after all these years about Ripper suspects. However, there is no direct proof linking Tumblety to the Whitechapel murders. There are a few factors that appear to disqualify him as a credible subject: (1) born in 1833, he would have been 55 years of age in 1888, far too old to be the man spotted by eyewitnesses, (2) he had no medical training, despite his income as a quack, and (3) while his sexual proclivities may have in 1888 been criminal, they are not today, (4) there is nothing to suggest that he was violent to women, even though he disliked them, (5) homosexual serial killers usually prey upon their own sex, not the opposite sex.