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Once Bert Shaw's alibi had been verified the list of suspects was eventually narrowed
down to just one -
As has been stated earlier the police case was flimsy. Wood admitted to meeting Emily and sending the postcard but apart from that his movements on the night of the murder were inconclusive.
The police case rested on Wood sending a letter to Emily arranging a meeting, being the last person to be seen with her whilst alive and of being the person seen leaving St Pauls Road in the early hours of September 12.
Who then, did kill Emily Dimmock?
There were some shadowy characters named in the trial such as 'Scottie' and 'Scotch Bob'. These epithets could have been ascribed to Robert Wood, but on the evidence of Crabtree can only be dismissed as acquaintances of Emily without real cause, motive or opportunity to have committed the crime.
During the police investigation there were contemporary newspaper reports of a clairvoyant being used by the police who sat in Emily's room and described the crime in great detail. He went on to state that the murderer had fled to Melbourne, Australia.
William Dimmock Emily's father, then told a local paper that another of his daughters Rosa, had been visited by Emily's spirit at 3.00am on the morning of September 12. She had been accompanied by a figure she knew as Jumbo Large who she saw get on a train and cross a large expanse of water. Rosa knew it was Jumbo Large as Emily had brought him to stay with her at Luton. Rosa denied that her story had been prompted by the news of the clairvoyant.
Although there was testimony that Emily and Robert Wood had been seen in the company of Jumbo Large he was eventually traced by the police as being a trooper with the Life Guards stationed at Tower Hill. He was not considered a suspect.
Therefore must the suspect continue to be ' person or persons unknown'?
It may well have been but for a forensic pathologist making contact with me.
His examination of the evidence was the outcome of his own investigation into the canonical five ' Jack the Ripper' killings but gave me a new insight into this case and provided evidence to name the real killer.
I am not claiming to have solved this case -
These new findings are presented in the revised paperback edition.
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