WHAT’S THE STORY?
SCOTLAND’S own “Jack the Ripper” is to face trial for a second time – nearly 129 years after his execution.
William Henry Bury was the last person hanged in Dundee, over the 1889 killing and mutilation of his wife. Ellen Bury was found strangled, disembowelled and with her limbs broken so her body could fit into a wooden trunk. Bury pleaded not guilty despite initially confessing, but was convicted by the jury and hanged on April 24, 1889.
That jury, though, expressed some uncertainty about the medical evidence presented during trial. Historically, Dundee was also a site of opposition to the death penalty, with local voices condemning capital punishment even at the time of Bury’s execution.
Now the grisly case will be explored by a new prosecution, defence and jury in a mock trial organised by the University of Dundee with forensic evidence reframed to fit today’s scientific standards.
WHAT WERE THE DETAILS OF THE CASE?
IT was only a month after the couple’s move to Dundee when William entered the local police station and declared: “I’m Jack the Ripper and I want to give myself up.” He informed the officers that if they were to visit his home they would “find the body of a woman packed up in a box and cut up” – and handed them a key to the couple’s flat.
Searching by candlelight, police discovered the naked and contorted body inside a wooden trunk. There was a large wound in her torso from which intestines spilled plus nine other stab wounds, while her limbs were bent and broken.
Doctors who were present noted that her left foot rested on her left shoulder.
Nearby was a piece of rope – strands of hair still caught in the yarn – and a large knife. Officers learned that the body had been stored in the trunk for a number of days and that Bury had since used it as a table for playing cards with friends.
Later, handwritten chalk messages were spotted in the tenement. One read: “Jack Ripper is at the back of the door.” The other, on a stairwell leading to the scene of the crime, warned: “Jack Ripper is in this seller [sic].”
Despite his initial dramatic confession, Bury soon altered his story. He claimed that on the night of the murder, after an evening of merriment, he could not remember the couple going to sleep and had woken up to the sight of his wife’s strangled body on the floor.
Suddenly afraid that he would be arrested and accused of being Jack the Ripper, William maintained that his next actions were driven by panicked impulse: he grabbed a knife placed nearby and stabbed his wife’s body.
Three post-mortems were then carried out – with one, requested by Bury’s solicitor, concluding that Ellen’s death was actually suicide – but the third and final post-mortem determined that she had been murdered and that the cuts to her body may have been made while she was still alive.
During the trial, the jury found Bury guilty but strongly recommended “mercy”.
When they clarified that they were troubled by the conflicting medical evidence, the judge rejected their verdict and insisted they reconvene to discuss any doubts they might have.
They took only five minutes to return with another guilty verdict – and no recommendation for mercy.
WHO WERE THE BURYS?
WILLIAM and Ellen met in London where she worked as a barmaid and he was a sawdust merchant. The couple had been married for just a year prior to Ellen’s murder.
Bury was known for disappearing for days at a time, and people who knew the couple noted that William would return home drunk and aggressive. He was witnessed assaulting Ellen on at least two occasions.
Their London landlord, Elizabeth Haynes, evicted the pair after she found Bury kneeling on his wife and threatening to cut her throat – just five days after they married.
WHY THE NEW PROSECUTION?
THE mock trial is being held in celebration of the 130th birthday of the Cox Chair of Anatomy position at the University of Dundee. A jury of 15 will hear cases from both sides at Dundee Sheriff Court on Saturday, February 3.
Bones from the convicted murderer’s neck now sit in the office of Professor Dame Sue Black, director of the University of Dundee’s Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification. She said: “The William Bury trial and his subsequent execution is a fascinating story in so many respects.”
Jack the Ripper comparisons were made by local newspapers following the murder, in light of the fact that Ellen displayed wounds similar to those of Ripper victims and because Bury had lived near where the murders took place.
WHO’S INVOLVED IN THE MOCK TRIAL?
STUDENTS from the mooting societies at the universities of Dundee and Aberdeen will lead the counsel, with the prosecution being mentored by Alex Prentice QC and the defence guided by Dorothy Bain QC.
It will not be possible for the public to watch in court, but the trial is being recorded for a documentary planned by Dan Snow’s new online channel History Hit TV.
Social media will be updated regularly throughout the day, though. The jury is expected to have reached a verdict by 5pm on the day of the trial.
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