Dr Wynne Weston-Davies, 71, believes Mary Jane Kelly is his Great Aunt. It is understood that an application has been made to exhume the body of Mary Jane Kelly. Dr Weston-Davies has a new book "The Real Mary Kelly" in which he identifies Francis Spurzheim Craig as Mary Jane's killer.
Dr Weston-Davies is convinced Mary Jane Kelly was an alias being used by Elizabeth Weston Davies, who was once married to Francis Craig. It is believed Elizabeth had fled to the East End after being un-masked as a high end prostitute and being stalked by Francis Craig. Elizabeth Davies was never heard of again.
Dr Weston-Davies points out Craig wound up committing suicide by slitting his own throat, the method usually employed by Jack the Ripper.
It is reported in the Telegraph that Dr Weston-Davies is confident of having Mary Jane's body exhumed so DNA tests can be performed to prove she is related to him:
“I’ve already obtained an indication from the Ministry of Justice that they are minded to issue an exhumation licence, There’s a bit more red tape to complete but I believe that exhuming her body will solve the Ripper mystery once and for all. I will proceed with the exhumation depending on the reaction to the book."
Dr Weston-Davies believes that Craig was so distraught by his wife's behaviour that he tracked her down and murdered her. He also believes Craig also honed his gruesome skills on four other prostitutes, thus leaving him to believe Francis Craig was also Jack the Ripper.
Mary Kelly was buried in a "public grave" in St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, Leytonstone on 19 November 1888: the headstone carries the inscription “Marie Jeanette Kelly, died November 9, 1888, aged 25 years”.
The Ministry of Justice, after giving "detailed consideration" to the new theory put forward by Dr Weston-Davies, has indicated that it would be “happy to consider [his] application for an exhumation licence” subject to two criteria:
[1] provision of a letter from a forensics laboratory which is prepared to carry out the DNA testing
[2] the posting of a public notice on the grave for three months
Francis Spurzheim Craig was born in 1837 in Acton, London. He married Elizabeth Weston Davies at Hammersmith, London on 24th December 1884. The divorce petition was filed in March 1886.
Comments
Linda Boyd
28 Dec 2019 21:26There are so many jack the ripper suspects now and the suspect pool is very crowded. I feel that dr Davies could be on the right track in exhuming mary Kelly's body and determining the DNA. I just feel that thomas hayne cutbush could be the actual killer but there are so many suspects. Perhaps we will never know who actually committed these crimes
Sharon
22 Jun 2022 18:28I have a photo of my great great /great aunt Emma or Emily I know not her last name but was told she was a stabbed barmaid 1888 maybe ripper victim would anyone like to try to identify the lady in the photo for me?