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Episode: TBA
Elizabeth Stride was killed in the entrance of Dutfield’s Yard off of Berner St (now Henriques St), between Commercial Road and Fairclough Street. Sander Street, which at the time cut the block in half, no longer exists. From details given in various newspaper articles (listed at the bottom of this page), we can create the following description:
The entrance to Dutfield’s Yard was off of the west side of Berner St (now Henriques St), between Sander St (no longer existent) and Fairclough Street. At the entrance were two large wooden gates, one of which had a small wicket door for use when the gates were closed. However, the gates were open at the time of the murder and were generally kept open according to those who lived nearby – only being closed once all of the club members have left. Upon entering the gate there was a 9 foot wide passage between Berner St and the Yard, spanning 18 to 20 feet with flat walls on each side – “the effect of which is to enshroud the intervening space in absolute darkness after sunset”. Past this, and on the right (or north) side of the Yard was the “International Workmen’s Educational Club”, which spanned the full length of the yard and which had two windows on the second story that gave the yard (but not the passage to the yard) some light. The frontage of the club had two windows and a door on the ground floor facing Berner St, out of view of the passage. The ground floor room had three doors opening to the passage. Beyond the club, (to the left of the club, or the north of the yard), was a stable. Opposite the gate, at the west end of the Yard, was a workshop belonging to a sack manufacturer. To the south of the Yard are four cottages occupied mainly by tailors and cigarette makers – none of which had lights on at the time.
The body was found along the north wall of the passage way, along the wall of the club, the feet were just a couple of yards (6 feet) from the street and her head in the gutter which ran close to the wall. She was on her left side, face downward – “her position being such that, although the court at that part is only 9 ft. wide, a person walking up the middle might have passed the recumbent body without notice.”.
The International Workmen’s Education Club was an offshoot of the Socialist League, and a regular community center for Russians, Poles, and “continental Jews of various nationalities”. On Saturday nights it was customary to spend the evening in friendly conversation and end with an evening’s entertainment of songs. The discussions lasted from 8:30 to 12 midnight when a large portion of the group of about 100 original people went home, leaving 20-30 behind for the usual concert that followed. The concert continued until the body was discovered, and other residents of the yard – lying awake in bed – remembered listening to the music and singing until it stopped abruptly at 1 am.
At about 12 midnight a man named Morris Eagle left the club through the front door to walk his sweetheart home and returned 40 minutes later to have supper. Finding the front door now closed, he walked up the passage to the Yard and entered the club by the side entrance. He saw and heard nothing. It’s possible he walked passed the body, but authorities believed it was more probable that he would have stumbled on the body, and she was still warm when found 20 minutes later. At about the same time that Mr. Eagle arrived, another man named Joseph Lave left the club “feeling oppressed by the smoke in the large room”, to get a breath of fresh air. He walked about in the Yard and down the passage to the street for about five minutes before returning to the club. He also did not notice anything unusual.
At 1 am the steward (and resident) of the club, Lewis Diemshitz, arrived home with his trap carriage and pony. Upon entering the gate, the pony “obstinately refused” to go straight. The pony was often shy, and Lewis assumed that perhaps some mud or refuse was in the way. Unable to see anything in the dark, Lewis poked about the ground with the handle of his whip and immediately discovered that some large obstacle was in the path. He got down from the trap and struck a match, to see that it was a woman. Without checking to see if she was drunk or dead, he immediately ran to the club from the side door and first confirmed that his wife was safely inside and to not go out – as she was prone to being badly effected by anything unpleasant. He then went up to the concert-room upstairs to alert that something had happened in the Yard. A Mr. Kozebrodski, aka Isaacs, accompanied Lewis back to the woman, struck another match and lifted the body up to find her dead. The body was still warm, the clothes wet from the recent rain. A large amount of blood drained down the gutter to a “hideous pool near the club door”. The two men, along with others who had made their way from the club, ran to find a constable. After a “considerable delay”, one was found on Commercial Road (further north above Sander Street). He sounded his policeman’s whistle and more constables quickly came, the gates at the entrance were closed and a guard was set on all of the exists of the club and the cottages.
The names and address of everyone present, including all of the residents of the court, were taken and all were searched – with no incriminating evidence found, written statements were taken and signed.
Documentation:
Newspaper Articles:
- 1888 (Oct 1) – The Morning Post: “The Tragedies at the East-End; Two More Women Murdered”
