Frederick Bailey Deeming jumped shipped to Australia after the murder of his wife and their four children at Rainhill, Lancashire in England. He later became a suspect in the Jack the Ripper investigation.
As the investigation into the murder of Emily Mather began to focus on her husband, Victorian police established regular communication with authorities in England. A report was sent to Victoria from Lancashire police concerning Deeming's stay in Rainhill, Lancashire, and marriage to Emily Mather on 22 September 1891.
It was around this time, in either August or September, that Deeming was suspected of having murdered his first wife Marie James and their four children. Just as he would do a few months later with Emily in Melbourne, Deeming buried his victims under the fireplace of their rented villa.
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| Newspaper clipping comparing Deeming's and Jack the Ripper's handwriting PROV, VPRS 937/P0 Inward Registered Correspondence, unit 511, Deeming Case |
English authorities were keen to ensure that should Deeming somehow escape justice in Melbourne, he would be extradited to England to face trial over the Rainhill murders. This appeared to be unlikely, however, as less than a month after the discovery of Emily's body the crowds attending Deeming's appearances seemed ready to take justice into their own hands.
As soon as news of the Rainhill murders appeared in the press, people cried out for quick and decisive punishment. From the time of his capture to the time of his execution, great care was taken to ensure that the ever-present crowds did not get out of hand and hang Deeming themselves. Public opinion was therefore against Deeming from the beginning. Newspaper reports damned him as a dangerous monster, a born criminal who deserved to be put to death.
The nature of Deeming's crimes caused a great deal of unspoken anxiety, as he had brought to Australia a new criminal type now widely known as the serial killer. Deeming was a deviant, but a nonetheless urbane and highly mobile criminal. He was comfortable in big cities that allowed him to disappear at will into anonymous crowds. He was also perfectly at home travelling the world and seemed to thrive on the thrill of being in constant flight from the law. As a master of disguise, he particularly seemed to relish masquerading as a member of the respectable classes, surrounding himself in all its fineries. More disturbingly, he used the respectability of the marriage ritual as a way to recruit his murder victims.
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| Formal portrait of Frederick Deeming and his first wife Marie, reproduced in The History of a Series of Great Crimes on Two Continents, first edition, p. 8 OMG 182, Collection of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) |
The inquest into Emily's death resumed on 5 April, but it had to be moved out of the Coroner's Court because of the massive public interest. The coroner found that Deeming was responsible for Emily's wilful murder, and committed him to stand trial on 22 April.
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| Illustration depicting Emily Mather's skull and the battle-axe that inflicted the wounds, reproduced in The History of a Series of Great Crimes on Two Continents, third edition, p. 50 OMG 184, Collection of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) |
During Deeming's trial, the public expressed anger and disgust, feelings which were reflected in and amplified by newspaper reports. Many were convinced Deeming was responsible for the Whitechapel murders committed by 'Jack the Ripper' in London in the late 1880s, as it seemed impossible to imagine two people capable of such monstrous acts. Newspaper reports also insisted on this link. In the end, all available evidence suggested Deeming was in Hull Gaol at the time of the Whitechapel murders.
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| Letter from Harry Jones, 19 March 1892 PROV, VPRS 937/P0 Inward Registered Correspondence, unit 511, Deeming Case http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/online-exhibitions/deeming/story07-ripper.htm |
