George Chapman (1865-1903)

George Chapman
Born	December 1865
Died	7 April 1903

Severin Klosowski, later known as George Chapman, was born in Poland in December 1865. In October 1873 he studied medicine and hairdressing at a military academy, remaining in this academy for five years. He moved to the East End of London in 1888, taking up employment at a barber shop on Whitechapel High Street, being followed in 1890 by a woman and two children, believed to be his family, although they did not live together. He moved a few times during this period, being known to have lived in Tottenham and Leytonstone, apparently marrying a woman he met (Mary Spink) in a Jewish ceremony. Around this time, he adopted the name George Chapman. For a brief period in 1896, Chapman worked at a barber shop in George Street with Mary and her son from another relationship. Her son fell ill and Mary started to suffer from vomiting attacks, the family moving back to London in 1897 and Chapman taking on a pub; the Prince of Wales in St. Luke's. Chapman continued his new career as a publican, working at several other pubs in London until his apprehension.

In 1889, he married Lucie Badewski, a woman from Poznań, Poland, whom he had met at a Polish club in Clerkenwell, London. However, the marriage lasted only three years. Chapman was known for forming intense relationships with women, only to quickly lose interest and move on.

Victims

Three of Chapman’s wives — Mary Spink, Bessie Taylor, and Maud Marsh — died under suspicious circumstances. Each fell ill rapidly and died soon after. It was only after the death of Maud Marsh that her family raised concerns. Despite the fact that Mary Spink left him £500 (equivalent to approximately £70,000 today), Chapman gained nothing financially from the deaths of his other two wives.

Chapman exhibited a disturbing pattern: after charming and seducing his wives, he would develop a desire to kill them, seemingly reveling in the power of life and death he held over them. He obtained his poison, emetic tartar (a medicine containing antimony), from a chemist, William Davison who had his shop in the High Street. This same poison had also been used by the infamous 'Teacup Murderer' Graham Young in Hertfordshire.

Suspicions raised

Mary Spink, who had worked alongside Chapman at the Hastings barber shop, died on Christmas Day 1897, with kidney and liver failure recorded as the cause of death. Bessie Taylor died on February 13, 1901, with the doctor attributing her death to 'exhaustion due to vomiting and diarrhea.' Just six months after Bessie's death, Chapman met Maud Marsh, who died on October 22, 1902 aged just 20. Maud worked with Chapman at his current premises - the Crown in Borough High Street and he was held on suspicion of administering arsenic. Her parents, suspicious of her sudden illness, had grown increasingly wary of Chapman, especially as Maud's condition deteriorated without clear cause until her demise, so a Coroner's enquiry was opened and a post-mortem ordered.

Discovery

The post-mortem revealed that Maud had been poisoned with antimony. Subsequent exhumations of Mary Spink and Bessie Taylor’s bodies confirmed the presence of poison in their systems. The exhumation of Mary was remarkable in that the body had the appearance of a recently deceased person, not that of one buried for five years - the antimony apparently having some preservative effect. Chapman became the focus of a police investigation, being charged under his birth name otherwise known as George Chapman with the murders on the 13th of February, 1901; claiming 'not to have heard of that other chap' (his birth name). Incidentally, during 1901 a man by the name of Alfred Clark was convicted of defrauding Chapman of £700 by false pretences - this also stirring interest in Chapman's case.

The Southwark Poisoner

Chapman's trial was at the Central Criminal Court in London, the press dubbing Chapman the "Southwark Poisoner." The chemist, Mr. Davison was called as a witness during the trial, giving evidence relating to the purchase of the medicine as logged in his 'poison book' on the 3rd of April 1897 - Davison saying during his questioning that emetic tartar was normally only prescribed for horses. Chapman had purchased an ounce (approx 28 grams) in the form of a white powder. Whilst at Davison's shop, Chapman also purchased two books, one being a recipe book, these being identified by Davison as having been sold by him. The quantity of poison supplied would have been sufficient to poison around ten people (the lethal dose of antimony being around 50mg). After a three-day hearing, Chapman was found guilty and sentenced to death on March 19, 1903. He was held at Wandsworth Prison, where reports suggested he spent sleepless nights pacing his cell in deep thought. The Worcestershire Chronicle of April 4th 1903 noted that Chapman had no visitors apart from his solicitor, despite a request from his first wife, Lucie, to see him, which he refused.

Execution

Chapman was executed by hanging on April 7, 1903, at the age of 37. According to reports from the South London Press, he appeared pale and anxious in his final hours, barely eating the meal offered to him and reacting nervously to any sound. A large crowd gathered outside Wandsworth Prison to witness his execution.

Jack the Ripper?

There is some speculation that Chapman might have been Jack the Ripper. Arriving in Whitechapel in 1888, the same year the Ripper murders began, and having received medical training in Poland and Russia, giving him knowledge of anatomy. His first wife, Lucie, also claimed that Chapman was violent, once threatening her with a knife during their time living in America. Interestingly, the area where they lived in New Jersey experienced a series of murders similar to the Ripper killings, which had ceased in England around that time.

After Chapman’s execution, a reporter from the Pall Mall Gazette contacted FG Abberline, the former Scotland Yard detective who had led the hunt for Jack the Ripper. Abberline revealed that he had long suspected Chapman and Jack the Ripper were one and the same, though an injury to his hand had prevented him from writing to share his theory.