Joseph Barnett

JOSEPH BARNETT and Mary Jane Kelly

On Good Friday, April 8th 1887, Joseph Barnett met Mary Jane Kelly in a pub on Commercial Street. Kelly had been working as a prostitute in a brothel in France and had recently moved back to Spitalfields. On the night they met, they drank together, becoming closer over the course of the evening, and agreed to meet again the following day. When they met for a second time, they decided to remain together, and Barnett acquired lodgings for them both on George Street. Over time, their lodgings changed multiple times to Little Paternoster Row and Dorset Street, but they were continually evicted for non-payment of rent and drunkenness.

It might seem as if they moved in together quickly, and it’s unknown what Kelly was doing for money at the time, but if her past career was accurate, then it’s difficult to see how that would have changed by moving to the East End. So, there is little doubt that Barnett had probably paid for his first encounter with the woman and repeated the process the next day. Perhaps he took a shine to her and promised to take her away from her horrible life. In his own way, he probably felt he was saving her from the streets. Kelly likely thought herself extremely lucky she had found a man with a steady income, willing to pay for her to live. Whether she really cared for him or not is impossible to know.

Whatever the circumstances may have been, the couple stayed together and in March 1888, they had begun living at 13 Miller’s Court, Dorset Street. The accommodation was small, made up of a single room that was sparsely furnished and owned by a landlord named John McCarthy who asked for a rent of four shillings and sixpence per week. Here they would stay for the next eight months. During this time, Kelly didn’t get to know many people and it would seem that very little was known of her. It appears she kept to herself and the only time she came out of her shell was whilst drinking.

Somewhere between July and August 1888, Joseph Barnett lost his fish porter licence. It’s not known why this happened and there has been much speculation as to the reasons, namely, theft, drunkenness or simply being laid off. Either way, money stopped entering the home. In this situation, unsurprisingly, the relationship deteriorated with the couple arguing and becoming violent towards each other. At some point, Mary decided it was time to go back to prostitution, likely as a response to Barnett losing his job as this would have undoubtedly led to them being back out on the streets.

According to some witness reports, Barnett would never allow Mary to go back to a life of prostitution, suggesting that this was probably the main cause of their arguments. Jealousy, anger and resentment must have tortured Barnett. The feeling of being inadequate, and the very real prospect of your attractive girlfriend being in the arms of countless other men, must have affected him. But it seems there wasn’t much he could do about it.

Did Mary Jane Kelly Fit the Pattern of Victims?

Kelly was different from the other victims of Jack the Ripper as she was the only prostitute with her own accommodation and a place where she could potentially bring clients. After all, it would be a lot more comfortable than performing sexual services out on the cold streets.

From what we know about Mary Kelly, the evidence suggests that she did bring men back to the room. She also let prostitutes use her room as well, leading to more arguments. We know that on one occasion, a fight between the two led to Kelly throwing something at Barnett, breaking their window, and on that occasion, he moved out. However, it’s extremely unlikely that Barnett would have stayed in the same small room and, more importantly, the same bed, during all the other previous arguments and fights. Like most men in his position, he would most likely have angrily stormed off to drink his sorrows or just sleep elsewhere until it all cooled down. He also stated that Kelly was in the habit of bringing other women back to stay the night in 13 Millers Court, out of sympathy for them.

This suggests that during late July and early August 1888, Joseph Barnett was effectively being kicked out to the streets during the time Kelly would be working. This also coincides with the start of the Jack the Ripper murders, which many historians believe started with the murder of Martha Tabram on 7th August 1888.

Was it possible that the killer was, in fact, Joseph Barnett seeking revenge on the women who had ruined his relationship and his comfortable life with Kelly? Were the murders Barnett’s attempt at keeping Mary Kelly off the streets? If this was the case then it doesn’t seem to have worked. Kelly continued to sell herself over the next couple of months and the Ripper murders didn’t put her off.