NCJ Number
174921
Journal
International Journal of Forensic Document Examiners Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: January-March 1997 Pages: 8-13
Editor(s)
J S Harris
Date Published
1997
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The Sunday Times newspaper of London, England, sponsored a forensic handwriting and language analysis of a document purporting to be the diary of Jack the Ripper; concluded that the document was a fake; and has given its findings to the serous crime branch of Scotland Yard, which is considering an investigation.
Abstract
The newspaper's conclusions were reported in September 1993. The newspaper established that the diary was a fake 3 months earlier, after the publisher, Smith Gryphon, offered exclusive serialization rights for a payment of 75,000 pounds. The publisher had purchased the diary from freelance journalist Michael Barrett, who said that a friend had given it to him. The diary implicated James Maybrick as Jack the Ripper. However, the newspaper learned that the handwriting of Maybrick's will did not match that of the diary; an earlier report also raised doubts about the manuscript. The newspaper told the publisher of these findings and wanted to warn the public of the potential fraud. However, the newspaper had signed confidentiality agreements agreeing not to disclose the diary's contents to a third party. Experts who had examined the diary had signed similar agreements. In September, the newspaper won a High Court settlement in which Smith Gryphon, agreed to waive the agreements. A separate investigation carried out by Warner Books in the United States has confirmed most of the findings of the Sunday Times. Meanwhile, the diary will be published in Great Britain on October 7 with a statement on the cover asking readers to decide for themselves whether or not it is genuine. The Sunday Times has concluded that it is not genuine. Photographs