Edward Spooner
Witness at Elizabeth Stride's inquest.
Born c.1863, Whitechapel. A horse-keeper at Messrs Meredith's, living at 26 Fairclough Street, Whitechapel. Married to Catherine (b.1868).
Stated that between 12.30am and 1.00am, 30th September 1888, he was standing with a young woman outside the Beehive public house on the corner of Christian Street and Fairclough Street. After talking for about 25 minutes, he saw two Jewish men running up the street shouting 'murder' and 'police'. He saw them run as far as Grove Street and then turn back. When he asked them what was the matter, they explained that a woman had been murdered, so he accompanied them back the Dutfield's Yard. He saw the body of Stride in the yard and estimated that there was about fifteen people standing around it.
One of the crowd lit a match and Spooner lifted the woman's chin, which was still warm and as he did so he could see that blood was flowing from the neck-wound. He noticed that she had a piece of paper folded up in her right hand and a red and white flower pinner to her jacket. Spooner reckoned he was there for about five minutes before a constable (PC Henry Lamb) arrived. In his testimony, Spooner believed that he had first arrived at Dutfield's Yard at "25 minutes to 1", which is plainly erroneous - baring in mind he was fixing times by the closing of the public houses.
On the arrival of the police, Spooner stepped away from the scene, but helped PC Lamb close the gates of the yard.[1]
In 1891 Edward and Catherine were living at 11 Lower Foster Street with their son Edward (b.1890) and Edward Snr. was recorded as a horse-keeper (groom).[2]
