Thomas Hayne Cutbush

Verified background

Biographical facts with sources.

• Retrieved Named by The Sun (1894); convicted 1891 of stabbing two women in the buttocks in Kennington. ● Well supported claim: Thomas Cutbush was named by The Sun in February 1894; Macnaghten's memo was written to rebut this; Cutbush had stabbed women in the buttocks in Kennington in 1891.◐ Disputed claim: The memo calls Cutbush 'nephew of the late Supt. Executive', but Wikipedia states Superintendent Charles Cutbush committed suicide in 1896 — after the memo's 1894 date — so the word 'late' is anomalous (possibly a later copy, a slip, or a different officer).[1][2][3][4][5]

Opportunity and timeline

Where the person is documented to have been, and where the record is silent.

• Inference Whereabouts on murder nights not established in sources accessed (neither alibi nor opportunity). ● Well supported claim: Thomas Cutbush was named by The Sun in February 1894; Macnaghten's memo was written to rebut this; Cutbush had stabbed women in the buttocks in Kennington in 1891.◐ Disputed claim: The memo calls Cutbush 'nephew of the late Supt. Executive', but Wikipedia states Superintendent Charles Cutbush committed suicide in 1896 — after the memo's 1894 date — so the word 'late' is anomalous (possibly a later copy, a slip, or a different officer).[1][2][3][4][5]

Strongest supporting evidence

The best case proponents can make from the record.

• Inference Proponents (The Sun) relied on his knife attacks and mental illness. ● Well supported claim: Thomas Cutbush was named by The Sun in February 1894; Macnaghten's memo was written to rebut this; Cutbush had stabbed women in the buttocks in Kennington in 1891.◐ Disputed claim: The memo calls Cutbush 'nephew of the late Supt. Executive', but Wikipedia states Superintendent Charles Cutbush committed suicide in 1896 — after the memo's 1894 date — so the word 'late' is anomalous (possibly a later copy, a slip, or a different officer).[1][2][3][4][5]

Strongest contradictory evidence

Evidence that tells against the theory.

• Retrieved Macnaghten listed three men 'more likely than Cutbush'; the 1891 attacks were non-fatal and of a different character. ● Well supported claim: Thomas Cutbush was named by The Sun in February 1894; Macnaghten's memo was written to rebut this; Cutbush had stabbed women in the buttocks in Kennington in 1891.◐ Disputed claim: The memo calls Cutbush 'nephew of the late Supt. Executive', but Wikipedia states Superintendent Charles Cutbush committed suicide in 1896 — after the memo's 1894 date — so the word 'late' is anomalous (possibly a later copy, a slip, or a different officer).[1][2][3][4][5]

Disputed and missing

Points in dispute, and records that do not exist or were not found.

• Retrieved The memo's 'late Supt.' wording conflicts with a reported 1896 death of Supt Charles Cutbush. ● Well supported claim: Thomas Cutbush was named by The Sun in February 1894; Macnaghten's memo was written to rebut this; Cutbush had stabbed women in the buttocks in Kennington in 1891.◐ Disputed claim: The memo calls Cutbush 'nephew of the late Supt. Executive', but Wikipedia states Superintendent Charles Cutbush committed suicide in 1896 — after the memo's 1894 date — so the word 'late' is anomalous (possibly a later copy, a slip, or a different officer).[1][2][3][4][5]

Assumptions required

What a reader has to accept for the theory to work.

• Inference Would require evidence beyond proximity, illness, later violence or a relationship with a victim — none of which is itself evidence of guilt. ● Well supported claim: Thomas Cutbush was named by The Sun in February 1894; Macnaghten's memo was written to rebut this; Cutbush had stabbed women in the buttocks in Kennington in 1891.◐ Disputed claim: The memo calls Cutbush 'nephew of the late Supt. Executive', but Wikipedia states Superintendent Charles Cutbush committed suicide in 1896 — after the memo's 1894 date — so the word 'late' is anomalous (possibly a later copy, a slip, or a different officer).[1][2][3][4][5]

What would change the assessment

Evidence that, if found, would move the picture.

• Inference Documented presence at a scene, or a forensic or reliable witness link, would strengthen; documented absence would eliminate. ● Well supported claim: Thomas Cutbush was named by The Sun in February 1894; Macnaghten's memo was written to rebut this; Cutbush had stabbed women in the buttocks in Kennington in 1891.◐ Disputed claim: The memo calls Cutbush 'nephew of the late Supt. Executive', but Wikipedia states Superintendent Charles Cutbush committed suicide in 1896 — after the memo's 1894 date — so the word 'late' is anomalous (possibly a later copy, a slip, or a different officer).[1][2][3][4][5]

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