It seems unlikely that this would be the first murder carried out by the killer due to the level of violence, or that it would be the killer's last., but it certainly seems they may have been influenced by the Ripper murders. It would be interesting to know where William Barrett lived and worked before he moved to Bradford and whether anything occurred there.
I'm vaguely familiar with the area as I was born and grew up in Bradford, but have only recently become aware of this very sad case. It was very interesting to read more details about it in your post.
I completely agree. This is not the sort of crime that comes from nowhere. I am not a criminal psychologist, but the dismemberment struck me as very unusual and not simply a means to make the body easier to dispose of.
There's quite a lot of information about William's previous movements in the Bradford daily papers (which I used to source the post), but nothing that suggested a history of violence or perversion... EXCEPT Johnny's mother's evidence about William being 'fresh' with Johnny. But as you've probably noticed, sexual abuse of children was generally ignored by the Victorians, both in court and at home, provided it stopped short of rape.
This is a very good point, if there were other victims one wonders if bodies were found or will be found as land gets build and buildings get torn down. We are also not criminal psychologists, but we agree that the dismemberment sounds unusual.
I appreciate how you handled this story. It must’ve been hard to handle this information, especially about what Johnny endured. Thank you for handling it with sensitivity and compassion.
Thank you for sharing this harrowing story. I had to look away. I cannot fathom how challenging it must have been to put all this together. One aspect that is rarely discussed (even in historiography courses and literature) is how research may impact the researcher. This little boy deserved to be remembered and your story does justice to the case and the surrounding investigation. Thank you.
There is a growing acknowledgement (at least in British universities) of the emotional demand that some types of research requires, but most of the support is peer-to-peer. I have been very fortunate to work with supervisors who understand that sometimes I need a break!
I wrote a bit about WHY I tell these stories on my work website (https://sophiemhistory.com/2023/06/02/whats-in-a-name/) but it comes down to wanting to do the victim justice, rather than simply revelling in the macabre.
It seems unlikely that this would be the first murder carried out by the killer due to the level of violence, or that it would be the killer's last., but it certainly seems they may have been influenced by the Ripper murders. It would be interesting to know where William Barrett lived and worked before he moved to Bradford and whether anything occurred there.
I'm vaguely familiar with the area as I was born and grew up in Bradford, but have only recently become aware of this very sad case. It was very interesting to read more details about it in your post.
I completely agree. This is not the sort of crime that comes from nowhere. I am not a criminal psychologist, but the dismemberment struck me as very unusual and not simply a means to make the body easier to dispose of.
There's quite a lot of information about William's previous movements in the Bradford daily papers (which I used to source the post), but nothing that suggested a history of violence or perversion... EXCEPT Johnny's mother's evidence about William being 'fresh' with Johnny. But as you've probably noticed, sexual abuse of children was generally ignored by the Victorians, both in court and at home, provided it stopped short of rape.
This is a very good point, if there were other victims one wonders if bodies were found or will be found as land gets build and buildings get torn down. We are also not criminal psychologists, but we agree that the dismemberment sounds unusual.
I wrote to his case in my book. Volume 1 Bloody Yorkshire.
I appreciate how you handled this story. It must’ve been hard to handle this information, especially about what Johnny endured. Thank you for handling it with sensitivity and compassion.
Thank you for sharing this harrowing story. I had to look away. I cannot fathom how challenging it must have been to put all this together. One aspect that is rarely discussed (even in historiography courses and literature) is how research may impact the researcher. This little boy deserved to be remembered and your story does justice to the case and the surrounding investigation. Thank you.
Thank you. It was grim.
There is a growing acknowledgement (at least in British universities) of the emotional demand that some types of research requires, but most of the support is peer-to-peer. I have been very fortunate to work with supervisors who understand that sometimes I need a break!
I wrote a bit about WHY I tell these stories on my work website (https://sophiemhistory.com/2023/06/02/whats-in-a-name/) but it comes down to wanting to do the victim justice, rather than simply revelling in the macabre.
Wonderful, really enjoyed it and I agree. Names are important. So are terms.
Thank you for sharing.
Agreed! Thank you for taking the time to investigate and engage with readers. I'll check the link this weekend.