On 8 April 1887, Good Friday, a fish porter named Joseph Barnet met a woman who called herself Mary Kelly. The couple agreed to a second meeting on the following day and then lived together. They settled in Millers Court, Whitechapel. Barnett left Kelly on 30 October. Nine days later she was killed by Jack the Ripper. Barnett identified by the body by the ear and eyes. Her real name has never been established.

The information given by Barnett to the police, at the inquest, and in newspaper interviews, contains our only clues to Mary’s origins. She claimed to be the widow of a Welsh collier. Some of her movements in London prior to meeting Barnett, have been verified by other sources. The rest of her story, as told by Barnett, is entirely unsupported. Crucially there is no official record of her marrying in Wales.

Little is known about Barnett’s life after the tragedy. He appears to have remained in the East End and lived with a woman, described as his wife. There is no official record of a marriage. He died in 1926. Over half a century later he was accused of being Jack the Ripper. The police, who interrogated him for over four hours after the murder, did not agree.