On 13 November 1888 the City of London Police received an anonymous letter accusing William Onion of being Jack the Ripper. Onion was a notorious and violent character soon to hold the dubious distinction of being Britain’s most convicted man. The letter was postmarked Leeds, a city where Onion had connections, and the writer clearly knew him as he mentioned facts that were not in the public domain. The accusation was limited to the last three murders, presumed to be Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes on 30 September and Mary Jane Kelly on 9 November.

Jack the Ripper was an extremely violent man who predominantly targeted middle-aged prostitutes at night in Whitechapel. William Onion was an extremely violent man, born in Whitechapel, who had assaulted middle-aged women at night there. He was not Jack the Ripper as he was sent to jail for twelve months in November 1887. Whilst the exact release date is not known there is no evidence of him being at liberty in August when the murders began. The next confirmed sighting was in court on 18 November 1888.

Earlier this year I published the first biography of William Onion. He became a poet, turning his back on a life of crime and overcoming a fifty-year addiction to alcohol. He was one of many interesting people whose lives were connected to, and overshadowed by, the crimes of Jack the Ripper.