[Inspector Frederick Abberline took the following statement from Elizabeth Haynes four days after William Bury’s arrest for his wife’s murder, on the same day that he also took a statement from Bury’s former employer, James Martin. The statement includes marginalia, which I have reproduced with italicized text. Haynes was the landlord of the Burys at the time Emma Smith was attacked, and she knew Ellen Bury well enough to attend her wedding. Smith was attacked on the wedding night of the Burys, and it’s possible that Haynes either knew or learned from Ellen whether or not Bury was away from home at the time of the attack. There is no indication in Haynes’s statement, however, that Abberline bothered to ask her about Bury’s whereabouts on that night. Nor is there any indication that Abberline asked Haynes if Bury was known to spend time in the Whitechapel area (at Bury’s trial, Martin would testify that Bury was in Whitechapel on the day following the attack on Smith). Abberline’s apparent failure to question Haynes on these points would be consistent with Scotland Yard being unwilling to conduct a serious investigation of Bury for the Ripper murders in the week following his arrest. —Steve Earp]
Statement of Elizabeth Haynes of 3 Swaton Rd., Campbell Rd., Bow
“I knew Mrs. Bury about 12 months before she was married, her maiden name was Elliott [knew deceased for 12 mo. before death]. She rented a room of me and placed some furniture in the room, but very seldom slept there until about a month before she was married [she rented a room of me but seldom slept there until 1 mo. before marriage]. She gave as a reason for not sleeping in her room that she was attending on an invalid lady. About the month of March last she brought Wm Hy Bury here, and told me they were about to get married they resided together until the following Easter Monday when they were married at Bromley Church [In March she brought P. + sd they were going to be married. They lived together till Easter Monday when they were married]. I attended the wedding. The following Saturday night he was drunk and wanted her to give him some money. She refused, and he assaulted her [he was drunk next Saturday night + wanted money, she refused + he assaulted her.]. She screamed for help and I went into their room I found him kneeling on her in bed, he had a table knife in his right-hand, and was apparently about to cut her throat [I found him kneeling on her bed with a table knife in hand as though he were going to cut her throat.]. I took the knife from him, and told him I would fetch a policeman he however begged me not to do so and said he would never do it again [I was going for Police but he begged that I shd not.]. Mrs. Bury asked me on this occasion to take the key of the door and keep it to prevent him locking her in for she was afraid he would kill her [she asked me to keep the key of the door, as she was afraid he wd kill her.]. I took the key and told her that if I heard any noise I would come up again. I heard nothing more that night, but they remained in my house for three weeks after they were married, and during that time he frequently threatened and assaulted her [for 3 weeks he frequently threatened and assaulted her.] I was obliged to get rid of them owing to his violence. She was a quiet respectable woman. About a week after they were married a man named Martin called here to see Bury, and demanded money that he owed him, his wife paid the money and it was then that I heard that Mrs. Bury had been a servant in the employ of Martin who kept a brothel in the Arnold Road, Bow. She told me that she had been there the whole of the time that she had rented a room of me before she was married, and that it was not true that she had been attending an invalid lady. She also told me that she had 6 £50. railway shares left her by her aunt [she told me she had had money left her by an aunt, + she sold one of them] , and I know whilst she was living in my house she sold one of the shares to a booker in the City, and with a portion of the money a horse and cart, sawdust bags, etc. were purchased to enable him to carry on the business of a dealer in saw dust [I bought a horse + cart to set him up as a dealer of sawdust.]. Bury told me that he was a native of Stourport, Worcester, but had lived with his uncle at Wolverhampton many years before he came to London.”
Elizabeth Haynes
The above statement was taken by me 14.2.89
F. Abberline Inspr.