Israel Schwartz

Israel Schwartz was a witness during the Whitechapel murders in 1888. He claimed to have witnessed an assault on a London woman on 30 September. The victim seen by Schwartz was identified as Elizabeth Stride, the third of the canonical five, potentially making Schwartz one of the few people who might have had a good look at Jack the Ripper.

Background During police questioning, Schwartz gave his address as 22 Ellen Street, located at Back Church Lane at the end of Berner Street (now Henriques Street). According to both police and journalists, Schwartz was a Jewish immigrant and spoke no or poor English. Police made no mention of his origin, describing him only as a foreigner, but a contemporary article of The Star referred to Schwartz as Hungarian. The same article says that Schwartz had recently moved and the night of the incident, he had been on his way to check if his wife had already arrived at the new lodgings.

Schwartz's statement On the evening of 30 September, Schwartz appeared at Leman Street police station. His testimony was made through a friend acting as a translator.

Descriptions Schwartz described the possible murderer as being around thirty years old with a height of around , fair complexion, dark hair, small brown moustache, with a full face and broad shouldered. He wore a dark jacket, trousers, and a black peaked cap, holding nothing in his hands. Marshall and Brown also identified Stride as the woman they had seen earlier in the night. This speculation has never been verified.