Walter Simon Andrews (27 April 1847 – 26 August 1899) was a British policeman. He was one of three inspectors (the other two being

Frederick Abberline Frederick George Abberline (8 January 1843 – 10 December 1929) was a British chief inspector for the London Metropolitan Police. He is best known for being a prominent police figure in the investigation into the Jack the Ripper serial killer ...

and

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

) who were sent from

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...

in 1888 to strengthen the investigation of the

Whitechapel murders The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the largely impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these eleven unsolved murders of women have ...

. He was born in

Boulge Boulge is a hamlet and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is about north of Woodbridge. The population remained only minimal at the 2011 Census and was included in the civil parish of Debach. The place-name is ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, and married Jane Carr on 4 August 1867. He joined the London

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

on 15 November 1869, and rose through the ranks. He was promoted to Detective Sergeant on 18 November 1875, and to Inspector on 6 July 1878. In December 1888, he escorted a prisoner, Roland Gideon ''alias'' Israel Barnet, from London to Toronto, where Barnet was wanted for financial crimes. While in North America, Andrews was sent to New York City, perhaps to trace

Francis Tumblety Francis Tumblety (c. 1833 – May 28, 1903) was an Irish-born American medical quack who earned a small fortune posing as an "Indian Herb" doctor throughout the United States and Canada. He was an eccentric self-promoter and was often in trouble ...

, a notorious charlatan who had fled to the United States after jumping bail in England on charges of gross indecency. The newspapers assumed, probably wrongly, that Tumblety was a suspect in the Whitechapel murders. The

New York City Police The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the New York City, City of New York, the largest and one of ...

, who had Tumblety under surveillance, said "there is no proof of his complicity in the Whitechapel murders, and the crime for which he is under bond in London is not extraditable". Andrews returned to London without securing an extradition. Andrews retired in 1889. On 26 August 1899, at the age of 52, he committed suicide by hanging at

Horndean Horndean is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, north of Portsmouth. The nearest railway station is southeast of the village at Rowlands Castle. The village had a population of 12,942 at the 2011 Census, and shares the semi-rura ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

.Evans and Skinner, p. 676

References

* Begg, Paul (2003). ''Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History''. London: Pearson Education. * Evans, Stewart P.; Skinner, Keith (2000). ''The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Sourcebook: An Illustrated Encyclopedia''. London: Constable and Robinson. * Whitehead, Mark; Rivett, Miriam (2006). ''Jack the Ripper''. Harpenden, Hertfordshire: Pocket Essentials. {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Walter Simon 1847 births 1899 deaths Jack the Ripper Metropolitan Police officers Suicides by hanging in England People from Suffolk Coastal (district) People from Horndean