Thomas Neill Cream
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Thomas Neill Cream (27 May 1850 – 15 November 1892), also known as the Lambeth Poisoner, was a Scottish-Canadian medical doctor and
serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
who poisoned his victims with
strychnine Strychnine (, , American English, US chiefly ) is a highly toxicity, toxic, colorless, bitter, crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents. Strychnine, when inhaled, swallowed, ...
. Cream murdered up to ten people in three countries, targeting mostly lower-class women,
sex workers A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is vo ...
and pregnant women seeking
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
s. He was convicted and sentenced to death, and was hanged on 15 November 1892. A popular rumour, started by hangman James Billington, claims that Cream's last words were "I am Jack the...", seemingly a confession to being
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...
. However, Billington is the only source for this alleged statement, and official records show that Cream was incarcerated in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
during the Ripper murders.


Early life

Thomas Neill Cream was born in
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
on 27 May 1850. Cream's family moved to Canada, then still a dominion of the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
, in 1854; he was raised outside
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
. Cream attended the now-defunct Lachute Academy before becoming a student at
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, graduating with an MDCM degree in 1876. He received his post-graduate training at
St Thomas's Hospital Medical School St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in London was one of the oldest and most prestigious medical schools in the UK. The school was absorbed to form part of GKT School of Medical Education. History It was part of one of the oldest hospitals in ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, and in 1878 obtained additional qualifications as a physician and surgeon in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
. Cream then returned to North America seeking to practise in a community in need of physicians; after a brief experience in
Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
,
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, he relocated to
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. In 1876, while living in Waterloo,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Cream met and courted a woman named Flora Brooks. When Brooks became pregnant a few months later after Cream had promised to marry her, he attempted to perform an
abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
but failed. With Brooks left severely ill, Cream attempted to escape to Montreal but was caught by Brooks' father, who forced him to return and to marry her. The day after the wedding, Cream left for England to continue his medical education. The Brooks family never saw or heard from him again. Brooks herself almost fully recovered but died of
consumption Consumption may refer to: * Eating *Resource consumption *Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption * Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms * Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...
in 1877.


Murders


London, Ontario

Cream returned to North America in 1878 and established a medical practice in London, Ontario. He was charged under Ontario's Medical Act with practising without a license and later pleaded guilty. However, this did not deter patients from visiting his office. In 1879, Catharine Hutchinson Gardner was found dead in a privy behind Cream's office at 204 Dundas Street. She was pregnant and had been murdered with a handkerchief soaked in
chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane (often abbreviated as TCM), is an organochloride with the formula and a common solvent. It is a volatile, colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to refrigerants and po ...
. Cream had refused to help her with an abortion, instead urging her to accuse a local businessman of being the father. Cream claimed Gardner had threatened to poison herself when he had not agreed to perform the abortion, and that she had written him a letter in which she named the businessman as the father. However, Gardner's family and roommate denied that she had written it, as the signature and handwriting on the letter did not match her own, and it was dismissed as
forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally consists of the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific mens rea, intent to wikt:defraud#English, defraud. Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be fo ...
. Despite rumours and overwhelming evidence against Cream, authorities took no further action and the case was never solved.


Chicago

Cream established a medical practice not far from the
red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex industry, sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light district ...
in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, offering illegal abortions to sex workers. He was investigated in August 1880, after the death of Mary Anne Faulkner, a woman on whom he had allegedly operated; he escaped prosecution due to lack of evidence. In December 1880, another patient, Miss Stack, died after treatment by Cream, and he subsequently attempted to
blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...
the pharmacist who had filled the prescription. In April 1881, a woman named Alice Montgomery died of strychnine poisoning following an abortion in a rooming house barely a block from Cream's office. The case was ruled a murder but never solved. The location, time period, and method make Cream a likely suspect. On 14 July 1881, Daniel Stott died of strychnine poisoning at his home in
Boone County, Illinois Boone County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,448. Its county seat is Belvidere. Boone County is included in the Rockford, Illinois metropolitan area. History Unlike most of Ill ...
, after Cream supplied him with an alleged remedy for
epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...
. The death was attributed to natural causes, but Cream wrote to the coroner blaming the pharmacist for the death after he again attempted blackmail. This time, Cream was arrested, along with Julia A. (Abbey) Stott, who had allegedly become Cream's mistress and procured poison from Cream to kill her husband. She turned state's evidence to avoid jail, laying the blame on Cream, which left him to face a murder conviction on his own. He was sentenced to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...
in Joliet Prison. Daniel Stott's friends erected a tombstone at his grave, which reads: "Daniel Stott Died June 12, 1881 Aged 61 Years, poisoned by his wife and Dr Cream." Cream was released in July 1891. Governor Joseph W. Fifer had commuted his sentence after Cream's brother pleaded for leniency and allegedly bribed the authorities.


London

Using money inherited from his father, who had died in 1887, Cream sailed for England, arriving in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
on 1 October 1891 (three years after the
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...
killings had been committed). He went to London and took lodgings at 103
Lambeth Palace Road The A3036 is an A roads in Great Britain, A road in London, England, running from Waterloo, London, Waterloo to Wandsworth. Route It starts at the southern tip of the County Hall roundabout where the A302 road, A302 Westminster Bridge, York ...
. At the time,
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...
was riddled with poverty, petty crime, and sex work. On 13 October 1891, Ellen "Nellie" Donworth, a 19-year-old sex worker, received two letters from Cream, and agreed to meet him. He offered her a drink from a bottle. She became severely ill that night and died from what was later found to be strychnine poisoning. During her inquest, Cream wrote to the coroner under the pseudonym A. O'Brien, Detective, offering to name the murderer in return for a £300,000 reward. He also wrote to W. F. D. Smith, owner of the
W H Smith WH Smith plc, trading as WHSmith (also written WH Smith and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son), is a British retailer, with headquarters in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service st ...
bookstalls, accusing him of the murder and demanding money for his silence. On 20 October, Cream met a 27-year-old sex worker named Matilda Clover, and offered her pills, instructing her to take four before bed. She began experiencing violent, painful spasms later that night and died two hours later. Her death was assumed to be heart failure due to alcohol withdrawal. Cream, under the name M. Malone, wrote a letter to the prominent physician William Broadbent, claiming to have evidence of his involvement in Clover's death and demanding £25,000 for his silence. Broadbent contacted
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 London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
, and they set a trap for the blackmailer when he would come to collect the money. However, no one was caught. On 2 April 1892, after a vacation in Canada, Cream returned to London, where he met Louise Harvey (née Harris), a sex worker. He offered her two pills, insisting she swallow them right away. Harvey, suspicious of him, pretended to swallow the pills he had given her but palmed them and secretly threw them away. On 11 April, Cream met two sex workers, Alice Marsh, 21, and Emma Shrivell, 18, and spent the night with them in their flat, then before leaving offered them three pills each and a can of tinned salmon. Both women died later that night from strychnine poisoning.


Capture

Through his blackmail letters, Cream succeeded in drawing close attention to himself. Not only did the police quickly determine the innocence of those accused, but they noticed something telling in the accusations made by the anonymous letter-writer: he had referred to the murder of Matilda Clover. Clover's death had been registered under natural causes, related to her drinking. The police quickly realised that the false accuser who had written the letter was the serial killer now referred to in the newspapers as the "Lambeth Poisoner". Not long afterwards, Cream met a policeman from
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
who was visiting London. The policeman had heard of the Lambeth Poisoner, and Cream gave him a brief tour of where the various victims had lived. The American happened to mention it to a British policeman who found Cream's detailed knowledge of the case suspicious. The police at Scotland Yard put Cream under
surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...
and soon discovered his habit of visiting sex workers. They also conducted an investigation in the United States and Canada and learned about their suspect's history, including the conviction for a murder by poison in 1881. On 3 June 1892, Cream was arrested for the murder of Matilda Clover, and on 13 July he was formally charged with the murders of Clover, Donworth, Marsh, and Shrivell, the attempted murder of Harvey, and
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
; his medicine/poisoning kit (taken in as evidence) is now in the
Crime Museum The Crime Museum is a collection of Crime, criminal memorabilia kept at New Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service in London, England. Known as the Black Museum until the early 21st century, the museum came into existen ...
. From the start, he insisted he was only "Dr Thomas Neill", not Thomas Neill Cream, and the newspapers usually referred to him as "Dr Neill" in their coverage of the proceedings. At the inquest into Matilda Clover's death that was held by Athelstan Braxton Hicks in July 1892, he read out a letter signed by Jack the Ripper, declaring "Dr Neill" innocent, which produced laughter, including from "Neill". The jury returned the verdict that Matilda Clover died from strychnine poisoning administered by "Thomas Neill".


Trial and execution

His trial lasted from 17 to 21 October 1892. After a deliberation lasting only 12 minutes, the jury found him guilty of all counts, and Justice Henry Hawkins sentenced him to death. The day before his execution, he made a new will leaving his estate to his solicitors. This will revoked a previous will he had made on 7 January 1892, naming Miss Laura Sabatini of
Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the River Bulbourne, Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which ...
, who he had become engaged to marry on 23 December 1891, as his executor and heir. Less than a month after his conviction, on 15 November, Cream was hanged at
Newgate Prison Newgate Prison was a prison at the corner of Newgate Street and Old Bailey, just inside the City of London, England, originally at the site of Newgate, a gate in the Roman London Wall. Built in the 12th century and demolished in 1904, the pr ...
by James Billington. As was customary with all executed criminals, his body was buried on the same day beneath the flagstones of the prison - along with other executed criminals- marked by one initial. His body was disinterred in 1902 and moved to City of London Cemetery. He is now buried in an unmarked grave in section 339.


"I am Jack the..."

Billington claimed that Cream's last words on the scaffold were "I am Jack the..." Billington promoted this alleged incident as proof that he was responsible for executing the notorious Victorian serial killer
Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also ...
. These claims are unsubstantiated, as police officials and others who attended the execution made no mention of any such event. Moreover, Cream was in prison at the time of the Ripper murders in 1888, so it would have been impossible for him to be Jack the Ripper. Ripperologist Donald Bell speculated that Cream had bribed officials and been let out of prison before his official release, and Sir Edward Marshall-Hall speculated that Cream's prison term had been served by a look-alike in his place. Such notions are extremely unlikely and contradict all known evidence given by the Illinois authorities, newspapers of the time, Cream's solicitors, Cream's family, and Cream himself. One of Cream's biographers suggested that Cream, on the scaffold and about to be hanged, was so frightened that he lost control of his bodily functions and stammered "I am ejaculating", which could have been mistaken for "I am Jack". English-Canadian writer Chris Scott won an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in 1989 for ''Jack'', a novel based on the premise that Cream was Jack the Ripper.


Analysis

The motivation for the series of poisonings has never been settled. It has generally been assumed that Cream was a sadist who enjoyed the thought of his victims' agonised deaths, and his control over them (even if he was not physically present to witness these). However, Cream was also interested in money, as evidenced by his attempts at extortion in almost all of his crimes, so it remains a possibility that he committed the murders as part of ill-planned attempts to profit from them. From the start of the series of crimes Cream wrote blackmail notes to prominent people, and the poisoning of his one known male victim, Daniel Stott, was committed with the hope that Stott's wealthy widow would share the deceased's estate with him. In addition to the five poisonings Cream was convicted of, he is suspected of the murder of his wife Flora Brooks in 1877, and of at least four other women who died in his care while undergoing abortions.


In popular culture

Charles Laughton played Dr. Neil Cream in episode #438 of the radio series "Suspense," which aired September 17, 1951. Cream was the main antagonist of the 1990
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
radio play, ''Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure Of The Pimlico Poisoner''. In the first episode (in 2000) of '' Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes'', the young
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
and
Joseph Bell Joseph Bell FRCSE (2 December 1837 – 4 October 1911) was a Scottish surgeon and lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in the 19th century. He is best known as an inspiration for the literary character, Sherlock Ho ...
pursue a murder case that involves a Thomas Neill, played by
Alec Newman Mark Alexander Newman (born 27 November 1974) is a Scottish actor best known for portraying Paul Atreides in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's ''Dune''. He played Adam Smasher in '' Cyberpunk 2077'' and '' Cyb ...
. At the end, a postscript further identifies him as Thomas Neill Cream, who attended medical school alongside Conan Doyle. In the 2015
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
television series ''
River A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
'', Cream appears frequently to and converses with D.I. John River as a "manifest".


See also

* List of serial killers in the United Kingdom


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * * Fennario, David. Doctor Thomas Neill Cream—Mystery at McGill. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1993 *Jobb, Dean, ''The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer'', Harper Avenue (
HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
Canada), June 1, 2021.


Further reading

* Bloomfield, Jeffrey: "Gallows Humor: The Alleged Ripper Confession of Dr. Cream." Dan Norder (ed.) ''Ripper Notes'', July 2005, Issue #23 * Bloomfield, Jeffrey: "The Dr Wrote Some Letters." R.W.Stone, Q.P.M. (ed.), ''The Criminologist'', Winter 1991, Volume 15, Number 4 * Jenkins, Elizabeth: "Neill Cream, Poisoner." Reader's Digest Association, ''Great Cases of Scotland Yard'', 1978 * Jesse, F. Tennyson, ''Murder and Its Motives'', Chapter V: "Murder for the Lust of Killing: Neill Cream", p. 184-215, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co., Inc. – Dolphin Books, 1924, 1958. * Jobb, Dean, ''The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer'', HarperCollins. London. 2021 * Lustgarten, Edgar, ''The Murder and the Trial'', "3. Neill Cream", pp. 59–62, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958. * Rumbelow, Donald, ''The Complete Jack the Ripper (True Crime)'',
Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
Ltd: 1988. * Shore, W. Teignmouth, ed.: ''Trial of Thomas Neill Cream'', (Notable British Trials series), London and Edinburgh: W. Hodge, 923 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cream, Thomas Neill 1850 births 1892 deaths 19th-century Scottish criminals 19th-century Canadian criminals 19th-century executions by England and Wales 19th-century Scottish medical doctors Abortion providers Canadian male criminals Canadian people imprisoned in the United States Crimes against sex workers Criminals from Glasgow Executed British serial killers Executed Canadian serial killers Executed Scottish people McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni Medical doctors from Glasgow Medical practitioners convicted of murdering their patients Medical serial killers People convicted of murder by England and Wales People convicted of murder by Illinois Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Illinois People from Quebec City Poisoners Recipients of gubernatorial clemency in Illinois Scottish emigrants to Canada Scottish male criminals Scottish people convicted of murder Scottish people imprisoned abroad Scottish serial killers Strychnine poisoning Scottish expatriates in the United States Scottish prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment People convicted of blackmail British extortionists Burials at City of London Cemetery and Crematorium Jack the Ripper suspects