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wearing a slipper instead of his usual boot on his bad foot. Questioned about the prisoner’s laundry, she admitted that she had washed six shirts for him before he left on the Victoria that week but said that all of them were new and none showed any traces of blood. George Blyth thenswore that the dark coat taken out of pawn by Hoffa and delivered to Scotland Yard was very like the one Müller wore on both days that weekend. Yes, they had walked with Müller on Sunday evening in Victoria Park, for close to three hours between six and nine o’clock. Under cross-examination, Parry strangely declined to ask either of the Blyths whether Müller had found the walk uncomfortable with this wounded ankle. Nor did he ask whether they recognised the battered hat with the striped lining.
    Mrs Repsch was next. She also confirmed that Müller had injured his foot on Thursday 7 July and had taken to wearing a slipper on it. Also that when he worked at her house on the following Saturday Müller wore a slipper during the day, on the right foot, in fact, he wore two slippers, because he was in the habit of taking off his boots when he came to my house, and putting on his slippers … I did not see him leave that night, I was out when he left.
    Given the left slipper to examine, Mrs Repsch identified it and said, I found [it] after he was gone – the right slipper was gone. He had his boots with him during the day, two boots – whether he came in them or not on the Saturday morning I can’t say – he might have had one in his pocket – the two boots were by the side when he changed them, to put on his slippers – when he left neither of those boots remained, they were both gone – he took away both boots, and one slipper.
    Mrs Repsch testified that she thought Müller over-fond of finery and said that he had lied to her about being sent to America by Mr Hodgkinson. She was certain about all the details of Müller’s hats and particularly the lining of the one bought for him by Matthews: It was a striped lining, a broad brown stripe, and a broad blue stripe edged with black and white – my attention was drawn to the lining from its being a peculiar lining – I never saw a hat lined with such a lining before … I have frequently seen him take off his hat, and I have frequently had it in my hands. Shown the crushed hat recovered from under the seatin the bloody carriage, she was firm: To the best of my belief this is the hat – the lining is the same, and the merino also .
    Asked about the dark trousers Müller had supposedly worn on Saturday 9 July, she hissed accusingly that she had never seen them again. She also spoke of the new guinea hat he wore after the murder and the chain (Number 2, procured from John Death in exchange for Thomas Briggs’) that Müller had shown her on the morning of Monday 11 July.
    Coming from her dark alley on the margins of a slum, Mrs Repsch was the least likeable of the array of witnesses compelled to stand and answer questions in the packed, hot court. Parry kept her longest to face his questions, hammering away at the fact of Müller’s bad foot, expressing disbelief that she could identify the crushed hat so clearly but could not describe the lining of her own husband’s. Could she then describe John Hoffa’s hat since he, too, was a constant visitor to 12½ Jewry Street?
    No, I don’t know what sort of lining it has, not yet what sort of lining there is in any other man’s hat what comes to see my husband. It was the peculiarity of the lining in Müller’s hat that took my attention .
    Did you ever ask the prisoner to lend you five shillings?
    No, sir.
    Then she hesitated, coloured, swallowed and corrected herself.
    Yes, I did.
    Did Müller not refuse you most particularly because he wanted to buy a new hat? Did you not say to him, ‘Pooh! You may as well get one next week’?
    I don’t think I did – I cannot swear it, because I do not remember it – I cannot swear it did not pass