The north side of Hanbury Street is now occupied by the sprawling buildings of the former Truman Brewery, built on the site of number 29. In the backyard of this address, at around 6 a.m. on September 8, 1888, the body of Annie Chapman—Jack the Ripper's second victim—was discovered.
At that hour, John Davis, an elderly resident of 29 Hanbury Street, came downstairs, walked along a narrow passageway, and opened the back door. The sight that greeted him shook him to the core. Moments later, two workmen walking along the street were startled when the door burst open and a wild-eyed old man stumbled out. "Men!" he cried. "Come here!" Nervously, they followed him back along the passageway and, looking into the yard, saw the mutilated body of Annie Chapman.
Her dress had been pulled up around her knees, exposing her striped stockings. A deep cut slashed across her throat, and her intestines had been pulled out and laid across her shoulder. The uterus and part of the bladder were missing. The contents of her pocket were found in a neat pile nearby. The brass rings she had been wearing were evidently torn from her fingers and never found. Just a few feet from the body lay a folded, wet leather apron.