The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-11-17 00:00:00

SUPPOSED MURDER ON TRE GREAT
EASTERN RAILWAY.

On Monday, Mr. George Collier, deputy coroner,
opened an inques: at Elim Hall, Church-road, Totten-
ham, upon the body of Virginia Elfz tbeth Ball, aged
29, which was found on the Great Eastern Railway,
Derr Tottenham Hale Station, under very mysterious
circumstances. The evidence showed that shortly after
six on Friday morning in last week, a man named
Alfred Haggar, platelayer, in the service of the cora-
pany, on crossing the line found the remains of a woman
lying on the four-foot up road, with her face down-
wards No stranger had a right to be where the
body was discovered. There were marks on the per-
manent way as if the body had been dragged thirty or
forty yards, and one boot had been drawn off, but
there were none of the usual injuries where a person
had been knocked down and killed by a train. The
body, which was well dressed, was removed to the
pariah mortuary, where the clothing was searched with
the view to identification. A purse was found con-
taining sixpence in silver, 20, in bronze, and a pawn.
broker's ticket relating to two brooches. This ticket
was placed in the hands of a constable, and by its
means he traced the deceased to be a single woman,
th 3 daughter of a well-to do man residing in Tollington-
park, Islington. She left home on the previous Wed-
nesday, and was seen the next day by her brother
at the house of a friend at Holloway. None of
her relations knew anything more of her until a police
officer called at her father's house on Saturday even-
ing and gave him such information as convinced
him that the body found on the railway was that
of his daughter. It was admitted that she was
not always of sober habits, and that she sometimes
left home without letting her friends know where
she was going, but it was presumed she visited
her mothfr, who lived apart from her husband.
Iho evidence of Dr. Cmaar was of a remarkable cha-
racter, unmistakably suggesting that the deceavd
had met her death by foul play. He stated that he
had examived the body, and found on the back of the
head, towards the right ear, two wour,ds, which must
have bsen caused by a blunt instrument. There was
another wound behiod the left ear, a large bruise over
the right shoulder blade, a small one in the middle of
the back over the spine, one on the front of the right
foot and on the right leg with a deep wound, which
coald not have been caused by a train. On the left
leg he found a bruise, and under the left jaw was
a deep cut. There were other cuts and bruises.
In his opinion death arose from the wounds on
the heal, and his firm opinion was that they could
not have been self-inflicted or have been caused by a
train. Being asked whether, in his judgment, the
wounds on the head could not have been occaeioned
by the chains of coupling irons on the train, he said
he did not think they could, because if they had been
they would have been jagged, while the wounds were
straight cuts.
The case having assumed &serious aspect the inquiry
was adjourned to enable a post-mortem examination
to be made.