The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-09-20 00:00:00

11

THE " THAMES MURDER."

The inquest touching the death of the person whose
remains have recently been found in different parts of
the Thames waa resumed on Monday. Medical evi•
deuce was given that the different parts which had
been found all belonged to the same body, and that a
female. Mrs. Christian stated her hrra belief that the
decaseed was Mrs. Cailey, who bad lodged with her
in South-street. Battersea; but a brother of Mrs.
Cailey said he did not recognise the remains, and In-
spector Sayer said he was in possession of information
which made him think Mrs. Christian was mistaken.
The jury found a verdict of " Wilful murder against
some person or persons unknown." Later in the day,
another brother of Mrs. Okay saw the remains, and
at once identified them.

Referring to this revolting murder whichts still enveloped
in mystery, The Times of Tuesday has the following leader
The jury empanneled to view the fragments of a
human body which have been found drifting in the
Thames have returned the only verdict open to them—
namely, that the deceased woman has been murdered
by some person or persons unknown. For the benefit of
those who have not cared to follow daily the horrible
details of the case, we may mention that on the morning
of Friday, the sth hat., • Thames policeman found,
in the mud near Battersea Waterworks, a portion
of the left aide ot a female body; and that,
about the same time, • corresponding portion
of the right side was found off Brunswick 'Wharf,
near the Nine Elms Railway Station. On the fol•
lowing day the face, with the Anil removed, and
with the nose partially severed, but with the scalp
still attached, was picked up near Limehouse ; and
in the course of successive days other fragments,
making eleven in all, have been brought to the
police; so that now, with the exception of the skull,
the hands, part of the lower half of the right side
of the trunk, and parts of the left arm and leg,
the body bee been completely put together. It
appears to be that of a woman about forty
years of age, plump and well nourished, with
short, dark hair, and who had at some period
given birth to a child. On the scalp, over the right
temple, is the mark of a severe and extensive bruise ;
and the !oft parts around this bruise were infiltrated
with blood, so as to make it certain that the injury
had been inflicted during life. The division of the b-dy
into pieces had been effected by asharpkuifc and a saw,
and evidently without the guidance of even the most
rudimentary knowledge of anatomy ; for bones had been
sawn through with considerable labour when the same
kind of dismemberment might have been accomplished
easily, and by means of the knife alone, at joints in
the Immediate vicinity of the line of recti m pursued.
The cut muscles bad undergone retraction, which
showed that when divided they still retained their
vitality; and the evidence of Dr. Kempster, the
Surgeon to the Wandsworth Division of Police, was to
the effect that the portion of the body first found, and
handed to him immediately on its discovery, afforded
proof that life had not been many hours extinct On
these data the presumption is that the deceased woman
, was either killed or rendered totally Insensible by a
I crushing blow on the right temple, that her head was
then severed from her body, and mutilated in the
manner described, and her body cut into friar-
' mente ; and that all this was done during the night of
1 Thursday, the 4th. It Hems probable that the pieces
I were all thrown into the Thames at the same spot, an i
that their distribution between Hammersmith and
itotherhithe has been effected by the ebb and flew
iof successive tides. A suggestion has been made
I which, fifty years ago, might have obtained credence,
to the effect that the piece,s discovered may have been
parts of a subject intended for dissection, and committed
to the river by some medical student in order to hoax
the public and the authorities. We refer to this Ruggeri.
tins only to show that it cannot by any possibility be
the true explanation of the case. At this moon of
the year, during the vacation of the Medical Schools,
there are no subjects in the dissecting rooms. More.
over, when subjects are delivered, they must in every
rose have been dead for 72 hours, and they pus into
the hands cf responsible officials, who know every-
thing about the purposes to which they are applied.
There Is clear evidence in the present case that the mu.
tilation of the body was completed almost immediately
after death, and this fact alone is sufficient to destroy
the medical student hypothosio. Unfortunately, up to
the present time it has not been replaced by any other
that seems more trustworthy. The facts point to a
murder of a character more than unusually atrocious.;
but the remains have not hitherto been identified, and
there Is absolutely nothing to guide euspicion to the
place where the murder was perpetrated. Not &particle
of the dead woman's clothing has been found; and,
although it Is conjectured that a barge may have
been the scene of the tragedy, it is at least equally
possible that it occurred at scene distance from the
river, and that the pieces were carried thither alter
the commission of the crime.

Under these circumstances, and in view of the great
probability that the murderer may have had an encore.
slice or accomplices, at least after the fact, or that
people who are acauainted with him may be able to
throw some light upon the mystery by their knowledge
of his movements, great and not unnatural surprisehas
been expressed that no offer of reward or of pardon for
sacompAces has as yet issued from the Home Office.
It Ii a common belief that the new Home Secretary
would not be likely to err on the side of profuse ex-
penditure, and hence the absence of induoemente to
approvers has teen attributed by some to the recent
changes; n the Government. As a matter of fact,
however, it has not been usual to offer a reward in a
case of suspected murder until the verdict of a _loroner's
jury has declared the suspicion to be well-founded;
and it is partly for this reason that the inquest has
now been hurried to a conclusion, in order that any
restraints placed upon the Home Office by customary
practise may be removed. bah there have been in-
stances in which the usual course has bean departed
from; and the present should surely have been added
to the number, since there is only too much reason
to believe that every day may help to efface all
direct evidence of the crime, and to weaken or destroy
the links of the chain of oircumatanes by which alone,
if indeed at all, it 13 likely to be brought home to the
perpetrator. A discovery of clothing would be better
calculated than anything else to lead to a satis-
factory identification of the remains, and thus to
keep the labours and inquiries of the police
within definite limite ; and it la hardly to be
expected that persons of the class who gain a preca-
rious living by river dredging, or even poor persons
who might make some discotery on shore, would lose
time and as they might think, incur risk, by giving
information before they have anything definite to gain
by doing so. Not only in the interests of justice, and
to aid in the detection of the criminal, but also as an
evilence of abhorence of the act, the customary re-
ward should have been offered before now, and, the
usual formalities having been complied with, we
may hope that the oiler will be no longer withheld.
Li this, as in other analogous colossi, there will be
lack of persons ready to throw Nam.) upon the
and to maintain that it is their duty to dic-
er the murderer. It Is worth while to point out
that poli Trim; even if they are styled detectives, are
only endowed with ordinary senses; and that,
supposing these senses to have been cultivated
by much practice in following the traditional
"clue", still the clue must be there before the work
of following it can be undertaken. The discovery of
ordinary murders is the result of the bony or the
short-sightedness of those who commit them, rather
than of any preternatural sagacity that is brought to
bear upon the inquiries; and it is both conceivable,
and within the range of experience, that a murderer
whose plans have been well-laid should not only
escape detection, but that he should even escape
suspicion. In the present instance, 13 far as we
can as yet see, there ie absolutely nothing to
mroceed from, Portions of a woman's body have
been found in the Thames, and it is supposed,
nay, almost certain, that she has been brutally
Murdered. Until her identity can be established, and
her habita and associate, during life made known, it
appears almost hopeless to look for evidence of guilt.
It is not pleasant to reflect that, in our high civiliza-
tion, any one, however poor or friendless, can thus be
made away with; but it is inevitable that ths art of
detection should remain somewhat in the wake of
crime, and that the best efforts of the police should be
sometimes baffled by the union of vulpine cunning with
unscrupulous brutality.

The police continue energetically to prolecute their
inquiries, and it La to be hoped that the following offer
of a reward, which was extensively circulated in the
metropolis on Tuesday night, may aid than in clearing
up the myitery and in bringing the perpetrator of the
crime to juitice

" 141:111)11R -4200 RINWIAL.

" Whereas, on the sth Lint., and following deys, rarlona
portions of the body of a lentalle were found In the Rim

Thames et Battersea, Chelsea, Lambeth, Lissabottes, thviah.
wick, Blackwell, and Woolwich. A Coroner's Inquest has
been held, and • verdict returned of Wilful Ciente. agaioat
Noma person or persons unknown. £2OO Alward will he paid
by her Majesty's Govcrnment to ani Pere°. Who 'l"i' 'l's
such information met evideece as Snail lead to thc ,Ascovery
and conviction of the in rd ere, or niurderera and the Sem, tary
of State for the Home Department will advise the grant of
her Majesty's gradons pardon to any person not hcluai the
person who actually Committed the murder, who shall give '
much evidence is shall lead to • like result. Description
of the body. —Age supposed shoat 40, stalt, coarse skin,
hair Owe Inches long), thin and dark, nose short
(thick and round at the extreMll)), eyebrows dark
brown, a thin line of dark hall On upper lip, mole
on right aide of neck. and • small pale coloured mole
eb,nit no Inch from right nipple, lane white beer on.
centre of chat (prohnbly the result of a burn in
childhood), small sear (maul of boil) on right forearm, mar
(two inches In diameter from ulcer, abscess or wound) neer
knee on right stele, perhaps of considerable standing, ears
,
D lt,,td ter ottriogc. Onarral appearance that of a healthy
infornmtion to Supvtuteintent wlillarnaoll. Detec-
WA; Department, Great Scotland, yard. Loudon, S. W,, or at
soy of the Metropolitan Police Stations. E V. W.
lIENI,EI‘SN. the l'ommissioner ~f the Police the ale-
Metropolitan ron, (Mice, 4, Whitetuall.placc, 26th
September."

(Frain Widnes/ars Pall Nall Gazette )
Contrary to the belief of Mrs. Christian, of I',
Bouth.street, Battersea, that the romaine found in the
Thames were *me of her late lodger, Mrs.
that person has been discovered this morning by In
vectors Flyer and Rowland. These officers have thus
made good their statement at the irudest that they
would shortly be in A position to bring the woman for.
ward alive and well.

sp!ttOrs