The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-10-02 00:00:00

Ileisaid he had brought it from home, Tredegar-square. J.
said, "These sort of things ought to have the case and fit-
tings; they won't take it in." He said, "Yes they will." I
then took it to Ashbridge's the pawnbroker's or one close by
—there are two near each other. I offered it for £,2 105., but
I had 15s. offered "on it," and took it back to Wainwright.
I gave it back to him.
Mr. Williams postponed the cross-examination.
The medical evidence was then opened, and it excited
breathless interest.

Mr. Thomas Bond, F.R.C.S., living at 60, Parliament-
street, Lecturer on Forensic Medicine and Assistant Surgeon
at the Westminster Hospital, deposed : I was shown by In-
spector Fox, on the 16th of September inst., the remains of a
human body. It was in a coffin sealed up In company with
Mr. Larkin I proceeded to examine it. It was a body divided
into ten pieces, and formed a complete body of a young
woman, aged, I judged, from 20 to 25 years, of about five feet
In height, and slender in frame. The division into pieces had
not been done by any skilled hand. The body had been dead
many months, lam certain. Some parts were in a very
decomposed state, while other parta were moderately well
preserved. I could not say to a month or two how long
the body had been dead. The parts had been recently cut
up, and its appearance was consistent with its having been
cut up with the chopper I have seen. The face was decom-
posed, and all trace of the features WAS gone. I examined
the head carefully. It had light auburn and curly hair.
It was fastened up with hairpins to a pad (the pad pro-
duced). There was dried blood, principally matted in the hair,
on the left side. It was dark blood, and must have been there
a long time. I examined the skull carefully, and I noticed
that the scalp was torn or removed from the right side of the
head. I found on the under surface of the scalp blood effused
into the tissues, and, to the depth at least of one-eighth of an
inch, into the substance of the scalp. I examined the skull-
cap at the exposed part, and I found a depressed fracture
above and behind the right ear. The size of the fracture was
about that of a sixpence, and there was a hole, showing that
there was complete penetration. On drawing the scalp for-
ward I found a punctured wound in the scalp on a level with
the hole in the bone of the skull. The hole in the scalp did
not quite correspond to the hole in the bone, but that would
be accounted for by the dry state of the scalp. I followed
the hole, and I found that it led to a tear in the dura mater
—the inner lining of the skull-cap. The dura nutter around
the hole was discoloured by effused blood. I followed the
hole into the brain and found two stipulte or fractured bone
in the brain, and on the opposite at of the skull, in the
cerebellum, I found a leaden bullet, which had passed
through the holes I have thus described. This (handing it)
was the first bullet I found. There was an old fracture, and
it could have been caused so long ago as a year. From the
appearance I can say that the bullet penetrated to where I
found it .during life or immediately after death. That one
shot would account for death. The bullet was flattened, as
it went into the skull, against the outside. In my judgment
this bullet was fired, during life, for the skull would have
presented a different appearance if the bullet had been fired
into the head after death. '

To the Coroner: You may take it distinctly that n my
opinion this bullet caused death.
To Mr. Poland: I found a second bullet in the exact centre
of the base of the brain. I found that the processes of the
sphenoid bones on which it rested were both broken. I
traced the bullet from within outwards, and I was led to a
hole in the skull just anterior to the right ear—almost in a
line with the other bullet-hole. The fractures from that
were old, consistent with a fracture a year ago. I found a
hole in the scalp corresponding to this hole in the skull, and
dried blood around it. That ballet must have entered
during life, or immediately after death. My opinion is
that the first bullet I described was fired first, and I base that
opinion upon the fact of having found blood within the dune
mater. Either of those bullet shots was sufficient to have
caused death. I did not find blood in the brain with the
second bullet, and that leads sue to think it was fired imme-
diately after death. lam certain there was no trace of a
third bullet in the head. The head was completely severed
from the trunk between the sixth and seventh cervical verte-
brm. That was a recent severance, and had been done about
a week, the instrument of severance being a chopper or
chopping-knife. Besides the °hopping cuts whici severed
the head, there was a deep clean cut to the left ear, and to
the left angle of the lower jaw. This was as if done with a
knife. It appeared to me to be an old cut, and was done,
I believe, at the time of death. Its appearance was con-
sistent with having been done a year ago It may have
been done-during life or directly after death, as there was a
large quantity of congealed blood near it. The cut went to
the vertebrm, and there was a cut at the bottom of the
wound extending across the third cervical vertebrte ; but I tun
unable to say with cartainty when it was done. The wind-
pipe was severed, and the cartilage as well. I examined the
teeth, and there was a decayed one—the one next the
canine; it was decayed down to the gum. There was no
other decayed tooth, and that would cause a great deal of
pain. Daring all the time I made this examination Mr.
Larkin was with me, and since that time we have had other
examinations with Mr. St. Auburn (for tile defence), and he
called attention to the fact that the two upper incisor teeth
were prominent. At my first examination I noticed that the
fingers were long and thin, and the feet also were slender. I
have been shown a pair of boots (those found in Harriet
Lane's box produced). I have measured the footeand I have
measured the boots, and I find the boots, half an inch
larger than the feet. The boots, therefore, might have been
worn by the dead woman. Since the examination on Tues-
day I have re-examined the body in company with Mr. St.
Auburn. He had an opportunity of examining the body in
every way.

The following important fact was then elicited, and startled
the large audience, who heard it with breathless silence :—I
was in the court on Tuesday, and heard the questions put to
the fathnr about the scald or burn mark on the leg. I have
since examined the legs. On the right leg, rather over 21n.
below the point of the knee, I found a deep cicatrix of a scar,
about the size of a shilling, with a considerable puckering of
the souad skin all around. The scar was thick and fibrous—at
least one-eighth of an inch in thickness, and was raised above
the level of the skin. I formed an opinion of the cause of that—
that it was caused by a burn and not a scald. A Beton would
cause such a scar, but it is more like what would be
caused by a burn. The skin was greatly shrivelled and con-
tracted. Chloride of lime is a disinfectant, and that placed
in a grave would to a very considerable extent prevent a body
decomposing. I have been to 215, Whitechapel-road, and I
found the dirt of the grave to contain chloride of lime. I
took some of the earth on the 16th inst. from the grave and
examined it, and found it to contain chloride of lime in
a large quantity. I have microscopically examined some
loose hair brought by Inspector Fox from the grave.
It is the same as that on the body. I was shown the marks
on the flagstones. There were alight stains on the flagstones,
bat I can give no opinion as to those stains. I saw notches
as from a chopper or hammer on the stones, and they were
fresh. I examined the chopper produced by the police, and
found on it one or two light hairs. I examined them, and
they correspond with the hair on the deceased's head and
with those fund in the grave. All the hair corresponded,
examined under the microscope, in colour, texture, brittle-
ness, and coating of inorganic or rather I should say granu•
lar material. The severance of the body was done in such a
manner as to lead to the conclusion that it was done with
that chopper. As Stokes said, the chopper did stink, fcr I
could not but smell it; but It arose from the contact with
these remains. I took hairs off the shovel, and they corres-
ponded with the other hairs of the head.
Mr. R. Williams said he should postpone the cross-exa-
mination of the witness, as he had not received the report
of ,Mr. St. Auburn.
Mr. Bond, in answer to a juror, said he had a strong
opinion that the deceased woman had borne a child. He
added, in reply to a question by Mr. Poland,—The condi-
tion of the uterus is such, being so decomposed, that I con-
sider it perfectly impossible to say one way or the other,
but I think she has borne a child, because the cavity of
the uterus is large in proportion to the thickness of the
walls.

Mr. G. Larkin, 11.R.C.5., 44, Trinity-square, said: I
first saw the remains on the 11th inst. at the Stones' End
Police-station. I was shown them wrapped in two parcels
in American cloth. One contained the trunk of a body,
and the other parcel contained the limbs and head of an
adult emale. The remains formed one human body complete.
I afterwards examined it with Mr. Bond. I examined it with
a view to find the height, and I found the pieces made a
woman five feet in height as near as possible. I heard the
evidence of Mr. Bond, and I followed it. As the result of
our joint examination, I agree entirely in that evidence.
I found a third bullet in the padding at the back of the
held. I took it out at home, for I had taken the pad
and some hair home to examine, and I found this flattened
ballet. It must have been flattened against some of the hair-
pins, for there were many, some broken and bent. I saw the
chopper before Mr. Bond, and it had on it matter like that
of the body. I was present in the police-court last Tuesday,
and from what I heard there I made, with Mr. Bond, an exa-
mination of the right leg, and saw the scar of a burn.
Mrs. Taylor was recalled, and, in answer to questions, she
said she had not noticed that her sister's teeth stood out in
front prominently.
Mr. Poland then asked the coroner how much more evi-
dence he should adduce.

The Coroner said the jury had intimated that they would
like to hear other witnesses, so as to hare, if possible, a clear
case on the depositions.

Mr. Poland said he had, on the part of the Crown to
offer the Court all the aid in his power, and he should adopt
any suggestion of the coroner or wish of the jury as to evi-
dence.

It was then agreed to adjourn the inquiry for a week.

MAGISTERIAL EXAMINATION.

On Tuesday, the prisoner Wainwright was again
brought before the magistrate at the Southwark
Police-court, merely, however, as was understood on
the previous occasion, for the purpose of a formal
remand.

_
Mr. Partridge (the presiding magistrate) said that the case,
having in the first instance been heard before Mr. Benson,
he thought it desirable that the inquiry should be continued
by that gentleman. lie would, therefore, not examine any
fresh witnesses, but would merely take some formal evidence,
which would entitle him, if called upon, to grant a further
remand.

Mr. Pelham, who appeared in place of Mr. Besley, as the
representative of the prisoner, said—l understood—if I un-
derstood anything on the last occasion—that this was to be
a mere formal sitting for the purposes of a further remand,
and that the sth or 6th of October was fixed for the purpose
of the Treasury completing, if they think they can do so, the
case against my client. I understood that no fresh evi-
dence would be gone into to-day.
Mr. Partridge.—That is the case, but we must take some
formal evidence for the purposes of the further remand.
The evidence of Police-constable Turner, which was taken
on the first occasion of the prisoner being brought up, and
that of Inspector Fox, was then read over by Mr. Martin,
the clerk; and

Mr. Superintendent Garforth asked for a remand until
that day week, stating at the same time that fresh evidence
would be forthcoming.
The prisoner was accordingly remanded until the
following Tuesday.