The Express.
London, England, 1849-08-25 00:00:00

THE BERMONDSEY MURDER.

THE ADJOURNED INQUESI'.
The coroner's inquest upon the bxly of the tint Ir-
tunes Patrick O'Connor wai resumed yesterday by Mr. W.
C trier, the coroner, at the Leather Mark-t Tavero, Ber-
mondsey. As might have beta expected from the ex-
citement this event has occasioned in the public micd, the
Inquest room was crowded. Several of the personal friends
of t►e deceased gentleman were in attendance watching the

proceedings.
A large phetion of the day's proceeding, was given in all
the impressions of last evening's Express. The remainder,
the [create/ part of which was given in • second edition last
night, was as follows:
Mr. S. Lockwood—l am a surgeon, residing in Minter-
terrace, Trashy-square, Horseenongetolane. I am not in
practise. On Friday last, between one and two o'clock, I
was in the neighhourhood of Weston-street, when I re-
'sited certain information which caused me to go to No.
ilr Minter place. I announced myself as a surgeon.
Ism the polite at the door, who admitted me. I inquired
where the body was, and was shown down into the back
kitchen. I raw there that some slabs had ben removed,
sad the earth turned up. A police officer and a labourer
wire dining at the time. I saw the feet of • person exposed
The person was lying on his face, but from the position in
which the body was, being doabled up, I could scarcely say
at first which way he had been buried. The body was much
lower than the het. I remained until the excavation was
completed, and assisted in exhuming the body. Waen the
earth was removed I saw that the leers were tied back to the
haunches or thighs. They were firmly tied down. This
gave rise to the exposure of the feet, as stated by the last
witness. The body, except as to the legs, was in a natural
state, as a body would be placed. I assisted in omen:lna the
dirt, when they got near the head, in order that no injury
should be inflicted on that part of the body by the shovel.
I removed the dirt myself very carefully. On examining it
I felt a very extensive fracture in the superior part of the
lnd. The fracture was rather towards the back of the
head, and was so large that I could introduce my two
finger*. It was rather • long fracture. Tte scalp was in-
jured. Some observation was made about the miesioe person
wearing false teeth. I had previously seen the public plc
card describing the person and dress of the mi*eine gentle-
man, and which stated that he wore false teeth.
There was not any article of clothing on the body when
foxed. I took the dirt away from the head and face, and
raised it with one hand, and put my hand into the mouth to
feel if there was any false teeth, or teeth at all in it. I
found there a full set of false teeth for both jaws. The teeth
were demanded from me by Mr. Slow, the summoning
officer, and I goes them to him. Shortly afterwards the
body was raised out of the hole, and it was removed in my
preemies into the front kitchen. Except that the teeth were
taken out, the body remained in the same state as when
found until the jury saw it. Thera was a considerable quan
tity of lime about the body. When we found it, it was fast
dscomposieg. I cannot form any accurate opinion as to how
bog the body bad been buried. Slack lime would tend to
hoolitate decomposition. I examined the body minutely
when it was in the front kitchen. Mr. Oiling was there at
the time. I found another fracture at the back of the head
on the right side. Mr. Oiling, who also examined the head,
called my attention to a prominence or hard lump
near the eyebrow. I examined it also and cut
down upon it ; there was no external wound ; and
extracted rather a large slug or bullet, weighing nearly
3 drachms. I have that still in my possession. (The wit
less produced the bullet, which was of the size of a large
pistol or rifle bullet). On removing the bullet I found a
hole on the frontal bone ever the right eye. I have made a
subsequent examination, and from that I should say it had
been discharged hem a pistol or gun. No weapon was found
from which it woe likely this piece of lead might have been
discharged. lam satisfied the it juries I found in the head
could not have arisen from the excavation.
Charles Slaw, the summoning officer to this court-1 live
at No. 1, Debenhanoterrace, Doekhead. Oa Friday last,
from information I received, I went to the house' No. 3,
Miever-place, in the parish of St. Mary Magdalen, Bermond-
sey. I found there the body of a man lying on its face in a
hole in the back kitchen. 1 sent tor some ropes and placed
them under the body. I then got a shutter and removed it
into the front kitchen. I saw Mr. Lockwood examining the
body previous to its being taken from the hole, and 1 saw
also a set of teeth being washed by that gentleman. Ire •
aired the teeth from him. The set of teeth I now produce
are the same.
Mr. D. Graham—l am an officer of the Customs,
sad reside at 6, Lincoln-plsce, New North-road, Holton.
I knew the deceased, Mr. O'Connor. I have known him
ten or twelve years. I last saw him alive on the 9th inst., at
about a quarter to 5 o'clock in the afternoon. I saw him
about the middle of London-bridge. I was in company with
Mr. Keating. He appeared to be in good health. I saw
nothing unusual about him. I cannot remember his dress
exactly, but I know he had an umbrella. He were a black
hat I did not notice any other article of dress or ornament
about him. I do not know whether he wore a watch or
guard. I should say he wore • black stock. He usually
wore a black reek. Had he worn a white cravat on the oc-
casion I should certainly have noticed it. When we met
him, it struck me he was going over the water to Manning's.
I stud to him, " Are you going over to Menning's 1" or, to
0 Maria's "—I don't know which. I did not know where
he lived. He made no reply, but took out a letter, and said
he was asked to go to dinner at 5 o'cicck. He handed
me the letter to read. I did not read it all
but I did read a part of it. It was signed " Maria."
I had seen the hand-writing before. The purport of what I
read was "we shall expect to see you to dinner." I did not
notice when. I asked him who are " we." I received a
reply, hut am not sure whether it came from Mr. K-ating
or Mr. O'Connor. That reply led me to understand " we"
to mean Manning and his wife I saw Manning once about
two years ago. I did not know him by name. I saw Mrs.
Manning once at Mr. O'Connor's house. That was about
two years ego. Since then 1 have frequently seen her walk-
ing in the streets with Mr. O'Connor, and occasionally wait-
ing at the docks for him. They appeared to be very well
acquainted. lam not aware of the nature of the connexion
which existed between Mr. O'Connor and Mrs. Manning.
Wcen I saw her at Mr. O'Connor's house she did not ap-
pear to be on terms more familiar than an intimate friend
or acquaintance would be. When I have seen them
together in the streets they appeared to be on the
terms of intimate acquaintance. I did not observe the terms
in which the letter, which was shown to me, began or con-
cluded. Mr. O'Connor used to call Mrs. Manning Maria,
but I think I have heard him also call her Mrs. Manning. I
am is the same department es deceased was. I should not
hove been likely to see him on the following day, tho Friday
after I met him, as my station was at Nicholson'*-wharf, and
his was at St. Katherine's. I did not hear of his absence
until Saturday. I have been shown letters by Mr. O'Con-
nor, signed " Maria," before, which I understood to have
come from Mrs. Manning.
Mr. George Oiling, of No. 159, High-street, Borough—l
am a surgeon in practice. lam the divisional surgeon to
the M division of police. I was sent for on Friday last,
about three o'clock, to go to No. 3, Minver place. New
voceemeeeeeet nos arriving there I saw the body of a man
lying in a bole in the back kitchen. He was lying on his sto-
mach, with his legs tied back behind his thighs. The body was
covered with lime, which adhered to it all over. The body was
quite u white with it as paper. I partly examined it as it
lay. I detected that the cranium was fractured. I saw the
body removed. It was taken into the front kitchen. Then
I examined the front pert of the head, and discovered •
foreign substance, under the integuments over the right
eye. The substance was loose. I could move it with the
finger*. I pointed it out tea Mr. Lockwood, who made an
incleion and extracted it. He gays it to me and it proved to
be a leaden bullet, I did net, at that time, examine the
head. Beyond the fact of the fracture of the head and the
extraction of the bullet. I discovered no other injury about
the body sufficient to account for the death. There was no
stab or cut of any kind. I have opened the body since in
conjunction with Mr. Lockwood. I examined it externally
before doing so, but found no other injuries than those above
mentioned. I have opened the head and stomach since ;
I have opened the abdomen but cot the chest. I did not ob-
serve any mark of violence on the chest, and did not think it
neesteary, having found au in cient cause of death in the head,
to open it.
The Coroner remarked that the witness having received
orders to examine the body, ought to have left no viscera
unopened.
Examination resumed : I opened the head first. I removed
the greater portion of the hair, and examined the head ex-
ternally. There were several severe wounds on the scalp—
some deeper than others. There were u many as 18 differ-
ent wounds on the scalp altogether. They were mostly at
the top of the heat towards the back part, and on the right
side. The wounds I saw appeared to me, most of them, to
have been inflicted by some blunt instrument, but not all.
Had the instrument been sharp, the bone would have been
cut but that was not th case
e . It was fractured. I
should say that the wounds had certainly been
inflicted by the back or sharp part of a large
hammer, such as bricklayers use, which would be about an
inch and a half wide. The law:roman could not have bad
any division In the middle. The leaden ball was found
between the cranium and scalp in the front of the head. It
mold not have come there without an external wound or
hole ; hut I did not discover a distinct external hole It is
probable that the wounds I have described, the fractures
made by the blunt instrument, might have obliterated the
hole. I reflected back the scalp, and on doing so found the
bone of the cranium fractured and separated into many
pieces. I have some of the pieces to produce. (The witness
here produced 16 pieces of the skull in the state in which
they had been ected b him from the body.) There
were many more broken pieces uncollected which I I
might have taken, in the same region of the skull.
Those injuries could not have been done by the
bullet. The skull was broken within a half an inch
of where the bullet was found; that was next a
sound piece of bone. I should Wale the bullet
had entered the brain at some plane
towards
the back of the skull, but in consequence of the
saksulshl
the back
basooukldaf nshost
skdiscoau:werhwhwhearpe..
probably was the place. The blank mark was the result of
by an explosion of powder. That
not of decomposition.
bourhood. There were injuries near it. There was nothing
nwldas
ThsePleTehhelareeetuerreederiwasedwasteuenthitaaneoboeteulieef onefulnrymbetthaartodeenekthe bone iialnythat immediate neigh-
ere rbfleect IMye dr-
composed and in a serous fluid state. The bullet, from its
position, must have entered the head, but not by the front,
ttasetkithalePecoaraunenef:fathtehbenlsikeutil Twhheiebhrawein
for there there was no aperture. There was nothing unna-
tural in the appearanee of the abdomen. I took possession
of it, and rent it to Mr. Taylor, the chemist of Guy's Hos-
pital, but he was not at home. I have not ana-
ysed it, not feeling myself capable to do it.
Mr. Taylor declined making the analysis. A bottle oU
laudanum was shown to me by a policeman, but I have
nothing in my possession which can tend to show the canoe