The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-22 00:00:00

Atrocious Murder at Agar-town.

Yesterday afternoon, Dr. Lankester, coroner for Central
Middlesex, resumed an adjourned inquest at the Elephant
and Castle, King's-road, Camden-town, on the body of a
female unknown, discovered floating in the Regent's Canal
on the morning of the 16th of March, with her skull frac-
tured in such a manner as to leave no doubt that she had
been cruelly murdered.
Dr. Saul, senior surgeon of St. Pancras Infirmary, stated
that he first saw the deceased on the 16th inst. The body
was much decomposed, and had apparently been about
three weeks in the water. On examining the head he found
a lacerated wound, two or three inches in length, on the
right temple, extending from immediately above the right
ear upwards and forwards, dividing the upper port of the
cartilage of the right ear and the temporal muscle, fractur-
ing the skull and penetrating through the membranes into
the substance of the brain. On comparison found the right
temporal muscle a much deeper red colour than the left one.
This extravasation of blood established the fact that the
wounds had been inflicted before death. There was a cut on
the left side of the upper lip, extending to the lower lip, and
superficial wounds on the left shoulder and elbow, and also
a scratch on the right side of the nose. Deceased has a red
handkerchief tied round her neck, bat there were no marks
of constriction. The brain was much conjested. The cause
of death was the fracture of the skull, and he believed the
fracture to have been produced by a blow from behind.
From the evidence of Inspector Frazer, of the S division,
Thomas Welch, who first discovered the body, and others,
it appeared that when deceased was found in the water her
clothes appeared to have been torn off, she had no gown,
bonnet, or shawl, and her appearance indicated that she had
been engaged in a fearful struggle.
Inspector Frazer stated that deceased was first supposed
to be the body of a woman known as " Fat Ann," but that
woman was now in the workhouse. A female named Ann
Poulter had been missing since the 20th February from
White Lion-street, and the body of deceased had been ex-
humed, but was too decomposed to be identified. Ann Pota-
toes mother having stated that her daughter had her ear
pierced for earrings, Dr. Saul, who was present at the ex-
humation, examined the ears minutely, and could detect no
evidence of their having been pierced,
Inspector Fraser, in answer to a question, stated that
every endeavour had been made by the police to get the
body identified but without effect.
The coroner remarked that there could not be the shadow
of a doubt but that this poor woman had been brutally mur-
dered. The evidence of the oxtravasated blood proved that
the wounds were inflicted before deceased came into the
water; and it was to be hoped that the police would be able
to unravel the mystery and find out the guilty party or
parties. With that object he trusted that the press would
give publicity to the appearance of deceased, as well as the
description of her clothes, which might probably give some
clue to deceased's identity.
The description of deceased is—height, sft. sin. ; hair,
dark brown, plain in front and plaited behind ; round face,
and apparently about 30 years of age, The only articles of
clothing on her were a rough, grey woollen jacket, the back
being much torn ; a red stuff handkerchief round the neck,
ribbed woollen mittens, of a chocolate colour, on each arm,
stockings grey and white, striped transversely, boots with
elastic sides, much worn ; one cotton garter, marked at one
end " T.R.," and the figure "2," with red cotton in capital
letters; plain white drawers and plain chemise; stays, old,
with brass clasps in front and laced behind, and a bit of
crimson or pink ribbon round the stays.
The coroner said, with a view of enabling the police to
make every further possible inquiry, he proposed to adjourn
the inquest till that day three weeks, the 11th of April, and
it was adjourned accordingly.

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