The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-24 00:00:00

The Murder in the Plaistow Marshes.

VERDICT OF IVILFI4. MURDER AGAINST
KOHL.

Yesterday morning Mr C. C. Lewis, coroner for Essex,
resumed the inquiry at the Cuurt-house of Ilford Gaol, into
the circumstances attending the murder of a German named
John alias Theodor Christian Fuhrhop, whose decapitated
body was found on Tuesday, the Bth, in Plaistow-marshes,
near the Victoria Docks

Mr Hubert Wood, solicitor, of the firm of Wood and King,
Basinghall-street, appeared to watch the proceedings on
behalf of the accused man, Ferdinand Edward Karl Kohl,
who, in accordance with the request of the jury, was
present to hear the evidence. The court was densely
crowded.

After the jury had answered to their names, the coroner
read over the depositions of the witnesses previously exa-
mined, and Mrs Wade was recalled, and confirmed her
previous statement that she was certain Kohl had posses-
sion of her chopper on the 3d inst., when the murder was
supposed to have been committed.
Ths following evidence was then taken :
Police-sergeant Bridgland, 65
said about half-past
11 o'clock on the night of Tuesday, the Bth inst., the pri-
soner (Kohl) was charged by Superintendent Howie with
being concerned in the murder of Fuhrhop in the Plaistow-
marshes. The charge was entered on the sheet, and read to
the prisoner as he stood in the dock, The prisoner said, " I
well know where I was on that-- ;"
but he did not finish
the sentence. The prisoner was then taken to a cell, and
witness took all his clothing from him. It consisted of a
coat, waistcoat, trousers, cotton drawers, cotton shirt
worsted socks. a neckerchief and worsted comforter, and a
pair of low shoes. The articles now produced were the same
He took them all, with the chopper and knife found, to Dr
Letheby, at the London Hospital, on the 15th inst. He de-
livered them to Dr Letheby himself, and they were all then
in the same state as when he received them. He remained
at the hospital and brought back the articles.
Dr H. Letheby, of 17, Sussex-place, Regent's-park, said
he was Professor of Chemistry at the London Hospital. On
Tuesday, the 15 inst,, he received from the last witness the
articles of clothing and the chopper and knife produced. He
submitted them all to a very careful examination, He re-
moved the handle of the chopper in order to examine the in-
terior of the hole in which it was fixed, He found on the
edge of the chopper, about an inch from the top of it, in a
cavity caused by a portion of the edge being broken off, a
small quantity of brownish matter, which had the appear-
ance of coagulated blood. He now produced a portion of it
under a microscopic glass, On examination under the
microscope he found the matter contained fibres of wool
dyed red and brown, some fibres of white wool, and white
cotton, a fibre of cotton dyed violet, and one dyed magenta
red; besides which there was a good deal of the outward sur-
face of human skin, with a small quantity of rust and iron,
and a brown substance, the nature of which he could not de-
termine.gieee All
produced.thes H
these things
were now in the same state under
the next examined the coat, and found
on it several spots, which he removed, and on the front
part of the left skirt, near the bottom, he found a spot
which he ascertained to be blood. A portion of it still
remains on the same part of the coat, and he had every
waistcoat, just over the pocket,
human blood. He found on
rtheaes
a spot righton to
hb
ee lni ed vfer thht aetf itthwe a
.55,8
of blood, The other spots on the clothing were in
several cases of the same nature as the paint on the top of
the chopper produced. For example, there was such a spot
on the right leg of the trousers, and a good deal of the same
matter on the back of the waistcoat. The conclusion which
he arrived at from the examination was, that human skin,
mixed with fibres, was on the chopper, and blood on the
clothes. He would add that more of the same sort was on
the chopper which be did not take away to examine, and
the spots of blood now on the coat had been removed as
much as possible—so much so, that the bare traces of blood
were only to be found in the fibres of the cloth,
By the Coroner—The other spots on the clothing do not
appear to be blood. He could not say positively that the
marks of blood were human blood, but from appearances
had no doubt of it. He examined the knife, but did not
find any marks of blood on it.
The Coroner—ls it important that I should take down
your statement as to the marks of blood having been re-
moved from the coat ?
Dr Letheby— yes; so far that it is evident these spots
have been removed as much as possible, leaving only a very
small quantity still adherent to the fibre of the cloth.
John Pinkley, assistant to Mr Darlow, pawnbroker, of
2, Victoria
' Dock-road, produced the folio wing articles re-
ceived in pledge. viz, ring, pledged for ss, on the 12th
October, in the name of John Borrup—a watch, pledged for
12s, on the 15th October. He believed these articles were
pledged by the prisoner, but would not swear to it; three
shirts, pledged for 2s fid, on the 19th October, in the name
of Aun Williams ; a shirt, waistcoat, and handkerchief,
pledged for ss, on the '27th October, by a man who gave the
name of John Cole, 4, Hoy-street. Witness had often seen
the prisoner in the shop, and believed that he pledged most
of these articles.
Cross-examined by Mr Wood—When he saw the prisoner
in the shop witness believed he was by himself, except on
one occasion.
Mrs Elisabeth Warren, in whose house the murdered man
resided previous to his lodging with the prisoner, examined
each of the articles produced, and identified the whole as