The Sun.
London, England, 1864-11-09 00:00:00

Atrocious Murder.

Yesterday afternoon at half-past 1 o'clock, the headless
body of a man was found is the reeds on the north bank of
the reaches of the river marshes at Silvertown, botween
Blackwall and North Woolwich, one of the most lonely spots
in the neighbourhood. The body which was discovered by
a boy and a min out shooting, is believed to show from un-
mistakable marks that the deceased was the victim of a
murder.

A stretcher was obtained as soon as possible from the
Victoria Docks, hard by, upon which the body was con-
veyed forthwith to the Graving Dock Arms, where a great
crowd of persons had assembled. The body was there placed
upon a litter in the stables, and upon inspection it appears
to have been that of a young foreigner of between 20 and
25 years of age, and of the middle rank of life. It was
clothed in good black trousers, hessian boots, and socks.
The buttons on the trousers bore upon them the mark of
"G. Grape], Hamburg." The shirt, which was somewhat
worn, bnrn thn initials ,t 0 8., G." There wore no braces or
drawers. The body from the abdomen upwards was per-
fectly bare, the right arm resting on the breast. All the
fingers had been eaten away by the water rats. The last
shoulder-bone also bore indications of the gnawing of the
water rats, but in all other respects there were no indications
whatever of decomposition or decay. The body seemed not
to have occupied the spot in which it was found more than
20 or 30 hours. The mud upon the boots, moreover, was
quite moist, and to all appearance the corps was that of a man
who had only ceased to breathe for a day or two. Search dur-
ing the day was assiduously made, but ineffectually for the
head of the murdered man, which it is supposed was sent
adrift down the river. The Thames police were on the look-
out all day, but without making any discovery either of the
head or of the upper dress of the murdered man. The trunk
of the body where the head was dissevered presents a most
ghastly appearance. The first blow, either with a hatchet
or other sharp instrument, failed to accomplish its intended
effect, leaving only a gash upon the neck, but the second
blow was apparently delivered so precisely that it severed the
head from the trunk with the cleanness of a guillotine. The
height of the murdered man from measurement taken on
the spot (minus the head) would appear to have been sft sin.
The only property found upon his person was a farthing
and a scrap of paper, the shred of a letter probably in the
German language. The blood on the neck was quite fresh
and new. A portion of clotted blood and brains was found
in the immediate neighbourhood of the river, where the
body was discovered, and this, with the rushes by which it
was surrounded, were put together and preserved for the
inquiry into all the circumstances to take place before Mr
Lewis, the coroner for Essex. Various conjectures, as on
all such occasions, are afloat as to 'who was the murdered
man, and ho'7 he came by his death. One supposition is
that he was a foreig . seafaring man r ecently arrived by one
of the Hamburg vessels at Victoria Docks, that he attended
a pigeon shooting match held in the neighbourhood a few
days ago with notes and cash in his pocket, and that ho was
drugged, lured away, and despoiled of all he had. Another
rumour is that he is a German employed in the district, and
that he fell a sacrifice to some quarrel with others among
whom he lived. Up to 9 o'clock last night several persons
visited the Graving Dock Arms, in order to identify the
body, but being divested of its head there was Of course the
utmost difficulty in any identification. In the meantime
the most diligent investigation is being prosecuted into the
mysterious affeir by Superintendent Howie and Sergeant
Nightingale, of the K division of police, and other officers,
who conceive they have a clue to the discovery of the crime.