The Sun.
London, England, 1823-08-02 00:00:00

INQUEST ON ELIZAANTHONY.

Yesterday afternoon, at two o'clock, Mr.
STIRLING, the Coroner for Middlesex, and a respectable Jury,
assembled at the King's Anna Tavern, Chelsea, near Battersea.
bridge, to inquire into the extraordinary circumstances by
which the above female came by her death.
The Jury having been empannaled and sworn, repaired
with Mr. Stirling to view the body, which was deposited in a
shed attached to this house. The unhappy girl appeared to be
about 18 years of age. She was very much swollen her face
was completely black, and the body m a state of putrefaction,
occasioned by the water. She was dressed in a red striped
gingham gown, and her head was without either cap or bonnet
—the latter, it will be recollected, was found in the boat.—
Several contusions were visible on the temples and other parts
of the head.
The Jury having returned to the inquest-room, the Coroner
inquired if any medical gentlemen were in attendance ?
The beadle answered that none had been summoned.
Coroner.—.flow is that? the body has been opened.
Beadle.—lt was not sanctioned by me.
Coroner.—Who were the gentlemen who opened the body ?
Beadle.—l know nothing about it at all. 1 was in town all
the morning, procuring the attendance of the witnesses.
Coroner.—l never heard such a gross and impudent tranasc.
tion in my life, to open the body of the deceased without the
permission of the Jury.
A Juror proposed that the mother of the deceased should be
called in to explain the business.
Mrs. Anthony was accordingly called in, and from her state.
ment it appeared that two medical gentlemen called upon her,
and stated that they had been sent by a Mr. Wood, who hal
given them permission to open the body.
Coroner.—What right had Mr. Wood to give such a per.,
mission ?
Mrs. Anthony said that Mr. Wood stated that he (the Coro.
nee) had given that permission,
never gave such a permission. I know nothing
of the transaction whatever, excepting what I have read in the
public papers. I never heard of such an unjust Troceeding be-
fore, for the body to be cut and mangled by any persons with. having been sanctioned. The man who is in custody had
right to have been present, anti also some persons on the part
of the friends of the deceased. It would have been the ditty of
the professional gentleman who operated on die body to have
stopped anti given the testimony. •
A. Juror said that the gentlemen Imo told on leaving Chel.
sea, that the inquiry would take place at one o'clock ; they
replied they would not remain, as they had not been summoned.
Coroner.-IWho is this Mr. Wood, who dared to say that he
had my permission to have the body opened ?
Mrs. Anthony said that he kept the Union Tavern, in Air.
street, Piccadilly, where the deceased formerly lived servant,
[Here Weale, an officer of Queen-square police, said that in
consequence of the short period' of time he had been allowed to
procure the attendance of the witnesses, he had not been able to
have them present.]
The Coroner, under those circumstances, with the consent of
the Jury, adjourned the inquiry till this day, and orders were
given to the beadle and to Neale, the officer, to have all the
witnesses in readines.
The investigation was accordingly adjourned, and the body
was ordered to be conveyed to the workhouse, and to be placed
under lock and key, to prevent any other person operating
upon it.