The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-07-01 00:00:00

SUSPECTED MURDER NEAR NORWICH.

(From the Norwich News, of Saturday.)
Scarcely has the public mind of this city and cesot%
relapsed into quietude from the almost unpreceden
excitement which was created by the Stanfield-hall
tragedy, than a discovery has been made which threatens
to revive the anxious curiosity and engross the thought
and conversation of all classes of society, at the stone
time that it will raise the county of Norfolk to a position_
of the most unenviable notoriety, as the scene of some er
the most fearful events thaVare recorded in the history of
crime, and the spot where atrocities of the most horrible
character have been perpetrated.
A little on the city side of the spot where the Eastern
Counties Railway crosses the high road, at Trowse, is the
entrance to a lane which leads to Lakenham. This lane
is very quiet and secluded, and is little frequented exceps
by persons whose object is to enjoy a retired walk. On
Saturday morning week, a lad named Charles Johnson,
the son of a Primitive Methodist preacher, residing at
Trowse, was passing through the lane, with a deg, when
to observed that the animal entered a plantation belong-
ing to Miss Martineau, a relative of Miss Martineau the
well-known authoress. Indeed, the proximity cf Miss
Martineau's mansion has given to this road the name of
'' Miss Martineau's lane," by which term it is generally
known. On the dog leaving the plantation, it was ob-
.erved by young Johnson to have something in its mouth,
hut his attention was not particularly arreAed by the cir-
cumstance. Another person, however, who happened to
be passing at the same moment, ordered the dog, in it
peremptory tone, to "drop it," but the dog, instead of
obeying this command, instantly ran off to his master's
house, which was situate at no great distance. On John-
son's arriv'ng at home he was greatly alarmed by the dis-
covery that what the dog had picked up was a human
hand. The young man's father instantly conveyed the
hand to the city police-station, and gave intelligence of
the circumstance which had placed it in his possession.
On the following morning, in a plantation adjoining the
same lane, but at a distance of two or three hundred
yards from time spot where the hand was found, a foot was
picked up by a dog which was passing with two men,
named J. Bruce and T. Dent. On the same morning,
Captain Money, one of the city magistrates, ordered
search to be instituted in the locality by the police; end
a number of officers and other persons, with dogs, were
placed under the direction of Inspector Steward, and *
rigid examination was at once commenced, the result of
which was. that, during the day two vertebrte, or portions
of a human back bone, and a female pelvis were also dis-
covered. The suspicion that a brutal and cold-blooded
murder had been committed was more and more con-
firmed as each of these parts was found, and large crowds
of people were attracted to the spot, many of whom
joined in the search, and before night approached sus-
picion almost gave way to certainty by the discovery of
small quantity of waste cotton, such as is used for clean--
ing machinery, smeared with blood. Near the spot where
the hand was picked up there was also found a waistcoat,
placed in the hedge. Everything that was found was con-
veyed to the station. house, where the parts were examined
by Mr. Dalrymple, Mr. Nichols. Mr. Norgate, and other
surgeons, who gave it as their opinion that they had very
recently belonged to a living human body. doubtless a
young female. The hand, which had been attached to
the rieht arm, was closely clenched and much discoloured,
hut the colour of the foot was scarcely changed at all,
and it was very little decomposed, and a portion, of the
ligature was still attached to the pelvis, and was yet
elastic, thus evidencing that the fatal event had not long
transpired.
On Monday morning a search was commenced in the
river, which runs parallel with the lane, but up to the time
of our going to press nothing of any consequence has been
brought out of the water. During the same morning,
however, the excitement in the city was greatly increased
by the discovery by a dog in a limekiln on the Hellesdon-
road, a distance of at least two miles from Miss Martineau's
lane, of a human bone partly covered with flesh ; and near
that locality there has since been discovered a number of
bones and detached pieces of human flesh, which, from
the quantity of fat upon them, appear to have belonged to
a stout person. These portions were brought hourly,
piece by piece, during the whole of Tuesday, causing an
excitement in the city as they were carried through
the streets, which can be more easily imagined than
described.

On Wednesday a shirt smeared with blood, which had
been found on Mousehold, was taken to the police-station•
There are no marks upon the garment which are likely to
aid in the discovery of its owner.

As will be seen by the statement given below, no por-
tion of the head, or of any part which would probably
be available in the establishment of identity, has yet been
discovered. his quite possible, however, that a few days
longer further search may throw some light on this awful
and at present mysterious tragedy. A large tract of
country lying between Trowse and Hellesdon yet remains
to be thoroughly examined.
On Wednesday the remains were all minutely examined
at the station-house by Mr. Nichols, Mr. D. Dalrymple,
and Mr. Norgate, who afterwards_ gave evidence respect-
ing them before the magistrates at the Guildhall.
The magistrates present were the mayor, (H. Wood-
cock, Esq.,) J. H. Barnard Esq., J. Botts, Esq., P. J.
Money, Esq., and A. Trowler, Esq. Mr. Wilde, th:
cororer, was lso in attendance. Mr. W. P. Nichols was
first examined, and he gave the following evidence :
Mr. Peter Nichols, surgeon, deposed :—On Saturday
last, the 21st instant, I was shown the right hand of a
human body by Police-constable Daniel. I took charge
of it, and, on the Sunday following, and also on the
Monday, several additional portions of a human body
were brought under my notice at the station-house.
then, with Mr. Norgate, made a careful examination of
them, and we were of opinion that they were the-bones
and other parts of an adult female. On the 25th and 26th
days of June instant, additional portions were brought
under my notice ; and this day I have, conjointly with
Mr. Norgate and Mr. D. Dalrymple, made another
careful examination of the various parts which were
brought before us, namely, several portions of the dorsal
and lumbar vertebrae, the right osinnominatum, the
sacrum, a portion of the left os femoris, the right tibia
and fibula, the left fibula, the right hand, the right foot,
a portion of the right humerus, one patella, various
portions of muscle and sptin, and or e portion of the intes-
tine, and I am of opinion that they are human remains,
and that they are the bouts of a young adult female.
From the general appearance of the flesh, it is my opinion
that there is evidence of youth and health at the time of
death. Some portion of the remains appears to have
been immersed in some fluid. This appears to be the
case with the foot, the hand. and part of the pelvis and
spine. The portions found in the different localities
indubitably belong to the same person, and I consider
the individual of whom the remains are a part may have
been dead a fortnight, or perhaps longer.
Mr. Norgate and Mr. D. Dalrymple, confirmed ?ft'
Nichols' evidence in every respect. _ _

We have from the first entertained a firm conviction
that a brutal and cold-blooded murder has been perpe-
trated; but there is another view of the circumstance to
which allusion may be made, although we think it can
scarcely be tenable after a moment's consideration. Some
persons, unwilling to believe that humanity could be so
degraded as would appear to be the case, are induced to
believe that the whole matter is nothing more than the
freak of some young medical student, who after using the,
body for dissection,* may for the purpose of a " lark'
have strewed the pieces about the country in order to
create some excitement. Independent of the difficulty
of believing that so slight a motive could induce the com-
mission of an act of such consummate folly, the mauling
themselves give ample evidence that they have not been
detached by any professional hand, however inexperienced.
Some, again, ha-,,e urged that there is no evidence at pre-
sent of any crime whatever having been perpetrated, and
that some person, nut of mere spite against the memory
of deceased, may have exhumed the body and scattered,
abroad its remains. But, then, on the other hand, bad
the body been decently and regularly interred, we should
doubtless ere this have heard of a grave having been dis-
turbed and other attendant circumstances. After all, the
murder, for such it undoubtedly is, may possibly have
been committed at a distance, and the remains may have
been brought into this neighbourhood by the perpetrator
of the deed, the better to secure his own safety. Thai
the portions have been scattered by a person while riding
in a vehicle seems to be rendered very probable from the
circumstance that some of the parts were found lodging in
the hedges, as though they had fallen in the attempt to
throw them over.
[lt appears, from further particulars furnished by our
contemporary, that within the past few weeks three YOOl.l,
females have been missed from the neighbourhood. The_
friends and relatives have used every effort to discover
their whereabouts, but without success. Of course the
whole of the circumstances have created extraordinary
excitement.]

* In the City of London, about tweuty-two years ago, a hand
&c., of a human body were found in a stable, near the Ste Mtg:
ern Lock, rented by one Mr. Shaw, and created great ex%a
went in the neighbourhood. For several days it remainet sit
mystery whether a murder had been committed or not ;
.1)06 of
last it was discovered tbat the remains found were Porn° its
the body of a female which had been feloniously taken from
grave by some medical student to practise upon.

TIDE TABLE

MORN. EVEN();

July; h. m. h. m. i ft. in. Conl'
Tuesday.... V 022 044 ls 2 Oxf. Act 3.:Cam•
Wednesday . 64129 17 10 Thursday .. 3L 153 21717 3 Dog-days begin.
mle.
Friday .... 41 242 3 9 16 IS Cam. Nast. T. ;Os.
Saturday .. 336 4 5 15 5 Oxf. Trin.
Sunday .... 6 437 511 •14 6 3d Sund. aft. Trt
Monday.... 7;5 43 620 ;14 2