Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-10-28
A MYSTERIOUS MURDER IN LONDON

ter, and by differences of the acutest kind it
seems placed beyond doubt that dreadful
murder has disgraeed our metropolis, but
whether the deed can be brought home to its
perpetrators, or whether il will he buried in the
Obscurity which at present envelOps it. is n
question yet remaining TO be determined. We
can only hope that where, under such difficult
conditions of discovery. so much has been
brought TO light, the rest will not be perma-
neRtly hidden.
On Friday last, in the gray of early morning,
some lads rowing up the river observed bum
die resting on one of the abutments of Waterloo
bridge. 1t proved to be n carpet bag, locked
and corded, with n considerable portion OF the
cord hanging down into the water. The boys
carried of what they believed to he prize; but
when the bag was opened it was found to con-
tain the mutilated fragments of a human body
Twenty pieces Of what had recently been liv-
ing creature were exposed to view, with every
incident of horror. Limbs had been sawed into
bits, flesh had been hacked from the bones, the
trunk had been disemboweled, and the head
was wanting. So complete had been the COM
mlnutlOn of the corpse, and the obliteratiOn of
ali external features of humanity, that it was
only oy indirect conclusions that even the sex
could be established; and yet from these and
almost lnscrutable data story Of some cOhe-
renee has already been framed.
The bag contained, beside these portions of
the body, complete suit of apparel-coat sur
tout, waistsoat, trOwserS, drawers seeks shirt
and undcrshirt-the hat and shoes along being
not for. Incoming. No mark or other means Oi
Identification could be discovered on any Of
these articles; but they were pierced in various
places, as if with a sharp knife or dagger and
they had all been ripped up the back-the
overcOat as well as the rest-apparently while
on the person. The front parts of the dress too
especially. were found saturated with blood.
The fragments Of the body itself seemed at
first to promise little testimony, but under a
scientific scrutiny they yielded enough to estat-
llsh the certainty of crime. A portion of the
chest showed distinct stab OF hole, CORES
pondIng precisely in position and direction
with one Of the cuts found in the clothes and
1t was proved by the evidence of the divisional
surgeon of police that this wound must of ne
ceSslty have been inflicted during life. The
testimony to this important point was positive
clear and sGficing With equal success was it
established that the remains could not repre-
sent the relics Of any subject employed for pur-
poses of anatomy. Not a single trace was
found of the dissecting knife. A medical
man" said Mr.. Paynter in his evidence,
must have wanted body either for the mus
c!es, nerves, arteries, or bones. The muscles
nerves and arteries, / can positively assert
have not been dissected, and the bones have
been destroyed The deduction drawn from
the appearance of the fragments extended a
little further. The state of the joints showed
that the right thigh must have stiffsned COM
pie,ely at right angles with the rest of the
body. and the right arm had also stiffened with
the forearm under, and pointing in the direc-
ton Of the trunk. 1t had been observed from
the first that the body had been salted or
soaked IN brine to preserve il. but 4 certain
portion bad escaped the action of the antisep-
TIC and 1t is judged from this that death must
nave occurred upward Of I week before the
discovery OF the remains. The cuts in the
shIrtS exceeded in number those found upon
the body, but this discrepancy was explained
by the evidence that the portions of the body
which might have displayed these particular
wounds were among those which were missing
10 this evidence certain additions have been
derived from other sources. The clothes found
IN the bag appeared to be Of foreign make, the
socks having been pronounced to be undoubt-
ediy OF German manufacture, and the shirt
collar was obviously intended to be worn turned
down over the neck-tie from which circum-
stance 1t is reasonably inferred that the de-
ceased person was not a native Of this country
Here, up to the present time, terminates
what may be called the internal evidence Of
the case by one incident only are we brought
into contact for a moment with those probably
cOSnlLant Of the crime. II happened that the
t0li-keepcr on duty at Waterloo Bridge nn
Thursday evening took especial notice of a wo-
man, or person in wOnan's apparel, who had
passed On tn the bridge frcm the Strand side
with carpet-bag in her hand This bag he
assisted her TO lift over the tOll-stile and oh
served ats pattern 80 particularly as TO be able
10 identity the article, to the best Of his belief
with that In which the rcmans were found
lie remarked that the woman appeared agi-
tated, and 80 much In a hurry that he imagined
shc was fastening to catch train at the Wa
terloO station. Her voice was decidedly mas
euiIne, but she seemed only about FIVE feet
three inches in height. To the best Of his re-
membrance she did not come of the bridge
ed nh
Such are the features. as at present discern
lo!e, OF this most hOrrifyDg case By the aid
OF a little latitude of Interpretation and con-
lecture an approximation has been made to the
supposed particulars of the crime That the
deceased was murdered with his clothes on in
cluding his Overcoat, appears plain, and il is
supposed. from the saturatiOn Of all the front
portions Of his apparel with blood, that he lay
dead on his face. In this pOstiOn-the posi-
tlon Immediately resulting from the murder
IT Is conceived that the body stiffened, and that
1t was found necessary to rip the clothes all up
the back before they could be removed from
the rIgId limbs. To prevent the accommodation
of the corpse pending the further proceedings.
recourse would be had to the process Of sllting;
and at length, when the work Of mutilation had
been completed, it was attempted to dispose of
the remains by dropping them into the r yer at
the end OF rope, so as to avoid splash. Such
IL the manner in which the outlines supplied
ference or surmise, and though the conclusions
may, Of course, be erroneous, it is impossible
to overlook the detection To which guilt has be-
come liable through one or two fortuitous cir
instances.
Had another bridge been selected instead Of
Waterloo Bridge by the bearer of the bag there
would have been no tOll-taker to depose to the
overt act in this dark transaction. and the fact
points TO the probability OF the scene of the
crime having lain in the vicinity. Had tho
bag, again, not lodged on the sbutment of the
bridge, instead Of falling into the water, the
portions Of the body which it contained mi ght
have disappeared, like the rest, and every yes
tige Of the crime have been lost.
There is one incident connected with this in
yestigation which is suggestive Of rather alarm
ing conclusions and TO which il is desirable, we
think, that attention should be drawn. No
sooner was il known in the metropolis. that a
body hal been discovered, admitting pos
sibly Of some Identification, than application
was made by succession Of persOns-eiSht
i