Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1876-03-23

missing womsn, and corresponding In
most particulars 70 the description given
Of tho latter, was found in q destitute sDd
almost diving condition In the neighbor-
hood of Goodmau's Fields. She was con-
veyed to the London Hospital, and Il was
there ascertained that she WIS suffering
from fracture Of the hip-joint. Her in-
jurics proved too much for her reduced
condition, and she died in hospital and
was duly buried therefrom.
When Ross was arrested on the charge
OF numbering Caroline Walsh she at once
said that the woman who had been con-
veyed to the London Hospital was her
old friend, and although her statement
seemed plausible enough at first sight, II
was found To be decidedly Inconsistent
with facts when subjected 10 due scrutiny
and analysis. Then, also, direct evidence
Of the murder OF Walsh by Ross was
forthcoming from Ross son, who testified
TO Witnessing the suffocation Of Walsh by
his mother, to seeing the body of the
murdered woman lying, on the morning
Of the goth Of August In the cellar Of the
house In Goodman's Fields; and also TO
seeing his mother leave home ON the
evening Of the Goth, carrying q sack,
which apparently contained something
heavy
The accidental presence of Caroline
Welsh thus complicated this case Of mys-
terious disappearance In q most curious
manner and tine complication was rem
dered all the more intricate, firstly, by
the fact that no body corresponding to
that Of the missing woman could be found
In any Of the London dissecting. rooms ;
secondly, by similarity between the
dress Of the missing woman and that OF
the hospital patient; and thirdly, by both
women having possessed baskets lin
which they hawked smallwares) exhibit
ing a close likeness 10 each other, al
though that Of Walsh had no cover, whilst
WeIsh's BASKET had lid. Thus 10 SINH.
larity In nation we must add D confusing
similarity In name, In dress, In occupa-
ton and In certain possessions. And al
though strict inquiries revealed differ.
ences In the habits, physical appearance
and bodily conformation OF the women.
and In their respective birthplaces, yet
obviously the case was one In which, un-
less additional evidence was forthcoming
either u, confirm or refute the doubts ~
To the identity of Welsh with Walsh, the
prisoner Ross would clearly profit by the
conflict Of evidence and the ends OF jus
tice might ultimately nc defeated.
One remarkable circumstance IN the
history Of the murdered woman At length
assumed the position Of q crucial test. II
was coEclusiycly proved that Caroline
WalEh had very perfect front teeth--an
admittedly unusual feature In an aged
woman. Caroline Welsh, on the contra.
ry, had no front teeth, and, moreover, As
was proved by an examination OF her
body, the sockets of these teeth had OBJ
viotisly been literated--through the
modifying processes which are we'll.
known to occur, especially In the aged
| for u very considerable period. The
scientific evidence clearly established this
latter fact In the history Of Caroline
Welsh and ~ the existence Of the prom
inent front teeth In Caroline WalJh was
ms firmly established, the guilt OF the
prisoner Ross was brought home TO her,
although, Indeed, the fate OF her victim
remained mystery more easily guessed
at that solved.
Sometimes the researches of the scientist
actually In the first instance lead 10 the
clearing up of disappearance. Thus
| the examination Of skeleton found deep
| ly embedded In the sand of the sea- coast
| III a certain Scotch wascring.place
showed that the person when living must
have walked with q very peculiar and
characteristic gait In consequence OF some
| deposits Of rheumatic kind which affected
! the lower part of the spine and pclyis,
| The mention OF this fact induced u search
| through some old records of the town,
and resulted in the discovery that case
Of mysterious disappearance had been
duly noted, the subject being person
whose mode of walking had made him an
! object OF attention, and whose fate, but
| Tor the observAnt eye OF the anaLomist,
might have remained wholly unknown.
| One of the most famous cases In which
medical science has aided the effects oil
| the law In determining the identity OF hu.
man remains was that known ne the
Waterloo Bridge murder. This case ex.
cited much interest and curiosity ut the
time (lB57). and las in D crime of the mos,
recent datc) the chain OF circumstances
which led To the discovery that murder
had been committed shrouded the matter
still more impenetrablv 10 mystery. A
carpet bag which had been dropped over
Waterloo Bridge, London, with the obvi-
Gus intention of disposing eifectually and
silently Of It's contents in the, Thames.
landed instead on onc Of the buttresses Of
the bridge, u few yards above the current.
When examined the bag was found To
contain portions Of human body, the
/ pieces, consisting OF bones with flesh ut
tacbed, numbering twenty three in all.
| II formed an important OBJECT Of inquiry
10 ascertain whether the identity of the re.
/ mains could be determined, with a view
TO connect them firstly with any known
case Of mysterious disappearance; while
their due examination might In the sec
end instance lead ~ the discovery Of a
crime, by atlording some clue AZ TO the
probable nationality, rank In life, profes-
sion. or trade, general circumstances and
mode Of death OF the victim. fa9 NF
Pieced dexterously together by medical
experts, the portions contained In the bag
were found TO be those Of one and the
same body; but the head, y large portion
OF the spine, the hands and feet, aud some
parts OF this chest we're waiting these
missing parts being exactly those by
means of which the human subject IL
usually and most readily identified. But
notwithstanding these serious gaps Ia the
continuity OF iis structure. the mutilated
frame was discerned 70 be that of a full.
grown man, whose height must have
been at least five feet nine inches. 10 this
first conclusion the experts were led by
, careful measurements of the existing parts