The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle. — 1884-03-15 (Stourbridge, West Midlands, England)

SUPPOSED MURDER 15 LONDON.  In London, on Sunday afternoon, a young woman was found dead in a house in Burton-crescent, Euston-road, in circumstances which leave very little doubt that a deliberate murder has been committed' It appears that the house, No. 12, Burton-crescent, is let out in furnished apartments, mostly to young women, and the occupant of the back room on the first floor was a young woman about 24 years of age, known as Annie Yates. On Saturday night she went out as usual with a fellow lodger, named Annie Ellis, who parted from her in the Euston-road, about 1. o'clock on Sunday morning, when Yates got into conversation with a respectably-dressed man. Shortly befor, 2 o'clock, as it was believed, Yates was heard to come home and go up to her room by some of the other lodgers, and the footsteps of a man were distinctly heard accompanying her. Somewhere about 3 o'clock it is believed a man and woman who were occupying an adjoining room were roused by hearing screams proceed from the room occupied by Annie Yates, but no notice was taken of the circumstance, as she was subject to fits of hysteria, and frequently made similar noises. A considerable time afterwards the footsteps of a man were heard going downstairs, and he let himself out by the front door, but this was not an uncommon occurrence, and it attracted no particular attention. As Yates did not come down to get her breakfast as usual, between twelve and one o'clock on Sunday afternoon, Ellis went up to her room to call her, and, finding the door partly open, went in but could see nothing of Yates. The bedclothes appeared to be piled up on something, and on looking more attentively the woman Ellis saw a foot with a boot on projecting from under the clothes at one side of the bed. On her removing the bedclothes a terrible sight presented itself. The young woman Yates, only partially undressed, lay with her head on the pillow in a pool of blood, which had issued from a serious gash on the left side of the head, above the ear, while a towel was tied tightly over her mouth, the knot being at the back of the head. Ellis immediately raised an alarm, and the landlady of the house, hearing what had occurred, sent at once for medical aid and to the police-station of the E Division in Hunter-street. Dr. Richard Paramore was the first to arrive, and was speedily followed bYlnspector Blatchford, who also sent for Dr. Murphy, the divisional police surgeon. The unfortunate woman was pronounced to have been dead several hours. The face was very livid, and a severe wound had been inflicted at the 'back of the left ear. It was the opinion of the medical men that the actual cause of death was suffocation. They considered it impossible that the injuries could have been self-inflicted. The police made a searching examination of the room to ascertain, if possible, with what sort of instrument the wound in the head had been inflicted, but nothing was found. A gold ring, which Yates was known to have worn on Saturday night, was gone, but money was found in her clothes. A post-mortem examination was made on Monday, and the medical evidence points to the fact that the blow upon the head of the deceased N'as not self-inflicted, and it is regarded as certain that suffocation was the cause of death.