The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1885-07-22 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

THE CHILI) MURDER CASE.  The adjourned inquest upon the body of a male child, unknown, found in the Tunnel of the Joint Railways, last Wednesday, was resumed at the Victoria Hotel, Price-street. ley Mr. H. H. Churton, coroner. P.C. 15 (Cartmell) stated that he received information of the finding of the body of a male child in the tunnel about 5.40 p.m. He went with his informant and found the body lying about 150 yards from the Grange•lane entrance. There was a very large fracture on the head and the brains were scattered about within an area of five yards. The body was just clear of the down lines, and was quite close to the wall. The child was then removed to the dead-house, and the clothes examined. They consisu2d af a cream cashmere hat very profusely frilled; a blue cape and a cloak of the same colour, trimmed with brown velvet' a white pinafore, a red cotton frock, striped woollen and white flannel petticoats, and a pair of pink and white socks. Duero was no mark upon the clothes, which were all of good quality, and appeared to be almost new.  Dr. Braidwood was next called, and be deposed that he had made a post-mortcm examination of the child's body,and he thoughtfrom the appearances of the body, which was eleven and a half pounds in weight and twenty-five inches long. The child had been six months old at the time of death. It was well nourished and had been well taken care of. The vault of the bead was completely shattered right down to the ears. The bones a the right half and top of the skull were missing, and a portion of the brain was projecting. There were two large clots of blood upon the base of the head. The fractures described must have caused the child's deatb. To produce such extraordinary fractures, a very great amount of violence must have been, used, causing death to have ensued instantaneously. There were no injuries upon the body or limbs, and no appearance of tho slightest bruise. The organs were all healthy, but bloodless, as was also the body. There was no food in the stomach or in the bowels, but there were quantities of mucus in both. The contents of the chest and abdomen were quite healthy and the gall bladder was quite empty. Accidentally falling out of a carnage could not cause such great injuries as were upon the body. If a train were going at a very great speed, severe injuries might ensue, but not so severe as those inflicted upon the deceased. The Coroner asked Detective Hughes if he bad obtained any clue to the perpetrators of the horrid outrage, and he replied that he had visited all the stations between Birkenhead and Chester, and had also been up to Crewe, but no idea of the guilty person had been obtained. He had also been to the Liverpool shipping offices to make enquiries which had also been fruitless. Handbills had been printed and sent to 200 police stations throughout England, and photographs of the child were taken for identification. The Coroner said it would be useless to pursue the enquiry any further, as they now had evidence that a most cruel and wilful murder had been perpetrated. The police must pursue the enquiry to the end and he trusted they would be successful. The jury returned a verdict of "Wilful murder against some person or persona unknown."