Woman

The mutilated remains of a woman were found in a gateway in Salamanca Place, Lambeth.

The official description of the remains was given as: 'The human remains which were found in Salamanca Place, Lambeth, on the morning of the 8th inst. are those of a small woman, aged between twenty and thirty, height about 5ft., complexion dark, hair straight and very dark, teeth in an excellent state of preservation, prominent cheekbones and upper part of jaw, chin somewhat pointed, giving an angular appearance to the face. The nose was probably somewhat turned up. Deceased, from the verminous condition of the little hair left on the back, neck, and temples, supposed to have been of poorer and neglectful class.'

20 arrests were made in relation to her murder.

She was found in the early hours of Sunday morning at the rear of Doultons Works. A man employed at Doulton's Works said that he was going to the works in Salamanca Place from the Broad Street end and in the gateway in the corner he saw a human head and some other remains all piled in a heap. The remains seemed to have been put there carefully, the upper part of the body being placed upon the lower part and the legs and feet. He said that when he had passed at 10pm he felt sure that he had not seen anything then.

A labourer said that he and another man had passed the gateway the night before at about 10pm on the Saturday and saw a man and a woman standing in the gateway but said he would not recognise them again. He said the woman was about 5 feet tall. He said that he was about 12 or 14 yards away and that it was pitch dark. He said that the woman had a white hat with a black band and that the man was about a foot taller. The coroner noted that that would make him about 6 feet tall. He said that he could not tell how the man was dressed but said that he wore a cap and was not dressed like a working man and appeared dressed up saying that he had dark clothes on and that it was very dark.

The remains were described as having been mutilated as well as boiled and charred.

Salamanca Place has since been redeveloped.