Baby

The body of a baby was found in a parcel on the railway embankment by Scratton Road in Southend.

There were two incised wounds over the left eye and a severe bruise on the same side of the face. The vault of the skull was fractured in all directions, and all bones in the skull had been broken.

It was found on Friday 31 January 1902 on the embankment of the LT and SR near Scratton Road.

The parcel was found by a man that had lived in Leslie Terrace, North Road in Southend on the embankment close to the fence. He then told a man from Tipper's Restaurant who then sent a message to the police.

It had been wrapped up in a piece of blanket and an apron. However, the police said that they found no distinguishing marks on the items.

When the Coroner asked the doctor whether considerable violence must have been used the doctor replied, 'Yes, I should think the child had been picked up by the legs and dashed against some hard substance'.

When he was asked how long he thought the child had lived he said, 'I should think an hour or so. The lungs were well inflated'.

A verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown was returned.