John Twiddle

John Twiddle was found dead in a ditch. He had five slashes to his throat but there was no sign of any weapon.

He had lived on Swan Street in Hull and had been missing since 18 January 1929.

His body was found in a ditch at Low Ground Farm in Bilton submerged under two feet of water. He had been found by a labourer from Brickyard Cottages in Marfleet Lane.

He appeared to have gained access to the ditch through a thorn hedge and by then climbing over a fence. Blood was found on the fence and there was a spot in the grass that had been lain on, but there were no other marks of a struggle.

The police noted that the black muffler that John Twiddle was reported to have left his lodgings wearing was nowhere to be found.

A woman with whom John Twiddle had lodged with said that John Twiddle had been worried about being out of employment during the past 12-13 weeks and said that his savings were down to £4. 6s. 3d. and that in addition to his old age pension that was all he had to live on.

A doctor who carried out the post-mortem said that in his opinion John Twiddle had not been dead for more than a day and that he had died from suffocation by drowning. However, he added that if John Twiddle had not got into the water he would probably have bled to death from the five slashes to his throat which he said had been caused by a very blunt instrument.

The Coroner returned a verdict of found drowned. he said that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that he had committed suicide.

He was a tanner's labourer.