Jane Moyes

Jane Moyes was taken to hospital after receiving some mysterious injuries and later died there.

She had lived at 8 Claremont Gardens in Ramsgate with her crippled nephew. The nephew had been a cripple for seven years and said that Jane Moyes, who was active for her age, would do the shopping whilst he would do what housework he could.

The nephew said that on them morning of 17 December 1944 he came downstairs and saw that Jane Moyes had a black eye and that one of her wrists was swollen. He said that when he asked her what had happened, she said, 'the boys have done it'. However, he could not explain what that meant as there were no boys in the house.

When Jane Moyes was seen by a doctor later that afternoon, he advised her to go to hospital, but when the ambulance arrived, she refused to go. However, the following day she was found in a collapsed state on the floor and was admitted to hospital.

The doctor said that when he examined Jane Moyes and asked her what had happened, noting that she was stone deaf, that she was so confused that he didn't understand anything that she said.

He said that on examination he found that she had severe bruising over her right forehead and haemorrhage under both eyelids. He said that the black eyes might have been caused by a blow to her head. He added that her left wrist was also fractured.

He said that a few hours after Jane Moyes was admitted she became unconscious but recovered early in the evening but later died at about 6pm on 23 December 1944.

A relieving officer who said he had known Jane Moyes and her nephew for 14 years said that when he went to her house on the morning of 19 December 1944 no one answered the door. He said that when he later went back with a doctor the nephew opened the door. He said, 'As we opened the door of Miss Moyes bedroom, we saw torn blankets and feathers on the floor and the room was in general disorder. In the middle of the room was a single bedstead on which a dirty palliasse was lying. Miss Moyes was lying under the bed on her right side with her knees pulled up against her body'. He said that after moving her body he called for an ambulance.

At her inquest it was heard that there was no evidence that any ill-disposed person had attacked her, and the jury returned a verdict of accidental death.

The coroner said that it appeared to be a curious case and that there was little evidence available. The fracture of the skull might have been caused through a blow by a blunt instrument or by a fall, but they had heard no evidence of anyone having interfered with her and would be justified in returning the verdict of accidental death, as they did.