unsolved-murders.co.uk
Unsolved Murders
Tags

Robert James Hall

Age: 33

Sex: male

Date: 18 Mar 1916

Place: Millers Bridge, Kirkdale

Robert James Hall was found lying unconscious on Miller's Bridge on the night of 17 March 1916 and died the following day in Bootle Hospital.

He had three head wounds and two fractured bones in his right ankle. His trousers bore the marks of a wheel having passed over them.

A married woman that lived nearby said that on the night of 17 March 1916 she had heard some men quarrelling outside her house. However, she said that she didn't go to see what the trouble was. She said that they had foreign accents.

When he was found his money, watch and chain, and other items were still on him and the police said that they ruled out robbery as a motive.

He had lived in Sylvia Street in Kirkdale. His wife said that he was a temperate man and rarely got over the mark.

His body was found by a taxi-driver shortly after 11.35pm. The taxi-driver said that he had picked up a fare at 11.35pm in London Road and had proceeded to Herschell Street where he had then gone onto Langton Dock by way of Bankhall, Derby Road and Millar's Bridge. He said that as he got to Millar's Bridge, he saw something lying in the roadway and that when he stopped to look he saw the body of Robert Hall lying in the road. He said that he thought that it was a stone and swerved his cab, adding that he did not run over him. He said that he had been going at about 4mph at the time.

He said that Robert Hall had a pool of blood by his head and that his hat was about three yards away from his body. The cab driver and the passenger then lifted Robert Hall onto the pavement and then drove off to Langton Dock where they told a constable.

The doctor that carried out the post-mortem said that he thought that the injury to Robert Hall's ankle had been received whilst he was in the prone position.

He said that Robert Hall's death was due to compression of the brain, due to intra-cranial haemorrhage caused by a fracture of the skull.

The coroner stated that there was no evidence to say whether Robert Hall had fallen and hit his head, been involved in a fight or had been knocked down. He added that all that was required to solve the case was one person, that being a person that saw how he fell into the roadway.

An open verdict was returned at his inquest. However, the jury said that they didn't think there had been any foul play.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see Liverpool Daily Post - Thursday 30 March 1916

see Liverpool Echo - Wednesday 22 March 1916

see Liverpool Echo - Tuesday 21 March 1916