Marion Gwendoline Duignan

The skeletal remains of Marion Gwendoline Duignan were found under some bushes in Hampstead Cemetery in London.

She had gone missing in August 1953, vanishing from her flat in Tanza Road, Hampstead.

The police said that there was no reason to think that it was a case of murder. However, the pathologist noted that there was a hole in her skull.

She was an artist’s model and a spiritualist, having been involved in spiritualism since 1936.

Her daughter, who said that she last saw Marion Duignan in August 1953 said that her husband had left home in about 1951.

She was said to have been a very unhappy person and said to have been affected by the death in 1951 of her next door neighbour who she had referred to during his lifetime and afterwards as 'her spiritual lover'.

However, it was also said, 'She partook of spiritualism. The matter was ridiculed by her neighbour and his wife.

Marion Duignan's remains were found about 50 yards from her neighbours grave in Hampstead Cemetery.

Identification was made through dental records. A dental surgeon that lived in Lawrence Gardens, NW, said that Marion Duignan had been a patient of his for some time and that he had kept a record of the treatment that she had received and produced a copy of a photographic chart of her teeth and mouth, which the Coroner described as 'A most useful and important thing as it turns out'. The dental surgeon then said that the chart was identical with one that had been provided by the police which they made from the skull found.

The Coroner said, 'The fact that you kept a good record has helped us in identification very considerably'.

When the pathologist gave evidence at the inquest, he said that he did not think that there was any question of doubt over her identity. He then commented on the absence of any bottles or such things near her body and said, 'I have seen some very thorough police searches done, but nothing as thorough as this. I am sure that had there been anything, it would have been found'.

He said that he thought that her body could have been there since 1953 but that it was less likely to have been there as long as that, but said that it must have been there for at least 9 months.

When the pathologist referred to the hole in her head, the Coroner asked, 'Supposing she was walking along and fell against something, against a brick on the ground or the stone around a grave, could she injure herself in that sort of way?', to which the pathologist replied, 'Yes', and added that such an injury might have produced unconsciousness. He said, 'She may have come to and crawled on all fours to where she was found. I think she became unconscious again and died there'.

Then, in response to a question from the Coroner, a detective chief inspector said that there was no reason to think that it was murder.

An open verdict was returned.

After the open verdict was returned the Coroner said that the inquiries were of considerable scientific interest, saying that years earlier her remains would not have been possible to have been identified at all, although he also noted that it was not the first case in recent years where science, anatomy and especially dentistry had been used to identify a set of remains, noting that they played a most important public function.

However, he noted additionally that there was nothing to show how she died.

However, when he referred to the work of the pathologist and his colleagues, he said, 'I think it should be realised by the public that a new era is opening up'.