Skeleton

The skeleton of a man was found beneath the floor of a private house in Regency Street, Westminster.

The skeleton was found in a rough coffin by a man.

The tenant in the rooms where the bones were found said that he didn't know where the previous tenant, a woman, had gone.

Another woman that had lived in the house for up to two years said that she often noticed a peculiar smell.

The doctor that examined the skeleton said that it was not complete and that the spine and rib bones were missing. He said that he thought that the skeleton was that of:

• Male in prime of life.
• About 40-45 years of age.
• Height 5ft 10½in tall.
• Strong, muscular, healthy man.

He said that it was difficult to say how long it had been buried, noting that a lot depended on the nature of the soil, access of air and damp etc, and noted that the coffin had also had a great deal of lime in it, which he noted was popularly supposed to have destroyed a body quickly, but noted that in fact it did nothing of the kind.

He said that as the whole of the soft parts of the body had been destroyed that he thought that the body had been buried within the last 30 years, and certainly not more then 10, adding that there was nothing to show the cause of death.

The Coroner said that it had been a suspicious case.

An open verdict was returned.