Woman

An unidentified woman’s dismembered remains were discovered in stages during May and June 1887, in what became known as the Rainham Mystery and later grouped within the 'Thames Torso Murders'.

The first find was on 11 May 1887, when a lighterman hauled a sack containing a female torso from the Thames at Rainham. Medical examination concluded the body had been cut up by a very skilful hand and dismembered very soon after death. The examining surgeon estimated the woman to have been in her late twenties and in good condition before death, but no cause of death could be determined.