dissecting-room of King's College. He stated that at about a quarter
before twelve on the previous Saturday, the 5th of November, the bell of
the dissecting-room having been rung, he went to the door, and found the
prisoners Bishop and May there. He had known them both before, from
their having supplied the college with subjects for dissection. May
asked him whether "he wanted anything;" which, in the language of such
persons, was intended to convey an inquiry as to whether he wanted to
buy a subject. He answered that he did not want anything particularly,
but inquired what he had got? The reply was, "A male subject." He asked
of what size he was; and the prisoner said that he was a boy, about
fourteen years old, and he wanted twelve guineas. He told them that he
was sure that that price would not be given, for the school did not want
a subject; but he added, that if they would wait, he would acquaint Mr.
Partridge, the anatomical demonstrator, with their business. He
accordingly informed Mr. Partridge that the prisoners were there, and
that gentleman said that he would see them; and he, in consequence,
directed them to proceed to a particular part of the building, which was
appropriated to the use of such persons. He met them there, and they
were soon joined by Mr. Partridge, who refused to give them the price
they had demanded. May then said that he should have the body for ten
guineas; but this was still declared to be too much, and Mr. Partridge
went away. The prisoners again pressed the witness to purchase the
subject; and he, at their request, went after Mr. Partridge to ascertain
the greatest amount he would pay. Nine guineas was the sum fixed, and he
returned and acquainted the prisoners with the determination which had
been expressed to give no more than that amount. May said that he would
be d----d if it should come in at less than ten guineas; but on his
going out at the door, Bishop took witness aside, and said, "Never mind
May, he is drunk: it shall come in at nine guineas, in the course of
half-an-hour." They then went away; but at about a quarter past two in
the afternoon they returned with Williams and Shields, the latter
carrying a hamper. May and Bishop carried the hamper into an inner room;
and on opening it, a sack appeared inside, which contained the body.
May, who was even more tipsy than he had been before, now took out the
sack, and turning it up, threw the body carelessly on the ground. He
remarked that it was "a good one;" to which witness assented: but he
observed that the body was particularly fresh and in consequence of some
other appearances which presented themselves, he went to Mr. Partridge.
Before he went, he asked the prisoners what the boy had died of; but May
answered that that was no business of theirs, or his either. He
directed them to wait in the adjoining room until his return. He
acquainted Mr. Partridge with his suspicions, and that gentleman, in
consequence, accompanied him to the room to look at the body. He thought
that the body was more rigid than usual, and it appeared to him as if it
had not been buried. The left hand was turned towards the head, and the
fingers were firmly clenched; and there was besides a cut on the
forehead, from which blood appeared to have issued upon the chest. Mr.
Partridge concurred with him in thinking that there were some suspicious
appearances about the body, and went away. Other gentlemen, students at
the college, soon after came, and were of the same opinion. Witness
inquired of the prisoners how the cut came in the forehead of the
deceased; and Bishop answered that May had done it, in throwing the body
on the ground. On Mr. Partridge's return, he showed the prisoners a
50_l._ note, which he said he must send to get changed before he could
pay them. Bishop suggested that he should give them what money he had,
and they would call again on the following Monday for the remainder of
the price; but this was objected to, and Mr. Partridge again went away.
In about a quarter of an hour, Mr. Mayo, the professor of anatomy at the
college, came into the room, with Mr. Rogers, the inspector of police,
and some constables, and the prisoners were immediately given into
custody. The body was then delivered to the police, together with the
hamper and sack; and they, with the prisoners, were taken to the
station-house.
Mr. Richard Partridge was called, and he stated that he was demonstrator
of anatomy at King's College. He was at the college on Saturday the 5th
of November. A body was brought there that day, and a communication was
made to him respecting it by the witness Hill, about two o'clock in the
afternoon. He, in consequence, went and looked at it. None of the
prisoners were present at the time. The body externally exhibited some
suspicious appearances, and it was those appearances which induced him
to go for the police. The suspicious appearances were, a swollen state
of the face, bloodshot eyes, freshness of the body, and the rigidity of
the limbs. There was likewise a cut over the left temple. The lips were
swollen. On returning to the college after going for the police, he
showed the 50_l._ note to May and Bishop, when he found them at the
bottom of the stairs leading to the anatomical department. He proposed
to them that change should be got for the 50_l._ note, with a view to
detain them until the police had arrived. On the following day he made a
more particular examination of the body at the police-station in
Covent-garden, where it lay. There were several medical men present at
the examination. Externally the body presented the following
appearances:--The muscles were still rigid, but not so much so as they
had been on the preceding day. There was a superficial wound on the
temple, which did not injure the bone. There was not any other
appearance of external injury: beneath the scalp, on the top of the
skull, there was some blood effused. On opening the body, the whole of
the contents of the chest and of the abdomen were found to be in a
perfectly healthy condition. The stomach was full; but he could not say
what the contents of it were. The brain, and its continuation, the
spinal cord or marrow, were likewise examined, and were found to be
perfectly healthy. In cutting down through the skin and muscles at the
back of the neck, in order to come at the bony canal in which the
spinal cord is contained, a quantity of coagulated blood was found in
the interstices of the muscles; and on removing the back part of the
bony canal, some blood was found upon the membrane which envelops the
spinal cord. There was coagulated blood opposite to the muscles, where a
blow might have been struck on the back of the neck. There was
uncoagulated blood found within the rest of the bony canal which
contains the spinal cord. The spinal marrow itself appeared to be
perfectly healthy, and there was no other remarkable appearance about
it. It was his opinion that the marks of internal violence which he had
stated were sufficient to produce death. He believed that the
appearances of internal violence to the spinal marrow had been caused by
a blow, or some other species of violence inflicted on the back of the
neck. The blow of a stick on the back of the neck might have caused such
appearances. He would not say positively that such an injury would
produce an instantaneous death, but he believed it would cause a very
speedy one. On the external examination of the body, he could not
discover any appearance of injury which would have been sufficient to
cause death.
Mr. George Beaman, the surgeon to the parish of St. Paul, Covent-garden,
had also examined the body, and his opinion corresponded with that
expressed by Mr. Partridge. His belief was that the deceased had died
within thirty-six hours of the time when he first saw it on the
Saturday; and he was also of opinion that the deceased had not died a
natural death. The face and tongue were swollen, the latter protruding
through the lips; the eyes were prominent and blood-shot. The teeth had
been removed, apparently immediately after death. The witness added,
that he was enabled to detect a slight smell of rum in the contents of
the stomach, but could not distinguish the nature of the food last
eaten. The process of digestion was going on at the time of death.
Mr. George Douchez gave similar evidence.
Mr. Joseph Sadler Thomas, superintendant of the F division of police,
deposed, that in consequence of information conveyed to him by Mr.
Partridge, he despatched Inspector Rogers and some other officers to the
King's College, and in a short time the four prisoners were brought to
the station-house in custody. Rogers also brought the body, sack, and
hamper. The body was placed in the back room in the station-house, with
the hamper. The prisoners were all together, in the outer room. He asked
May what he had to say, for he was charged with having come into the
possession of the subject in an improper manner. He replied, "I have
nothing at all to do with it; the subject is that gentleman's" (pointing
to Bishop). "I merely accompanied him to get the money for it." He then
asked Bishop whose it was, and he said that it was his, and that he was
merely removing it from Guy's Hospital to King's College. He asked
Williams what he knew about it? He replied that he knew nothing about
it, and that he had gone with them to the King's College to see the
building. He asked Bishop in the first instance what he was; and his
answer was, "I am a b--y body-snatcher." All the prisoners, Bishop and
May especially, were labouring under the effects of liquor. May had
resisted violently on his being apprehended, and he was carried into the
station on all-fours, with his smock-frock turned over his head.
The only other witness examined was a person named Joseph Perrigalli, an
Italian, who was called to speak to the identity of the body. He
declared his firm belief that it was that of a boy named Carlo Ferrari,
who had been brought from Italy, and who gained a living by exhibiting
natural curiosities through the streets.
This concluded the proceedings of the first day's inquisition, which was
then adjourned until Thursday, in order that the police might inspect
the house stated by the prisoners Bishop and Williams to be occupied by
them.
On that day, Higgins, a constable of the F division, was examined, and
he deposed, that he had ascertained that the prisoners lived at the
house No. 3, Nova Scotia Gardens, Bethnal Green. On proceeding thither
he had searched the house, and found all the tools usually employed by
body-snatchers. He believed that Bishop, Williams, and May, were of that
fraternity, and that Shields had been employed by them occasionally as a
porter.
Upon this evidence the jury were unable to come to any conclusive
decision upon the case, and they returned a verdict of "Wilful murder
against some person or persons unknown;" but expressed their strong
belief, that the prisoners, Bishop, Williams, and May, had been
concerned in the transaction.
It was impossible that an inquiry which had hitherto terminated so
unsatisfactorily should cease here, and Mr. Minshull, with that alacrity
and determination by which his conduct as a magistrate was always
characterised, immediately took upon himself the arduous and most
important task of conducting the investigation to its close. In this
duty he was most ably and, as it was on all hands admitted, most
humanely assisted by Mr. Corder, the vestry-clerk of the parish of St.
Paul, Covent-garden, whose exertions were most valuable and
praiseworthy, and by Mr. Thomas, the superintendant of police; and
through their agency a train of evidence was collected, which laid bare
the dreadful transaction in all its hideousness of guilt.
The inquiry which had concluded before the coroner on Thursday was
continued by Mr. Minshull on the ensuing day, when the same evidence
which we have detailed was repeated by the witnesses. The prisoners were
then remanded; but on Friday, the 18th of the month, they were again
brought up.
Witnesses were then examined, whose testimony traced the prisoners
Bishop, Williams, and May to a noted house-of-call for body-snatchers--the
Fortune of War public-house, in Smithfield--on the 4th November, where
they appeared to be in earnest conversation. They went in and out
repeatedly during the day; and at night May was seen with a number of
human teeth in a handkerchief, to which some portion of the flesh of the
gum was still adhering, upon which he poured water, in order to clean
them. On the next morning Shields joined them, and Bishop was heard
endeavouring to induce him to go to St. Bartholomew's Hospital for a
hamper, which he refused to do, in consequence of which Bishop went and
fetched it himself. They then went away, and were not again seen.
Mr. Thomas, in addition to his former evidence, stated, that in
consequence of information which he had obtained, he had discovered the
teeth of the unfortunate boy at the house of Mr. Thomas Mills, a dentist
in Newington Causeway, who had handed them over to him, and was now
ready to state the circumstances under which they had come into his
possession.
Mr. Mills, of No. 39, Bridge-house-place, Newington Causeway, then
stated, that on Saturday, the 5th of November, May brought him a set of
teeth, for which he asked a guinea. Witness observed that one of the
front teeth was chipped, and said that it did not belong to the set;
upon which May said, "Upon my soul to God, they all belonged to one
head, and that not long since," and added, that the body never had been
buried: he ultimately agreed to take 12_s._ for the teeth. Portions of
the gum were adhering to them, and part of the jaw-bone; there could be
no doubt that the teeth had been forcibly removed immediately after
death. He remarked to May, that the teeth, from appearance, belonged to
a female: his reply was, "The fact is, they belonged to a lad about
fourteen or fifteen years of age."
While this witness was giving his evidence, the prisoner May appeared
for the first time to change countenance, and to lose that hardness of
nerve which had distinguished him throughout the whole previous
proceedings. He stared at the witness at first rather wildly, and
compressed his lips while listening attentively to the evidence; and as
soon as it was concluded, he endeavoured to resume his composure, and
forced a laugh; but, almost in a moment after, his countenance underwent
another change, and he muttered to himself as he looked over to the
witness, "The b--y rascal!" He then asked the witness if he was quite
sure of the exact words he had used, when he brought him the teeth, with
regard to the body not having been buried?
Witness.--You said that the body had never been buried.
The only other new witness examined on this day was a girl, eleven years
of age, named Martha King, who deposed to her having seen a boy
corresponding in appearance with the deceased, exhibiting white mice
near the prisoner Bishop's cottage, in Nova Scotia Gardens, about the
time of the supposed murder; but Higgins and Kirkman, policemen,
produced new evidence, tending to confirm the belief in the horrid guilt
of the persons charged. Higgins, in a new search at Bishop's house, had
found a pair of breeches stained with blood, and a brad-awl similarly
marked, which had apparently been used to extract the teeth of the
deceased; and Kirkman deposed to a conversation which he had heard pass
between Bishop and Williams on the former examination. Posting-bills had
been widely distributed through the metropolis, offering a reward for
the production of certain evidence against the prisoners, one of which
was fixed against the wall in the police-office. Bishop, intent upon
reading the bill, a passage in which referred to the marks of blood on
the body of the deceased, observed, "It was the blood that sold us," and
then, continuing reading, in allusion to a reference to certain marks of
violence observable on the person of the deceased, he said "The marks of
violence were only the breakings-out on the skin."
Upon the delivery of this evidence the examination concluded, and the
prisoners were again remanded.
Upon the following day, in obedience to a determination which had been
arrived at, that a new and more searching investigation of the
prisoners' house and premises should take place, Mr. Thomas and Mr.
Corder, accompanied by Higgins and other constables, proceeded once more
to Nova Scotia Gardens, and there, after a minute investigation, they
made discoveries which filled them with horror, and confirmed, by the
most positive evidence, the suspicions which had been excited of the
murderous traffic which had been carried on. The particulars of these
discoveries were communicated to the magistrate on the same evening, but
they were not allowed to transpire until the next examination of the
prisoners, which, however, owing to the painful excitement which had
been created, and the anxious desire universally exhibited to learn the
nature of any new intelligence obtained, was ordered to take place on
the following Monday instead of Friday, to which day the prisoners had
been remanded.
On that day the new evidence was adduced. The first branch to which the
inquiry was directed, was that which traced the poor Italian boy to the
neighbourhood of Nova Scotia Gardens; and several witnesses were called,
whose testimony distinctly proved that he was observed there on the
evening of the Thursday before the 5th of November, wearing a brown
hairy cap, and carrying white mice for exhibition.
Higgins was then re-examined, and his testimony excited universal
horror, while it at once removed every doubt which might otherwise have
existed as to the guilt of two at least of the prisoners--Bishop and
Williams. He said, "I was instructed by Mr. Thomas to go with Wadey to
Bishop's house and have the garden carefully dug up; I tried the ground
first with an iron rod on the west side of the garden close to the
palings, and about five yards from Bishop's back door I found the rod
struck against something soft, and on digging, we found a blue jacket,
black trousers, and little shirt. I then tried the ground about a yard
further, and there we found a blue short coat, a pair of grey trousers
with braces on and a piece of a comb in the pocket, a striped waistcoat
the back of the collar of which was bloody, and a shirt torn down the
centre: the waistcoat must have been made for a larger person than the
last who wore it, as it has been roughly taken in at the back."
In addition to this, Mr. Thomas deposed to the discovery of a brown
hairy cap in Bishop's house; and witnesses were also called, who swore
that the second suit of clothes discovered, and the hairy cap, were
similar in every respect to the attire worn by the Italian boy when he
was last seen. The prisoners were then again remanded.
It is impossible to describe the impression which these new proofs
produced in the public mind, tending as they did to establish the fact,
not only of the murder of the Italian boy, but that other persons had
also fallen victims to the horrible machinations of the miscreants who
occupied the house in Nova Scotia Gardens. On the day after its
publication, mobs of persons assembled in the neighbourhood of the
house, and threatened, by their violent demeanour, to wreak their
vengeance by destroying the building. The police were compelled to
interfere to quell the anticipated riot, and to prevent the entrance of
the public to the building; but many thousands were permitted, upon
paying a small fee, to pass through the premises.
At an early hour on Wednesday morning, Higgins and some other constables
proceeded again to Nova Scotia Gardens, and commenced a new search. They
had not long been engaged in their work before their object was
discovered, and crowds of persons flocked to the spot. Their manner
denoted the anxiety with which they viewed what was going on, and a
strong body of police was necessary to prevent their interference with
the proceedings of the officers. The garden attached to Bishop's house
was again dug up to the depth of four feet, and every portion of the
ground carefully sifted, but nothing worthy of notice was found; the
cesspool and privy in the garden were next examined with equal care, and
with the same result. But it was deemed prudent that an equally strict
search should be made in the ground attached to the adjoining house, No.
2, which had been formerly inhabited by Williams and his wife. For this
work several nightmen were employed to assist the police; and not only
was the garden dug up, but the cesspool and privy were thoroughly
emptied and examined. In the inspection of the privy, the men had been
but a short time at work when one of them brought up a thick roll of
something, which at first was thought to contain the body of a child,
but which, on inspection, proved to be an entire suit of female apparel.
The bundle was cleansed; and upon its contents being exposed, they
proved to consist of the following articles:--a black stuff or camlet
cloak; black worsted stockings, very coarse; a flannel petticoat, very
old and ragged, upon the top of which, near the waistband, were to be
seen two distinct marks of blood; a pair of stays very nearly worn out,
and patched, which were still laced in the usual way behind; an old
shift, and a dark plaid gown. The whole of these articles were cut or
torn down the front; and the presumption raised was, that the wearer
having been murdered, her clothes had been cut from her body.
New interest was produced by this discovery, and numerous were the
persons who called at the station-house for the purpose of inspecting
the clothes which had been found. It was not, however, until after the
final examination of the prisoners that they were identified; and we
shall abstain from giving the particulars of the occurrences which
followed their recognition, until we have detailed the concluding
evidence produced against the prisoners, and the final decision of the
magistrate upon their cases.
The last inquiry at Bow-street took place on Friday, the 25th of
November; and the attention of the magistrate was then principally
occupied by the production of formal evidence with regard to the
occupancy of the house, No. 3, Nova Scotia-gardens, by the prisoners
Bishop and Williams, and their families. Other testimony was also laid
before the bench, however, with regard to the removal of the body of the
deceased from Nova Scotia-gardens on Friday, the 4th of November, its
subsequent conveyance to Guy's Hospital, where it was offered for sale,
and its tender, also, to a Mr. Appleton, the curator of Mr. Grainger's
medical school in the Borough.
James Seagrave, driver of a cabriolet, stated:--"On the evening of
Friday, the 4th of November, I was with my cabriolet on the stand in the
Old Bailey. It was about six o'clock in the evening; and having put the
nose-bag on my horse, I went into the watering-house to take my tea. I
was called out, and saw May and Bishop. May asked me if I wanted a job,
and said he had 'a long job.' He took me on one side, and said he wanted
me to fetch 'a stiff 'un;' which I understood to mean a dead body. I
told him I did not know, but asked what he would stand; he told me he
would stand a guinea. I said that I had not finished my tea, and that my
horse had not done his corn. He said that we would take tea together. I
went into the public-house, followed by May and Bishop. They took their
seats, and called for tea for two. Some person in the room jogged me by
the elbow, and hinted that the men were "snatchers;" and I determined
not to go with them. I had previously made up my mind not to go with
them. After tea I went out, and drove my cabriolet to the bottom of the
rank. I afterwards saw May and Bishop going up the rank among the
coaches, and I drove off, leaving them apparently making a bargain with
the coachmen."
It appeared that their efforts to obtain a coach there were
unsuccessful, and they had recourse to the stand in Bridge-street,
Blackfriars, but with no better effect; but they eventually procured a
yellow chariot from the rank in Farringdon-street.
George Gissing, a boy, was then examined. He said, "I am twelve years
old. My father keeps the Bird-cage public-house, Crab-tree-road, near
Nova Scotia-gardens. On the evening of the 4th of November, about
half-past six o'clock, I saw a yellow hackney-chariot draw up opposite
my father's house. It is very near Nova Scotia-gardens. I know Bishop's
cottage in Nova Scotia-gardens. It is but a short distance from my
father's house. I did not see who got out of the chariot. I afterwards
saw the prisoner, Williams, standing on the fore-wheel of the chariot,
talking to the driver. The chariot waited ten or fifteen minutes. The
door was open all the time. Williams went down to Nova Scotia-gardens;
and, in ten or fifteen minutes, he returned and got into the chariot.
Then I saw a strange man carrying a sack in his arms, and Bishop holding
up one end of it. They put it in the chariot. Williams put out his hand
to help it in. The sack appeared as if something heavy was in it. Bishop
and the other man got into the chariot along with Williams, and they
drove up Crab-tree-road and towards Shoreditch church, on the road to
the city." The boy added, that Bishop was looked upon as the
father-in-law of Williams; and the wedding supper of the last-named
prisoner had been held at his (witness's) father's house, about two
months before.
Thomas Davis, porter to the dissecting-room at Guy's Hospital,
stated:--On Friday evening, the 4th of November, about seven o'clock,
May and Bishop came to the hospital, May carrying a sack; I knew them
before; they asked me if I wanted to purchase a subject; I declined to
purchase it, and they asked me if I would allow them to leave it in the
hospital until the following morning; I acceded to their request, and
locked the body up in a room during the night. Next morning, between the
hours of eleven and twelve, I saw May and Bishop in the hospital. Having
been out, I returned to the hospital, and ascertained that the body had
been taken away. I had only seen a foot out of the sack, and I believed
it was either that of a boy or a female; it was not large enough for
that of a man.
Mr. Appleton then deposed, that May and Bishop had offered the body to
him on the same evening, but he had declined purchasing it; and this
closed the case.
The prisoners were called on to make any declarations they chose in
reference to the case, before their final committal, and they addressed
the bench in the following terms:--
Bishop.--"I dug the body out of the grave. The reason why I decline to
say the grave I took it out of is, that there were two watchmen in the
ground, and they entrusted me; and, being men of family, I don't wish to
deceive them. I don't think I can say anything more. I took it for sale
to Guy's Hospital, and, as they did not want it, I left it there all
night and part of the next day, and then I removed it to the King's
College. That is all I can say about it. I mean to say that this is the
truth. I shall certainly keep it a secret where I got the body. I know
nothing as to how it died."