Whitehall Mystery
The Whitehall Mystery is an unsolved murder that took place in London in 1888. The dismembered remains of a woman were discovered at three sites in the centre of the city, including the construction site of New Scotland Yard, the new police headquarters.[1] The incident belongs to the so-called Thames Torso Murders.[2][3]
Discoveries
On 11 September 1888, a right arm and shoulder were discovered on the muddy shore of the River Thames in Pimlico.[4] The Times newspaper had initially suspected that the arm was placed in the water as a medical students' prank.[4]
On 2 October 1888, during construction of the
On 17 October 1888,[6] reporter Jasper Waring[7] used a Spitsbergen dog, with the permission of the police and the help of a labourer, to find a left leg[1] cut above the knee that was buried near the construction site.[8]
The head and remaining limbs were never found, and the identity of the victim was never established.[9]
Speculation
Newspapers suggested a connection between this murder and the
The dress had been manufactured in
Besides the uterus being absent, the left lung had severe pleurisy;[12] nothing was found to indicate that the victim had borne children; the heart was healthy and the right lung, liver, stomach, kidneys and spleen were normal. She had been dead for around six weeks to two months[1] and had fair skin and dark hair.[10] Furthermore, the condition of the hand recovered suggested the decedent was not an individual who was accustomed to manual labour.[12]
Popular culture
The board game Whitehall Mystery (published in 2017 by Fantasy Flight Games) is based on the case. Players represent either the police (cooperating to hunt and arrest the murderer) or the culprit (who tries to evade the police and reach three locations on the board – a map of London).[13]
It has become a point of trivia and irony that Scotland Yard, arguably the world's best-known police building, was originally built (it later moved to a new location) on a crime scene related to an unsolved murder.[14]
See also
- List of unsolved murders
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Scotland Yard is built on a crime scene related to an unsolved murder - the Whitehall Mystery". The Vintage News. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ Laurence 2012.
- ^ "HOLMES' (AND OUR) SCOTLAND YARDS, PART 2". Simanaitis Says. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d Cullen 1965, p. 95.
- ^ The Murder at Westminster, 23 October 1888, The Times
- ^ The Westminster Mystery, Morning Advertiser, 1888-10-23, retrieved 2019-04-21
- ^ a b Bell 2014, p. cixxxvii.
- ^ Cullen 1965, p. 96.
- ^ a b "The Whitehall Mystery". casebook.org. 2 April 2004. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ a b Begg, Fido & Skinner 2015.
- ^ Autumn of Terror: Jack the Ripper, His Crimes and Times p. 95
- ^ a b Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Whitehall Mystery Inquest
- ^ "Whitehall Mystery Board Game". 365games.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ^ "Norman Shaw Buildings - Building". RouteYou. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
Sources
- Begg, Paul; Fido, Martin; Skinner, Keith (2015), The Complete Jack The Ripper A-Z - The Ultimate Guide to The Ripper Mystery, John Blake Publishing, ISBN 978-1-784-18279-3
- Bell, Neil R. A. (2014), Capturing Jack The Ripper: In the Boots of a Bobby in Victorian England, Amberley Publishing Limited, ISBN 978-1-445-62168-5
- Cullen, Tom (1965), Autumn of Terror: Jack the Ripper, His Crimes and Times, Bodley Head
- Laurence, Kristen (2012), The Murder Stories, Nischal Hegde, ISBN 978-1-476-30861-6
External links
- Contemporary news article pertaining to the Whitehall Mystery
- Casebook.org inquest reports into the death
- 2016 news article pertaining to the Whitehall Mystery
- BBC History magazine articledetailing the Whitehall Mystery
- The [https://whitechapeljack.com/thames-torso-murders/ Thames Torso Murders at whitechapeljack.com