employ of the East London Railway Company, said he saw a man with a knife on the morning of the 8th.
The coroner was of opinion that this incident could have no reference to the present inquiry, as the 8th was the day of the Hanbury-street murder. He would, however, accept the evidence.
Witness: On Saturday, the 8th inst., at noon, I was coming down the Cambridge-heath-road, and when near the Forester's Arms I saw a man on the other side of the street. His peculiar appearance made me take notice of him. He seemed to have a wooden arm. I watched him until level with the Forester's Arms, and then he put his hand to his trouser's pocket, and I saw about four inches of a knife. I followed him, but he quickened his pace, and I lost sight of him.
Inspector Helson, in reply to the coroner, stated that the man had not been found.
Ede described the man as 5 ft. 8 in. high, about thirty-five years of age, with a dark moustache and whiskers. He wore a double-peaked cap, a short dark brown jacket, and a pair of clean white overalls over dark trousers. The man walked as though he had a stiff knee, and he had a fearful look about the eyes. He seemed to be a mechanic. By the Jury: He was not a muscular man.
Walter Purkiss, manager, residing at Essex Wharf, deposed that his house fronted Buck's-row, opposite the gates where deceased was discovered. He slept in the front room on the second floor and had heard no sound, neither had his wife.
Alfred Mulshaw, a night watchman in Winthorpe-street, had also heard no cries or noise. He admitted that he sometimes dozed.
The Coroner: I suppose your watching is not up to much?
The Witness: I don't know. It is thirteen long hours for 3s and bring your own coke. (Laughter.) By the Jury: In a straight line I was about thirty yards from the spot where the deceased was found.
Police-constable John Thain stated that the nearest point on his beat to Buck's- row was Brady-street. He passed the end every thirty minutes on the Thursday night, and nothing attracted his attention until 3.45 a.m., when he was signaled by the flash of the lantern of another constable (Neale). He went to him, and found Neale standing by the body of the deceased, and witness was dispatched for a doctor. About ten minutes after he had fetched the surgeon he saw two workmen standing with Neale. He did not know who they were. The body was taken to the mortuary, and witnessed remained on the spot. Witness searched Essex Wharf, the Great Eastern Railway arches, the East London Railway line, and the District Railway as far as Thames-street, and detected no marks of blood or anything of a suspicious character. By the Jury: When I went to the horse-slaughterer's for my cape I did not say that I was going to fetch a doctor, as a murder had been committed. Another constable had taken my cape there. By the Coroner: There were one or two working men going down Brady-street shortly before I was called by Neale.
Robert Paul, 30, Forster-street, Whitechapel, car man, said as he was going to work at Cobbett's-court, Spitalfields, he saw in Buck's-row a man standing in the middle of the road. As witness drew closer he walked towards the pavement, and he stepped in the roadway to pass him. The man touched witness on the shoulder and asked him to look at the woman, who was lying across the gateway. He felt her hands and face, and they were cold. The clothes were disarranged, and he helped to pull them down. Before he did so he detected a slight movement as of breathing, but very faint. The man walked with him to Montague-street, and there they saw a policeman. Not more than four minutes had elapsed from the time he first saw the woman. Before he reached Buck's-row he had seen no one running away.
Robert Mann, the keeper of the mortuary, said the police came to the workhouse, of which he was an inmate. He went, in consequence, to the mortuary at five a.m. He saw the body placed there, and then locked the place up and kept the keys. After breakfast witness and Hatfield, another inmate of the workhouse, undressed the woman.
[Coroner] The police were not present?
- No; there was no one present. Inspector Helson was not there.
[Coroner] Had you been told not to touch it?
- No.
[Coroner] Did you see Inspector Helson?
- I can't say.
[Coroner] Was he present?
- I can't say.
[Coroner] I suppose you do not recollect whether the clothes were torn?
- They were not torn or cut.
[Coroner] You cannot describe where the blood was?
- No, sir; I cannot.
[Coroner] How did you get the clothes off?
- Hatfield had to cut them down the front.
A Juryman: Was the body undressed in the mortuary or in the yard?
- In the mortuary.
The Coroner: It appears the mortuary-keeper is subject to fits, and neither his memory nor statements are reliable.
James Hatfield, an inmate of the Whitechapel Workhouse, said he accompanied Mann, the last witness, to the mortuary, and undressed the deceased. Inspector Helson was not there.
[Coroner] Who was there?
- Only me and my mate.
[Coroner] What did you take off first?
- An Ulster, which I put aside on the ground. We then took the jacket off, and put it in the same place. The outside dress was loose, and we did not cut it. The bands of the petticoats were cut, and I then tore them down with my hand. I tore the chemise down the front. There were no stays.
[Coroner] Who gave you instructions to do all this?
- No one gave us any. We did it to have the body ready for the doctor.
[Coroner] Who told you a doctor was coming?
- I heard someone speak about it.
[Coroner] Was any one present whilst you were undressing the body?
- Not as I was aware of.
[Coroner] Having finished, did you make the post-mortem examination?
- No, the police came.
[Coroner] Oh, it was not necessary for you to go on with it! The police came? - Yes, they examined the petticoats, and found the words "Lambeth Workhouse" on the bands.
[Coroner] It was cut out?
- I cut it out.
[Coroner] Who told you to do it?
- Inspector Helson.
[Coroner] Is that the first time you saw Inspector Helson on that morning?
- Yes; I arrived at about half-past six.
[Coroner] Would you be surprised to find that there were stays?
- No.
A juryman: Did not you try the stays on in the afternoon to show me how short they were.
- I forgot it.
The Coroner: He admits that his memory is bad.
Witness: Yes.
* Robert Mann A Suspect Born c.1835? 1837?, Mile End New Town. A inmate at the Whitechapel Workhouse. Mann was in charge of the workhouse mortuary in Old Montague Street on the morning of 31st August 1888. He stated that on that morning, he was summoned by police to attend to a body at the mortuary. He arrived at about 5.00am, remaining there until the body was taken inside. He then locked the doors and went for his breakfast. After breakfast, Mann returned to the mortuary with fellow inmate James Hatfield and undressed the body.