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Case File: Tabram, Martha née White (1888)
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THE WHITECHAPEL MURDER
Yesterday afternoon Mr. George Collier, the deputy coroner for South-East Middlesex, resumed the inquiry at the Working Lad’s Institute, Whitechapel, into the circumstances attending the death of a woman supposed to be Martha Turner, aged 35, a hawker, lately living at 4, Star-place, Star-street, Commerical-road, who was discovered early on the morning of Tuesday, the 7th inst., lying dead on the first floor landing of some model dwellings known as George-yard buildings, Commercial-road, Spitalfields, her body being covered with 39 stab wounds. The murder was committed during Bank Holiday night, and is almost identical with another murder which was perpetrated near the same spot on the night of the previous Bank Holiday. – Henry Samuel Tabran, of No. 6, River-terrace, East Greenwich, who was the first witness called, stated that he was a foreman packer in a furniture warehouse. He identified the body as that of his wife, 39 years of age. He last saw her alive 18 months ago in the Whitechapel-road. The witness had been separated from her for 13 years on account of her intemperate habits. He at first allowed her 12s, a week, but afterwards, finding how she was living, he only gave her 2s. 6d. a week. – Henry Turner, living at the Working Man’s Home, Commercial-street, deposed that he was a carpenter by trade, but latterly he had got his living as a hawker. Up till three weeks previous to this affair he was living with the woman. They had lived together on and off for nine years. He last saw her alive on the Saturday before her death, when they met accidentally in Leadenhall-street. She was a woman who would rather have a glass of ale than a cup of tea, but she did not get drunk. She was greatly in the witness’s debt, and left without giving notice. After that she returned and forced the window, and occupied the room one night without the witness knowing she was there. – Mary Anne Connelly was next examined, but before giving evidence Inspector Reid asked that she might be cautioned previous to being sworn. This the coroner did, and the witness then said that she had been living at a lodging-house in Dorset-street. She had known the woman Turner for four or five months under the name of “Emma”. The last time she saw her alive was on Bank Holiday, when they went to a public-house together, and were accompanied by two soldiers, one a private and the other a corporal. She did not know to what regiment they belonged, but they had a white hand round their caps. The witness did not know if the corporal had any side arms on. They drank with the soliders in several public-houses. Then they separated, “Emma” walking away with the private up George-yard. Before they pasted the witness and the corporal had a quarrel, and he hit her with a stick. – By the coroner: The witness had tried to identify the two men, and at Wellington Barracks, where the men were paraded before her, she picked out two men who she thought were with her and the other woman on the night of the murder. – Inspector Reid siad that the witness had kept out of the way purposely, and it was only by searching that they found her. Many persons had come forward and made statements, but up to the present the police had been unable to secure the guilty party or parties. – The coroner having summed up the jury, after short deliberation, returend a verdict of wilful murder against some person or persons unknown.
