I believe the Pinchin Street victim's head was removed for one reason, and one reason only: to thwart positive identification of the victim.
It's commonplace in such chases. It's also common for the hands and tattoos to be removed, but fingerprints were still unimportant in 1889, so the victim's arms weren't removed. Maybe there was even something about the woman's legs that were distinctive, and it wasn't merely a matter of making the disposal of the body easier.
The missing head is suggestive of a domestic murder of some kind.
It's commonplace in such chases. It's also common for the hands and tattoos to be removed, but fingerprints were still unimportant in 1889, so the victim's arms weren't removed. Maybe there was even something about the woman's legs that were distinctive, and it wasn't merely a matter of making the disposal of the body easier.
The missing head is suggestive of a domestic murder of some kind.
Comment