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Whilst reading the book ‘Carroty Nell’ by John E. Keefe I was reminded of an incident that I hadn’t thought about for years but which used to bug me no end…to put it mildly. It occurred in the aftermath of Rose Mylett’s death and as it isn’t discussed often I thought that I’d do a brief recap as a memory jogger to save people haven’t to go and read up.
On Thursday 20th December 1888 the body of twenty six year old prostitute Rose Mylett was discovered in Clarke’s Yard, Poplar. As there were no visible signs of injury or assault the police initially suspected that she’d died of natural causes. The police surgeon, Dr. Brownfield, conducted a post mortem and discovered a mark around her neck where a cord had been tightened leading him to conclude that the killer had approached her from behind. There were no mutilations and the location was three miles from Whitechapel so there was no apparent link to the ripper attacks except for the fact that Mylett was a prostitute.
For some reason Robert Anderson wasn’t happy with Brownfield’s conclusion of murder so he asked Dr. Bond to look into the case for him. I don’t know how much time, if any, that Anderson usually spent second guessing Doctor’s post mortem conclusions but anyway, Bond was away at the time so his assistant, Dr. Hebbert, along with police surgeon Dr. McKellar took a look. Bond viewed the body the next day on his return. All three doctors agreed with Dr. Brownfield’s conclusion of murder.
Strangely, Anderson wasn’t at all happy with this so he called the three doctors in for a meeting where he told them that he disagreed with their conclusion. Initially at least the three doctors stood by their verdict but later the same day Bond decided to have another look at the body. He then saw the light and concluded that Mylett’s had indeed fallen and choked herself on her stiff, velvet collar. Accidental death just as Anderson had told them.
To Anderson annoyance two weeks later the Coroner concluded that she had been murdered by person or persons unknown. Angry Anderson then refused to assign a single officer to investigate Mylett’s murder as it would have been a waste of time in his opinion. Try imagining an Assistant Commissioner taking the same attitude today. He was at least consistent and stated this same opinion in his autobiography.
Questions
Why was Anderson so determined that this wasn’t a murder that he resorted to the bizarre theory of accidental death?
Why did this non-medical man feel that he knew better than 4 respected Doctor’s and a Coroner?
Why wouldn’t he investigate a death nominated as a murder by an Inquest?
Is there a precedent for the scenario above?
Why did Bond change his opinion to coincide with Anderson’s?
How could a woman (or anyone) accidentally choke on their own collar?
Answers on a postcard to….
On Thursday 20th December 1888 the body of twenty six year old prostitute Rose Mylett was discovered in Clarke’s Yard, Poplar. As there were no visible signs of injury or assault the police initially suspected that she’d died of natural causes. The police surgeon, Dr. Brownfield, conducted a post mortem and discovered a mark around her neck where a cord had been tightened leading him to conclude that the killer had approached her from behind. There were no mutilations and the location was three miles from Whitechapel so there was no apparent link to the ripper attacks except for the fact that Mylett was a prostitute.
For some reason Robert Anderson wasn’t happy with Brownfield’s conclusion of murder so he asked Dr. Bond to look into the case for him. I don’t know how much time, if any, that Anderson usually spent second guessing Doctor’s post mortem conclusions but anyway, Bond was away at the time so his assistant, Dr. Hebbert, along with police surgeon Dr. McKellar took a look. Bond viewed the body the next day on his return. All three doctors agreed with Dr. Brownfield’s conclusion of murder.
Strangely, Anderson wasn’t at all happy with this so he called the three doctors in for a meeting where he told them that he disagreed with their conclusion. Initially at least the three doctors stood by their verdict but later the same day Bond decided to have another look at the body. He then saw the light and concluded that Mylett’s had indeed fallen and choked herself on her stiff, velvet collar. Accidental death just as Anderson had told them.
To Anderson annoyance two weeks later the Coroner concluded that she had been murdered by person or persons unknown. Angry Anderson then refused to assign a single officer to investigate Mylett’s murder as it would have been a waste of time in his opinion. Try imagining an Assistant Commissioner taking the same attitude today. He was at least consistent and stated this same opinion in his autobiography.
Questions
Why was Anderson so determined that this wasn’t a murder that he resorted to the bizarre theory of accidental death?
Why did this non-medical man feel that he knew better than 4 respected Doctor’s and a Coroner?
Why wouldn’t he investigate a death nominated as a murder by an Inquest?
Is there a precedent for the scenario above?
Why did Bond change his opinion to coincide with Anderson’s?
How could a woman (or anyone) accidentally choke on their own collar?
Answers on a postcard to….
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