>297< Changes - Crime Hub

Changes

Jump to: navigation, search

Annie Chapman

1,591 bytes added, 11:07, 26 August 2018
no edit summary
The body was then taken to the Whitechapel mortuary.
 
== The Inquest ==
 
The inquest began on 10th September, 1888 and increased panic on the streets. Dr Phillips’s testimony on the third day of the inquest made it clear that not only had Chapman been brutally mutilated, but the killer had tried to decapitate her.
 
Dr Phillips reported:
 
<blockquote>"There were two distinct clean cuts on the body of the vertebrae on the left side of the spine. They were parallel to each other, and separated by about half an inch. The muscular structures between the side processes of bone of the vertebrae had an appearance as if an attempt had been made to separate the bones of the neck."</blockquote>
 
According to Dr Phillips, the cause of death was a severed carotid artery resulting from a jagged left-to-right incision across the throat. Annie had been "partially strangled" before her throat was cut, and he also pointed out, "The tongue protruded between the front teeth, but not beyond the lips. The tongue was evidently much swollen." Phillips also noted that "The small intestines and other portions were lying on the right side of the body on the ground above the right shoulder, but attached".
 
Dr Phillips thought that providing further details would be too "painful to the feelings of the jury and the public", so stopped short of giving more detailed injuries.
 
A few days later Coroner Wynne Baxter called Dr Phillips back to the inquest so that "all the evidence the doctor had obtained from his post-mortem should be on the records of the Court for various reasons which he need not then enumerate, however painful it might be".
 
 

Navigation menu