Murder Of Augusta Dawes

The unfortunate victim of hereditary mania, Reginald Saunderson, was brought over from Ireland on Saturday December 8th, in custody of four stalwart officers, and on Monday a coroner's jury found him guilty of the killing of Augusta Dawes. This tribunal, as you, of course, know, only decides the cause of death, consequently the question of the prisoner's sanity was not entered upon. The artist who witnessed the murder was no less a celebrity than Mr. Herbert Schmaltz. He had a charming canvas, "The Awakening of Love," in the last Academy, and is one of the most successful painters belonging to the foreign colony in London. I hear his nerves were so fearfully shaken by what he saw of the catastrophe, that, after chasing Saunderson ineffectually, he went home to his house in Addison Road, and - though unaccustomed to spirits drank a half-bottle of brandy. Even then he could hardly bring himself to face the terrible corpse, and to give the alarm, and it was with profoundest relief that on returning to Holland Road he found the police already there. Next morning when he read the papers, Mr. Schmaltz felt inclined to keep his terrible adventure to himself, but an English friend assured him he would not be acting rightly if he did so, and ultimately the authorities were informed. The inquest merely outlined the story which I sent you last mail. Saunderson's behaviour was so extraordinary that wherever he went during the period intervening between the murder and his arrest he was suspected to be dangerous, and the wires were set in motion. The boy's father in Switzerland, knew something terrible must have happened before he heard what it was, and the police were searching for Saunderson long before they connected him with the Kensington murder. It is interesting to learn that had Saunderson managed to conceal his homicidal tendencies a few months longer, he would have been shipped off to learn farming in your part of the world, and doubtless in time have provided occupation for a colonial jury. This would have been pleasanter for his friends and relations, though hardly for you.
The case will raise a number of points of interest to the legal world. There is, of course, the question where imbecility ends and lunacy begins. There will also be the point whether the murder was committed in an imbecile moment or in a sane moment, and whether a person only occasionally insane or imbecile is legally responsible for a crime committed in a lucid moment. Possibly, however, all these may be settled at the outset by the Court ruling that Saunderson is not in a condition of mind to plead.


The Kensington murder having, in a small way, revived the "Jack the Ripper" scare, the authorities have thought it well to acknowledge - what many have long suspected - viz., that the mysterious hero of the Whitechapel horrors is dead. The Sun, you will recollect, made a rare to-do over the supposed discovery of this assassin some months back, but the police quietly pooh-poohed its wonderful yarn. The Sun's maniac undoubtedly posed as "the one and only original Ripper," who, like the Christy Minstrels, had "never performed out of London," and his admiring relatives warmly supported his claim. The police, however, pointed out that there were self-confessed Rippers in every asylum in Great Britain. The character is a favorite one even yet with madmen, as Saunderson's case shows. When, however, the statements of these self-confessed "Jacks" were examined they invariably went to pieces, and the Sun's allegations proved no exception to the general rule. They looked plausible enough in print, but half the testimony proved unreliable and the rest was obviously invented. The real Jack, it seems, belonged, as many suspected all along, to the medical profession, or rather was a student. His friends at last discovered the horrible truth, and had him confined in a private asylum. When he died a year ago the evidence in their possession was submitted to Scotland Yard, and convinced them they had at last found the genuine "Ripper."

Source: Taranaki Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 10226, 4 February, 1895, Page 2


LONDON, December 7.

The recent mysterious murder of the woman Augusta Dawes in the road adjoining the residences of Sir Frederick Leighton, P.R.A., and Val Prinsep, R.A., at Kensington, turns out - somewhat to the relief of the community - to have been a homicidal maniac's act. From the desperate ferocity of the deed and the facts that further mutilations seemed to have been contemplated, it was at first feared our old friend "Jack the Ripper" had reappeared. On Saturday last, however, an artist who had actually witnessed the murder came forward and gave such important particulars of the murderer's appearance as to leave no doubt of his identity with that of a missing youth of weak mind. Question may be raised as to why such an important witness was not adduced at the coroner's inquiry last week. The reason for this, it is stated, was that the gentleman in question, an artist of foreign extraction, did not, for some reason at present unexplained, acquaint the police of his dreadful secret until Saturday, when he laid bare before them the whole of the incidents of the scene. It would appear that this gentleman heard the voices of the deceased and her murderer in Holland Park terrace, and, seized with an inquisitiveness naturally aroused by the close proximity of persons acting in a suspicious manner, he watched in concealment at a distance of less than twenty yards. According to the statement, he watched the murderer place his left arm round the shoulders of the deceased woman. The assassin then raised one knee, and with force embedded it in the woman's stomach, at the same time raising his right hand to the vicinity of the jugular vein on the left side of the woman's neck. The woman uttered, so it is stated, some such remark as "Oh! my God!" and collapsed to the pavement, her assassin descending to the ground at the same moment. The woman by the pressure on her abdomen was deprived of the usual power to shriek, and it will be noticed by the position the man adopted in his nefarious work that it was quite possible for him to escape comparatively clear, if not entirely clear, of the immense discharge of blood which usually follows the severance of the main artery of the neck. From the attitude of the parties when disturbed it is quite consistent, it is stated, with possibilities that the assassin contemplated further mutilation, but was startled by the exclamation of the witness, who, striking the ground repeatedly to make known his presence, emerged from his place of observation with some such remark as "Oh! you cowardly brute." In an instant the murderer was on his feet and deftly sprinting away from the scene of his brutal action. As the artist followed in pursuit of the fleeing murderer the poor victim raised herself partially on the pavement. The chase was determined but brief. Passing through the by-ways the artist kept his intended prey in view until Kensington High Street was reached. The course taken as indicated was apparently westward, for at Farmer's Library all trace of the murderer was lost. It is a significant fact in connection with these assertions, however, that it was in the rear of Farmer's Library that the police in their search found the knife (a gilder's knife) with which it is supposed the crime was committed. The pursuer of the murderer has given a good description of the latter, who is stated to be about thirty years of age. It will be apparent that the sudden interruption of the murderer by the artist was sufficient reason for the former leaving behind him in his terror the cherry-wood walking stick, which promises to play an important part in subsequent investigations.


Reginald Saunderson, the youth of weak intellect arrested for the crime on Tuesday last, is a son of Mr. Saunderson, J.P. (head of a well-known County Dublin family), and nephew of the fiery M.P. of the same name, and only attained his majority on the 22nd of last month. He was at that time an inmate of Dr. Langdon Down's Home, "Eastcote," Hampton Wick. There the young man had been confined for the past three years on account of his ungovernable temper and the extraordinary antics he displayed in fits of passion. He was not a patient who had been certified for confinement by a medical man, and the cottage in which he resided at Hampton Wick was not so stringently looked after as those containing a more dangerous class of patients. He was principally employed during the day in gardening, a kind of work for which he had evinced great fondness, preferring it at all times to any educational instruction, and for this work he had in his possession a black-handled knife with a fixed blade of exceptional keenness. This he usually carried in the handkerchief-pocket of his coat when not using it for the purpose of cutting twigs or uprooting weeds. On Sunday, November 18, he asked that he should be permitted to go to church unaccompanied, explaining that he was rather tired of the services held in the hall attached to the Home. As he was when in his normal condition amiable and refined in manner and quiet in demeanor, permission was readily accorded, and he left the Home at six o'clock in the evening, taking with him, as has since been discovered, the knife which has been described, a razor which he had used for shaving prior to going out, and a cherry-wood stick belonging to one of the other patients, or "pupils," as they are called, in the uncertified portion of the Home. Notices offering reward for his arrest as an insane person were immediately issued. Nothing more was heard of him at the Home until Tuesday morning, when a telegram was received from a relative in Belfast stating that "the boy" had turned up there unexpectedly, and that he was being brought back to Hampton Wick in the company of his uncle. On the way home, however, he managed to escape from his uncle's care at Dublin, and for a day or so was again lost sight of. Three days later, however, another relative of the family living in London received a letter which the youth had written from Dublin stating that he had committed the murder in Holland Park road on the Sunday previous, and describing in the most graphic terms the manner in which the terrible tragedy had taken place. This letter was at once handed over to the police, and men from Scotland Yard were despatched to the Home at Hampton Wick with the knife and the walking stick, both of which, it may be remembered, were discovered near to the scene of the crime. These were at once identified beyond all question by some half-dozen people, the actual owner of the walking stick among the number. A warrant for the arrest of Reginald Saunderson was then applied for, and detectives were despatched to Dublin to put it in execution. The difficulty of finding the youth was quickly got over by the accurate descriptions of his personal appearance, which were in the possession of the police, and his arrest took place near Dublin. The young man at the time he left Hampton Wick had no money in his possession, and he must have walked all the way to Kensington, a journey which it is estimated would take him about four hours. He was at that time dressed in a new suit of dark rough Irish frieze and wore a long, dark, new Chesterfield overcoat. He had a black hard felt hat, and carried in his hand the walking stick afterwards found near the body. He is described by those who knew him as a youth just over 6ft in height, and of a refined, pale, aristocratic appearance, with a curious trick of opening and closing his deep-set grey eyes when engaged in conversation. As a footballer, a swimmer, and an athlete generally he was unsurpassed by any of the other "pupils" at Hampton Wick, and was regarded as a man of enormous strength.

Source: Tuapeka Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 4178, 13 February 1895, Page 6

KENSINGTON MURDER MYSTERY.
WOMAN'S THROAT CUT IN THE STREET.

THE VICTIM'S CAREER.

A horrible discovery was made at Kensington in the early hours of Monday morning. A woman was found lying in Holland Park-road with her throat cut almost from ear to ear. A gentleman passing along Holland Park-road towards Melbury-road between 12 and one in the morning was the first to make the ghastly discovery. He saw a heap in the road near the residence of the President of the Royal Academy. On examination this "heap" proved to be the body of a woman with a big wound in the throat, from which a great deal of blood had flowed. She was quite dead. Information was given to the police, and in a very short time a considerable body of constables arrived. The divisional surgeon was also sent for, and, having examined the body, he directed its removal to the mortuary. The police then, under Inspector O'Shea, began a search of the neighbourhood. The only thing, however, they came upon was an ash walking stick with a crook handle lying near where the body was found.
The victim was a woman of the "unfortunate" class, and from the nature of the wounds in her throat, the police were at first inclined to regard the crime as of the "Jack the Ripper" class. In this belief it was reported to Scotland-yard. During Monday detectives from all parts of London, who had been engaged on the Whitechapel murders, and Dr. Bond, the Home Office expert, visited the Kensington mortuary and examined the body. It had been left unwashed so that an accurate judgement might be formed as to the nature of the murder. But, after examination, the detectives, as well as Dr. Bond, came to the conclusion that the crime had no resemblance to the Whitechapel murders.
The spot where the body was found is a very lonely one at night, although it is fairly well lighted. On one side of the road are some old-fashioned cottages, and on the other numerous large mansions occupied by some of the leading Academicians, including Sir Frederic Leighton and Mr. Val Prinsep.
Sixpence in silver and two pieces of old newspapers were all that was found upon the body. The woman had been good-looking, with a broad forehead and aquiline nose, and a perfect set of natural teeth. She was dressed in a black skirt and jacket trimmed with astrachan, a red and black striped blouse, and a dark-brown straw hat done up with coloured ribbon, black stockings, and low shoes. Her underlinen was poor and dirty. Two rings of little value were upon the third finger of her left hand. Several women were taken to see the body during the day, but they had no personal knowledge of her. Early in the afternoon, however, a Miss Cremer and her mother, accompanied by a pretty, three-year-old girl, visited the mortuary and identified the body as that of Augusta Dudley, aged 30, and living at a common lodging-house (kept by Mrs. Cremer) in Clement's-road, Notting-dale. The little girl was the deceased woman's child. After leaving the mortuary Miss Cremer stated that the dead woman was of Scotch nationality, and, she believed, was very well connected. She, however, seldom spoke of her relations. Once she told them that some years ago she was a governess, but took to drink and went wrong. She was a great drunkard, and took very little food. On Sunday night the dead woman left her lodgings about five o'clock, saying that if "all went well" she would return about 12 o'clock.
The police, were rewarded after a diligent search by the discovery of a knife, with which the deed is supposed to have been committed, in a builder's yard at the back of Warwick studios, Warwick-gardens, about one hundred yards from the scene of the murder. It is a shoemaker's knife with a very keen edge, and when found was covered with coagulated blood.
Miss Cremer states that the deceased went to live in St. Clement's-road, Notting-dale, about three weeks ago. She was greatly attached to her child and came home to see her every night. On Saturday night last she stated that she had met two gentlemen, whose names she did not know, and with whom she went to a coffee-stall. She described one of her companions as tall and dark, and as carrying a walking stick which he "swung round," and the other was shorter and of fair complexion. The former asked deceased to meet him on the following (Sunday) night, and she overheard him make an appointment with his companion to play a game of billiards in the afternoon. The tall, dark man ultimately drove off in a cab, having agreed, after some discussion, to give the driver 10s., as the distance would be considerable.
It has been ascertained that the dead woman and her daughter have been twice admitted to the Kensington infirmary. The first time was in April last, when her stay extended over some four weeks. She returned, still accompanied by her little girl, on Oct. 5, and remained until Nov. 10. In the course of a conversation with one of the infirmary officials she stated that she was born in the year 1867. Four years ago she left Bristol, where she was employed as a barmaid at the Prince's hotel, Totterdown, and came to London. At the time of her leaving Bristol she had a brother living in Colston-street. During her stay in the metropolis she had resided at Hammersmith, the addresses including Queen-street, Yeldham-road, and Porten-road.

OPENING OF THE INQUEST.

At the Town hall, Kensington, on Thursday, Mr. Drew opened an inquest on the body.
Detective-inspector Smith and Serjeant Thompson watched the proceedings on behalf of the police.
Lilian Cremer said that she lived at 36, St. Clement's-road, was a single woman and an unfortunate. She identified the body as that of "Gus" Dudley, who was about 29 or 30 years of age. She was a single woman and an unfortunate. They resided in the same house together. Deceased was not a sober woman. She "liked a drop of drink."
The Coroner: She drank to excess, did she not? - Yes, sir.
By the Jury: Deceased was not in communication by letter with anyone, so far as witness knew.
Kate Forsyth, 12, Wellington-road, Hammersmith, a married woman, wife of a carpenter, identified the deceased as Augusta Dawes. At the time witness knew her she was receiving a weekly income, sometimes 1 pound, and sometimes 25s., from the father of her second child. This stopped about February last, then she went away for a time. She had to go to the infirmary, but she came back to me again, and I obliged her with a room for a night or two. Afterwards she left altogether.
The Coroner: Where did she go then? - I don't know, but she took her boxes with her and told me the father of her second child was going to pay 5s. a week for a furnished room for her. Afterwards I heard of the life she was leading.
When she was staying with you was she alone? - Yes.
Where was the deceased's first child? - In the workhouse, I believe. I have not spoken to the deceased since, but I saw her a fortnight last Wednesday.
A Juryman: Does the witness know the name of the father of this child?
Witness was about to reply, when the coroner, interposing, said: I do not think I should ask that question unless we see that it is a material point.
Mr. Hermann Sauber, a retired tradesman,

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said: I reside in Abingdon-villas, Kensington. On Sunday night last I left home about 11:30 to go to 8, Holland-park-road, in order to fetch my daughter, who had been spending the evening there. As I was walking along Holland-park-road, on the right hand side going down towards Hammersmith, I saw something on the pavement. It was a woman lying on the path, with her head towards the kerb. I thought she was a drunken woman, and shouted out, but received no answer. As she did not move I looked round and found she was lying in a pool of blood. The road is very badly lighted just there, and I could not see anyone. I immediately proceeded to my friends and informed them of what I had witnessed. Mr. Corbould went out for assistance.
By the Coroner: He did not notice anyone passing on his way to Holland-park. The time was about a quarter to 12.
Alfred Chantrey Courbould, 8, Pembroke-road, artist, said that he was called by Sauber, and went out and saw the woman's body. A constable threw his lantern on her, and felt her pulse. He and witness saw a stain of blood on her throat, and suggested that they should examine her neck, and underneath her feather boa they found a large hole.

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He thought there had been a struggle, for there was a semi-circle of blood from her head to her feet. (Witness drew a picture explaining his evidence.) Her clothes were not disarranged. Her hat was lying as if had fallen off; it was not at all damaged. The doctor was sent for, and some men were sent for additional police. He went towards the Addison-road bridge to fetch the policeman. On returning to the studio he found it was 20 minutes past 12. They did not hear a sound from the studio, and he did not think that they could have heard anything.
Thomas Gordon, Police-constable 818 T, said that at midnight on Sunday he was on duty at Addison-road-bridge when the last witness informed him that a woman was lying across the footway in Holland-park-road, and he accompanied him there, meeting Police-constable 106 F. They found the woman lying about 70 or 80 yards up the road. She was lying with her head on the kerb and her feet against the wall. Witness drove in a cab to fetch the divisional surgeon, Dr. Townsend returning with him to the spot. Witness did not see any suspicious person when he was first called.
Police-constable William Paterson, 106 F, said that he was on duty in Kensington-crescent on the 25th. At 12 o'clock he met the last two witnesses, who told him there was a woman apparently drunk lying in Holland-park-road. They found her lying in a large quantity of blood, which was not congealed. It was a very dark spot, close to Sir Frederick Leighton's house. Witness saw the cut in the throat, and the other constable went for a doctor. Witness examined the surroundings, and found the walking-stick (produced) close to the body. This was wet with blood on the lower part. The woman's shoe was partly off the left foot.
The Coroner: Did you think there had been a struggle? - No, sir.
A further inquiry as to the precise spot on which the body was discovered elicited from Mr. Corbould, who corrected the witness, the explanation that it was outside Mr. Val Prinsep's house, on the extreme left corner nearest Addison-road.
At this stage Mr. Drew, recalling the witness Lilian Creber, handed her the stick which had been produced, and asked her whether she had ever seen it before. She replied in the negative, and stated that when the deceased left the house in St. Clement's-road on Sunday night she was not carrying a stick.
The last witness called was Dr. Meredith Townsend, who deposed: I reside at 24, Upper Phillimore-place, Kensington, and am the divisional surgeon of the police. At a quarter past 12 on the morning of Monday last I was called up by the police, and accompanied a constable to Holland-park. Outside Mr. Val Prinsep's house I saw the body of a woman lying across the pavement exactly as Mr. Corbould has described, with her head on the kerb. She was dead, and had been so for a short while - certainly not more than half an hour. The blood was congealed, but the body was quite warm.
The Coroner: Did the appearance of the body convey any idea to your mind of a struggle? - I think not.
Did it appear to you that she had been standing against the wall and had fallen forward? - That is the opinion I formed, and that she fell after the injury.
Proceeding, witness said there was no disturbance of the woman's clothes to indicate a struggle. On an examination he found a large incised wound on the left side of the neck, four inches in length. There was no other injury. He had since made a post-mortem examination, assisted by Mr. Bond.
The coroner here handed to the witness the shoemaker's knife which was found by the police, and asked him whether in his opinion it was such a weapon as might have caused the injuries he had described.
Witness, after examining the knife closely, said he was satisfied that it was the kind of weapon with which the wound might have been inflicted.
The inquiry at this stage adjourned until Monday, Dec. 10, in order to enable the police to obtain fresh evidence.

DECEASED A BRISTOL WOMAN.

A Bristol correspondent, who has had an interview with the solicitor to the family of Augusta Dawes, states that the unfortunate victim of the Kensington murder was the youngest daughter of a respectable family living in the suburbs of Bristol, changing residence from time to time, and ultimately settling down at Bishopston, a northern suburb. The father, some ten years ago, was manager at a wine and spirit merchant's at Bristol, but he emigrated to Canada, leaving Mrs. Dawes and two sons and two daughters at Bishopston. Mr. Dawes subsequently died in Canada. One daughter had married well, her husband, an officer, being in receipt of a pension, and they lived in the suburbs of London. One son left for a situation in the north of England, and the second son is a clerk in an office at Bristol.

LATER PARTICULARS.
[SPECIAL.]

Mrs. Fray, 1, Clarendon-terrace, Holland-park-road, and Mrs. Haynes, a lodger, have been interviewed by a representative of Lloyd's. They state that they both heard screams about 11:30 on the night of the murder. Mrs. Fray says that, hearing a noise, she got up and opened the shutters, and upon looking out saw two women with a man, who was apparently drunk, against the wall of Sir Frederick Leighton's. They were leading him along. She got into bed again, and directly afterwards heard three distinct screams, but thinking it was only a drunken brawl, which were of frequent occurrence in the neighbourhood, she took no notice. The man was much taller than the woman, and he was apparently 5ft. 11in. She could not give an accurate description of him, as it was so dark.
Mrs. Haynes says she distinctly heard a cab drive away, but she is inclined to the belief that it was the policeman going for a doctor. The constable on being called to the woman jumped into a cab and drove off for a doctor on the chance of there still being a spark of life.
Mr. G.R. Earsdon, the undertaker, of 168, Shepherd's-bush-road, Brook-green, said that he remembered the deceased. Her sister "Florrie" - he would not give her other name - the wife of a naval pensioner, was lodging at his house five years ago at 127, Shepherd's-bush-road, and when her mother died the deceased came to London. She was entitled to an annual income of 20 pounds a year on the death of her mother. He understood that her father died in Canada some time before her mother's demise. Asked as to the character of the girl Mr. Earsdon described her as a bright, good-tempered, and good-natured young woman. At one time deceased was a Sunday school teacher at a little chapel in Blythe-road, West Kensington. He was greatly surprised that some of the relatives had not come forward considering the publicity given to the case, but if they did not he would bury her himself at his own cost rather than she should have a "pauper's" funeral.
The interment has been arranged to take place next Wednesday.
Susan Lee, and Nellie Parker, of William-street, Notting Dale, knew the deceased well, Lee becoming acquainted with her in Fulham infirmary about twelve months ago, when the little child three years old was with her. It was a tiny little baby, and although "Hilda" was the right name, the nurses and others nicknamed it "Mitey." Whilst there she was "chaffed" considerably, and told her (Lee) in confidence that she had a little boy nearly six years old, and that a married man, whom she called "Arthur," of Bristol, was the father of the boy, who was a fair-haired, "bonnie little lad." The father after some time - after the deceased had come to London - said he could not afford to keep her any longer, but sent the boy, "little Arthur," to a college at the foot of the hill at Maida-vale.
All the girls agree that for a few weeks past a man having the appearance of an "Italian," well dressed, tall, with a heavy, black moustache, and wearing a long, light overcoat, had been seen in the neighbourhood generally after midnight.
The spot where the crime was committed was exactly outside Mr. Val Princep's house, and since the tragedy the large paving stones have been turned.
The father of the little girl, three years of age, whose name was so carefully suppressed at the inquest, is a well-known estate agent of Hammersmith.

Source: Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, December 2, 1894, Page 4

THE KENSINGTON MURDER.
INQUEST AND VERDICT.

Last evening, at the Kensington Town Hall, Mr. C. Luxmore Drew, the West London Coroner, resumed the inquiry into the circumstances attending the death of Augusta Dawes, aged 28 years, who was found with her throat cut in Holland Park Road, Kensington, shortly before midnight on Sunday, November 25. A young man named Reginald Saunderson is in custody charged with the murder of the woman, and has already been brought up at the West London Police Court and remanded. Mr. Horace Avory represented the Treasury, and Chief Inspector Swanson watched the proceedings on behalf of the police. The court was crowded, and amongst others present was Colonel Saunderson, M.P. The accused was not present.
Walter Edwin Knee, the first witness, said he was a baker, residing at Dawtrey Terrace, Chelsea. He identified the body of the deceased as that of his cousin, Augusta Louise Dawes. He had not seen her for some years. Her father was a wine merchant's manager, who used to live at Bristol.
Police Constable Hubbard said that at 11:25 on the night of the 25th of November he passed down the Holland Park Road, when he met a man and a woman, both of whom were known to live in the road. The woman was not the deceased.
Violetta Fivash, a barmaid at the Holland Arms public-house, said that on the night of the 25th ult. the deceased came into the bar. She left at eleven o'clock, and was at that time quite sober.
Richard Stubbs, 1, Laura Place, Holland Park Road, said that at about 11:30 on the Sunday night he was in the road, when he saw the deceased, who was talking with a gentleman, standing outside No. 3A, Holland Park Road. He could not identify the gentleman, as his back was turned towards him, but he was tall - about 5ft. 9in., - and seemed "smartish." The man was leaning on a stick with a crooked handle. Witness believed the stick produced was the one he saw. The two persons appeared to be on friendly terms. Witness went very close to them.
Mr. Herbert Schmalz, an artist, living at the Studio, Holland Park Road, deposed that at 11:30 on the Sunday night he left the house, and proceeded along the road towards the Melbury Road pillar-box. On the way he saw a man and woman talking, but they did not seem to be on particularly good terms. The man was tall and broad-shouldered, and was wearing a hard hat. He appeared to be clean-shaved, or had but a very slight moustache. Witness made a sketch of what he saw, but he had not brought it with him. On returning from the pillar-box witness saw the two persons again, but they were then further down the road. They were close together. Witness then saw them both fall to the ground, but he heard no screaming. He, however, heard the woman say, "You brute." He hurried forward and called out, "What are you up to?" but when he got within 25 yards the man jumped up and ran away. Witness ran after him, and as he passed the woman, who had risen to her knees, he heard her say, as in a tone of great surprise, "Oh, Christ!" The man ran down Addison Road and turned into High-street, Kensington. Witness pursued him, but as he lost sight of him in High-street he returned home and went to bed. Shortly afterwards he heard a policeman's whistle. Witness believed his recollection of the man was sufficiently good to enable him to recognise him if he saw him again.
Mr. Francis Henry Rawlinson said he was a school-master employed at Eastcote House, Hampton Wick, which was occupied by Dr. Langdon-Down. Reginald Saunderson was a pupil there. Witness did not know his full name.
The Coroner here asked if anyone represented the accused man.
Mr. Llewlyn Saunderson, who sat beside Colonel Saunderson, rose and said he was the father of the accused. He would be glad to give the Court any information in his power respecting his son's mental state. Six years ago he was advised to put him under medical treatment, because -
The Coroner: We have not to do with his mental state here.
Mr. Rawlinson (continuing) said the letter produced, bearing the date November 27 and signed "Jack the Ripper," was in young Saunderson's handwriting. Witness saw Saunderson at the establishment shortly after six o'clock on the Sunday evening, and had not seen him since. He left the home that evening, and his absence was reported to the police. He was about 5ft. 11-1/2in. in height. Knives like the one produced were used at the home by the pupils some years ago. They were used for Sloyd work. The knives had not been used for some time, but witness had seen one of that pattern in Saunderson's possession within the last three months.
Evidence was next given to show that the stick found near the body of the deceased belonged to a resident at Eastcote.
Francis Bridger, a carpenter employed at Eastcote, said that on the 17th November young Mr. Saunderson brought a knife to him and asked him to sharpen it. Witness did so, and handed it back to Saunderson on the 19th. The knife produced was the one he sharpened.
Mrs. Eliza Ahrens, 7, St. Alban's Place, Haymarket, deposed that she had known Saunderson for about a year, and sometimes he stayed at her house. On the evening of the 25th November he came and said he wanted a bedroom for himself that night, and that his brother, whom he had left at the Constitutional Club, would like a room on the Monday night. He also said he had been very ill with rheumatic fever. Witness told him she could not let him have a room that night, and she advised him to return to his brother. He then asked how far it was to Tottenham Court Road and how far to Euston. He left the house about ten o'clock.
William Hollyer said he was employed by Mr. Mead, a fishmonger, living at Harrow. Early on the 26th November he was driving home, and when he got to Stone Bridge, about six miles from the Marble Arch, he overtook the accused, who asked him to give him a ride, and witness gave him a lift. While in the trap the young man told witness that as he was passing through London he saw a dreadful murder committed in Holland Park Road. He said it was a woman who had been murdered. In further conversation he said that he came up from Guildford on the Friday, and was going to Harrow to see one of the masters at the school, who was a friend of his. When the young man got out of the cart witness noticed that he walked as though he was lame.
Mr. Oliver Davison, a master at Harrow School, said Mr. Saunderson came to see him early on the morning of the 25th November. He told him about a lot of fearful events which had happened in Switzerland. Witness did not believe him. He also said that when he was passing through London a policeman called him, and asked him to lift up a woman who had been murdered. Saunderson asked for some money, and witness lent him 23s. He left at half-past ten, saying that he was going back to his aunt at Portsmouth.
Detective-inspector Smith gave evidence respecting the receipt of the letter signed "Jack the Ripper" at Kensington Police Station.
Detective Sergeant Thompson gave formal evidence of arrest.
The Coroner having summed up, the Jury, after an absence of five minutes, returned a verdict of wilful murder against Reginald Treherne Saunderson. The Foreman of the jury said he had been requested by his fellow-jurors to call attention to the ill-lighted condition of Holland Park Road.

Source: The Guardian, December 11, 1894, Page 12