On the 26th of May, 1838, the whole metropolis of London was startled and horrified by the discovery of the murdered body of Eliza Grimwood, a remarkably handsome young woman, one of the gay belles of London of that period, who by some misfortune or other had been allured from the path of virtue.
She was found terribly mutilated lying on the floor of a house of doubtful repute, at No. 12, Wellington-terrace, Waterloo-road.
At the inquest held at the “York Tavern,” before Mr. Carter, it was elicited that the unfortunate woman, who was about twenty-five years of age, lived with George Hubbard, a bricklayer, but that the deceased went out of an evening to the various theatres, for the purpose of forming the acquaintance of gentlemen to bring home and pass the night with her, and by this means she maintained herself and her paramour.
From the evidence it appeared that some person had gone home with her on the night in question.
The man was, to all appearance, a foreigner, and there was every reason for believing that he had committed the murder, but from that day to this the scoundrel has escaped detection. Not the slightest clue was ever found which might serve to lead to his detection.
The year 1837 was characterised by a large number of atrocious murders, and also by the frequency of brutal garotte robberies.
On the 3rd of November in that year, as Mr. Isaac Butcher, a well-to-do farmer, of Colne Engaine, Essex, was returning from Colchester market he was pounced upon by two men in a lonely part of the road, murdered, and robbed.
One very shocking feature in the case was that his own brother came up shortly afterwards, and was the first who recognised him.
It was believed at the time that the murderers were probably tramping labourers, but no one was ever arrested, and the matter has ever remained a mystery.
A diabolical murder was committed at Chingford Hatch, Woodford, Essex, on Sunday morning, the 21st of June, 1857.