 |
MRS. FANNY MARSHALL.
(Murdered at Auckland on Sept. 28.),
NZ Truth, Issue 487, 17 October 1914
|
43 year old Frances Marshall was brutally murdered in an alleyway on the 28th September 1914. The attack was so horrific that one newspaper at the time compared it to the attacks of Jack the Ripper.
Fanny was a buxom and well kept woman, described by her neighbours to have been of sober and industrious habits and generally well liked. According to her husband she was everything that a man could desire in a woman and had made his home a real home, although there were no children.
On the night of her murder she left home in the company of her husband, where they parted a short way down the street. Fanny visited a hotel then went to visit her friend Mrs Whitford. She left Mrs Whitford’s house at about 10 o’clock, saying that she had to be up early to attend to her husband who was going out after a job.
The next morning Fanny’s mutilated body was found by a little girl playing in a vacant section, the only access way to the small alley, who then informed a resident who lived to the side of the alleyway. He in turn went in search of a policeman.
It did not appear that she had been dragged to the spot where she was found. She was lying on her back in a natural position, hands on her hips, no blood stains on either hand and no indication of a struggle.
In her handbag there was a small purse containing sevenpence and a receipt, bearing the name of Marshall. A watch was still suspended around her neck by a cord. Curiously, the sum of five shillings was found near her body. Robbery was not considered a motive. But whatever the motive may have been the murder itself must have been quick and noiseless, as neighbours reported hearing no disturbance that night.
Her husband Frederick returned home the previous night and waited up for a while before going to bed. As she did not return he got up several times before coming to the conclusion that she had stayed the night at Mrs Whitman’s house. The next morning he got up early and went out to see if there was any sign of her, anxious for her early return as he had to make inquiries about a job. He was later informed by one neighbour that his wife was seriously ill, then informed by another that she had been murdered. He made haste to the Newton Police Station and was taken to the city morgue, where he identified his wife.
Despite her husband and neighbours painting a picture of a respectable woman, the police theory was quite different. According to the papers, the police decided that she was a “woman of the unfortunate class, who did not pursue the calling boldly, but quietly, and would not accost men, but preferred to be accosted”. It was suggested that she was accosted by her murderer, a deal was struck and she led the way to the spot where her body was found.
The jury at the inquest returned a verdict that death was due to shock and haemorrhage caused by a wound inflicted by a person unknown and over a hundred years later Fanny Marshall’s murder remains a mystery.
Fanny was a buxom and well kept woman, described by her neighbours to have been of sober and industrious habits and generally well liked. According to her husband she was everything that a man could desire in a woman and had made his home a real home, although there were no children.
On the night of her murder she left home in the company of her husband, where they parted a short way down the street. Fanny visited a hotel then went to visit her friend Mrs Whitford. She left Mrs Whitford’s house at about 10 o’clock, saying that she had to be up early to attend to her husband who was going out after a job.
The next morning Fanny’s mutilated body was found by a little girl playing in a vacant section, the only access way to the small alley, who then informed a resident who lived to the side of the alleyway. He in turn went in search of a policeman.
It did not appear that she had been dragged to the spot where she was found. She was lying on her back in a natural position, hands on her hips, no blood stains on either hand and no indication of a struggle.
In her handbag there was a small purse containing sevenpence and a receipt, bearing the name of Marshall. A watch was still suspended around her neck by a cord. Curiously, the sum of five shillings was found near her body. Robbery was not considered a motive. But whatever the motive may have been the murder itself must have been quick and noiseless, as neighbours reported hearing no disturbance that night.
Her husband Frederick returned home the previous night and waited up for a while before going to bed. As she did not return he got up several times before coming to the conclusion that she had stayed the night at Mrs Whitman’s house. The next morning he got up early and went out to see if there was any sign of her, anxious for her early return as he had to make inquiries about a job. He was later informed by one neighbour that his wife was seriously ill, then informed by another that she had been murdered. He made haste to the Newton Police Station and was taken to the city morgue, where he identified his wife.
Despite her husband and neighbours painting a picture of a respectable woman, the police theory was quite different. According to the papers, the police decided that she was a “woman of the unfortunate class, who did not pursue the calling boldly, but quietly, and would not accost men, but preferred to be accosted”. It was suggested that she was accosted by her murderer, a deal was struck and she led the way to the spot where her body was found.
The jury at the inquest returned a verdict that death was due to shock and haemorrhage caused by a wound inflicted by a person unknown and over a hundred years later Fanny Marshall’s murder remains a mystery.
Plot 38: Frances Marshall (43)
29/9/1914 – unmarked
Source: Paperspast https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/
NZ Truth 3/10/1914
NZ Truth 17/10/1914
Image: NZ Truth, Issue 487, 17 October 1914
Presented by Geri Eccles - Discover Waikumete
No comments:
Post a Comment