Bits and Pieces Most murders are generally unplanned. With a dead body on their hands, people usually panic, and some of them try to get rid of the body in the hope that they won’t be found out. However the disposal of the body can be a little bit more messy than the murder. Sometimes it’s just the start of a murderer’s problems. So how did some people try to cover up their crimes?

Boiling In 1879 a servant called Kate Webster threw her employer, Mrs Thomas, down the stairs and killed her after an argument about being sacked. Kate then cut up Mrs Thomas, boiled down the pieces, put them in a box and asked a 16 year old boy to help her throw the box into the River Thames. She then offered a pub landlady two jars of a very rich fat, known as dripping, which comes from cooked meat and was spread on bread in those days. The landlady refused and Kate was arrested and sentenced to death.

Burying – sounds simple? You’d think so… Henry Wainwright shot his girlfriend Harriet Lane in 1874 and buried her in his warehouse, which he used to make mats and brushes. His business went bankrupt in 1875 and he had to leave the warehouse. Henry dug up the body, cut it into pieces, wrapped it up in two parcels. He asked a Mr Stokes to help him load the parcels into a cab and take them over the river to his brother’s shop. But Mr Stokes saw a human hand in one of the parcels and by the time Henry reached his brother’s, the police were waiting for him. Henry Wainwright was hanged in December that year.

Chopping – sounds nice! Chopping people up was another way to dispose of dead bodies. A good, sharp knife was needed, as well as some anatomical knowledge. It helped if the murderer was a butcher or a surgeon and knew where to cut the body so it would come apart easily. There is an element of chopping in most murders.

Dissolving the Bodies John Haigh was hanged in in 1949 after killing 9 people for their money, and dissolving their remains in baths of prussic acid. He became known as the Vampire of Kensington because he tried to avoid being hanged by pretending to be mad, even claiming that he had drunk the blood of two of his victims. He went to the gallows anyway.

Dropping from a Great Height In 1949, Brian Hume stabbed to death a car dealer called Stanley Setty, cut off his head and legs and wrapped up what remained of him up in a parcel. Brian had learned to fly during WWII and was a member of a flying club. He hired a small private plane and flew it over Essex Marshes, where he dropped the body. He was acquitted of the murder, although he later confessed to it, and went on to kill again. Dead Body Here!!!

Left Luggage Office John Robinson suffocated Minnie Bonati with a cushion in his office in May 1927, during an argument. He cut up her body, put it in a trunk and left it at Charing Cross Station’s left luggage office, hoping his connection to her would never be discovered. After a few days the body started to smell and the police were called in. The police traced the body back to Robinson and even though he had cleaned up the blood he had stopped for a cigarette afterwards and the police discovered a blood stained matchstick. They charged him with Minnie’s murder.

David Koresh