Hurder in a

Ship 5 Cabin

When British Police Officers Investigate a Crime, Nothing Is Overlooked For

or Against the Accused—Painstaking and Methodical, England’s ‘‘Bobbies”

Have Set a World Standard in Criminal Investigation Work, and This Official

Account of “Murder at the Dockside” (Reprinted From the English ‘Police
Journal”) Gives a Step by Step Account of British Methods.

RECENT MURDER on board a ship at
> Salford Docks, England, affords an
eresting example of how the Police, with
ry slender clues, may, by diligent en-
iries, be fortunate enough to build up a
ain of circumstantial evidence sufficiently
ong to convict the murderer.

The motor vessel Pacific Shipper arrived
the Salford Docks on April Ist, 1944.
; is the usual custom, the crew was paid
and most of the officers went on leave,
sir places being taken by relieving officers.
ie vessel, which is of 3062 tonnage, car-
d three Radio Officers. The Second and
1ird Radio Officers left the ship and went

me, but the Chief Radio Officer, a man,

med James William Percey, whose home
is in Canada, stayed aboard ship.

The saloon and officers’ quarters were
uated amidships in a block comprising
e first and second decks (see Fig. 1).
he three Radio Officers’ quarters and the
Jireless Room were situated apart in a
ock on the bridge deck. These quarters
id been improvised and it was necessary
pass through the Second Radio Officer's
Be to enter the Chief Radio Officer’s
bin.

FouL PLay SUSPECTED

About 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 8th,
e Third Mate, who was checking the ship’s
lack-out,” visited the bridge deck and
ticed that a light was burning in the
cond Radio Officer’s cabin, the door of
hich was open allowing the light to stream
it. He went to close this door and then
ticed a foul smell coming from inside the
iarters. He stepped inside and had a look
yund but was unable to discover the source
‘the smell. He noticed that the Chief
adio Officer’s cabin was closed and pad-
cked on the outside. He did not attach
uch significance to this smell, and after
tending to various lights, he returned
) his room.

About 11 p.m., on going to the lavatory
1 the Officers’ quarters, the Third Mate
oticed dark red stains, which appeared to
e congealed blood, on the floor and ceiling.
mowing that the Chief Radio Officer's
ibin was situated over the lavatory, and
aving regard to the smell he had noticed
arlier, he obtained the keys of the Wireless
Juarters. (It was the custom for a dupli-

HIRTEENTH EDITION

cate of all keys of the ship to be kept in
the First Mate’s room.) On opening the
Chief Radio Officer’s cabin, he found the
body of Percey lying on the floor of the
cabin, as shown in Figure 2.

The Police were informed and officers
visited the ship shortly after midnight. An
examination of the cabin showed no signs
of a struggle having taken place. The
deceased was lying on the cabin floor and
the head and face were covered with con-
gealed blood; his clothing was extensively
blood-stained, as was the floor of the cabin.
Severe injuries to the deceased’s head and
face were at once apparent and it appeared
that he had been dead some considerable
time as the body was in an advanced state
of decomposition. The temperature in the
cabin was very high due to the fact that the
port-hole was closed and screwed down,
and the steam heating full on.

The Police Surgeon had been summoned
to the ship and he reported that, despite
the advanced state of putrefaction, the body
was quite warm due to it having been in

By
S. LAWRENCE

M.B.E.
Acting Deputy Chief Constable,
Salford City Police

a small, closed, over-heated room. The
temperature of the body was that of a man
who had just died, but the decomposition of
the body was that which one would expect
to find after about ten days’ post mortem
in the open air. Having regard to the heat
of the room and all the circumstances, he
was of opinion that death could not possibly
have taken place later than the evening of

Thursday, April 6th.

EvMENTLY HAD COMPANY

After the removal of the body to the
mortuary, a careful search was made of the
cabin and an inventory taken of all articles
and property therein. The deceased's per-
sonal papers were found in the top drawer
under his bunk, but money only to the value
of 4s. 714d. was found. It will be seen from
Figure 2 that on the cabin table there were
two full bottles of beer, three empty beer
bottles and two drinking glasses. On these
articles a number of fingerprint impressions
were found.

Enquiries were made from all persons

Fic. 1

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