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

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