Mrs Rees 1888

[Tom_Wescott]

A few doctors spent a good amount of time sifting through the fire. Had there been bone (or heart) remnants, they would have found them. Same with the tea pot and anything else in the room.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[SirRobertAnderson]

body parts could be consumed in a raging fireplace overnight, leaving very little trace... unless it was carefully looked for.
In this case the 'beadle' had examined other objects of the household before finding the skull of the baby in a garden pot, .

Probably not an important point, and certainly not answerable, but I wonder if the coppers bothered to look inside Kelly's tea kettle.

Jack may have brewed up something truly 'from hell' and I'm not talking Lapsang Souchong .

[AP Wolf]

Thanks folks, a terrible tale, but a useful one, in that it shows that body parts could be consumed in a raging fireplace overnight, leaving very little trace... unless it was carefully looked for.
In this case the 'beadle' had examined other objects of the household before finding the skull of the baby in a garden pot, and then made a further examination which turned up the other bones of the new born baby.
I can just imagine 007 Bond pulling out the bones in the fireplace at Millers Court and declaring:
'How can these poor people afford to eat chicken?'

I must admit that I'm intrigued by this connection between Mary Jane Kelly and the Rees family of Swansea, who were obviously full time, and big time abortionists in Swansea during the LVP. The sentence that was handed down to Mrs Rees, after being cleared of the original charges, was formidable for such an offence.
If such a connection can be more reliably proved it would give vital background to the person we know as Mary Jane Kelly.
My thinking at the moment is that if Mary Jane Kelly entered the Rees household in 1880, when she was 17, then it was probably for the reason of having an abortion.
I do see a certain persuasive pattern of colours here; and a very good reason for the mysterious fire that burnt who knows what at Miller's Court that night... and perhaps why Mary was allowed to fall so far behind with her rent.
And so many other bright and shining things.

[SirRobertAnderson]

I asked her if she had cut the child into pieces - she seemed to shudder at the idea of that, and said No, she had cut the child's head off and the body was burnt

Good to see she drew the line at decapitation.

Yegads, what an awful story.

[Tom_Wescott]

AP,

I had no idea Mary Kelly was linked to an abortionist. Very intriguing, AP.

Yours truly,

Tom Wescott

[Howard Brown]

Thats a scary thought A.P. and an even scarier tale. Thanks !

They mentioned the use of "savin" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savin ),an abortifacient.

Thanks also for the Old Bailey link...in case some folks needed it.

Any comments,folks?

[AP Wolf]

Considering the connection between Mary Kelly and the abortionist's 'Rees', I was quite struck by this case of abortion in which the unwanted baby was burnt to the bone in the fireplace of the house... quite a fierce fire required to do the job.

MARTHA BARRETT, killing : infanticide, 9th April, 1829.

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey Ref: t18290409-83

http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/thumb...2904090040.gif
See original
Trial Summary:

• Crime(s): killing : infanticide,
• Punishment Type: imprisonment,
  (Punishment details may be provided at the end of the trial.)
• Verdict: Part Guilty: convicted of a lesser offence,
• Other trials on 09 Apr 1829
• Name search for: MARTHA BARRETT,
• Associated Records...

Original Text:

Before Mr. Justice Park.
793. MARTHA BARRETT was charged on the Coroner's Inquisition only, with the wilful murder of a new-born infant .
MR. PHILLIPS conducted the prosecution.
ANN SAUNDERS . I am the wife of William Saunders , of Three Colt-lane, Bethnal-green, I have known the prisoner two or three years; my daughter lived in the same house with her: I went to the house a fortnight ago, and saw the prisoner - I asked her how she did; she appeared very ill indeed: she said she was very ill, and had taken a great deal of physic; I called next day to see her, and asked how she did - she said she was very poorly indeed - I said, "Mrs. Barrett, I am an old woman, if you will tell me the truth, I will certainly keep it secret."
COURT. Then we cannot hear what she said after that.
JAMES STONE . I am beadle of Mile-end Old-town. -In consequence of information, on the 26th of March, I went to the prisoner's house; (before that the after-birth of a child had been produced to me) - she was lying on the bed- I asked her if she had not had a child; she denied having been in the family way at all; I questioned her for nearly half an hour - she still denied it; I said I was sure a child had been born - she then admitted having been in the family way, and said she had taken a quantity of savin for the purpose of causing abortion: I told her I was confident it was a full grown child - she still denied having had a child. I made a search, but found nothing; I went on the next morning, Friday, and found Mr. Carruthers there, and made a further search - I searched some garden-pots on the ledge of the window, and in the mould I found a portion of a child's skull in one, and another portion of a skull in another; I searched the fire-place, and found ahttp://www.oldbaileyonline.org/thumb...2904090041.gif
See original number of bones, which were materially burnt - Mr. Carruthers was present: I saw the prisoner again next day - I neither threatened nor promised her any thing; I sat down by the side of the bed, and asked her how she could be guilty of so enormous a crime - she said in order that no one should have a knowledge of it; I asked her if she had cut the child into pieces - she seemed to shudder at the idea of that, and said No, she had cut the child's head off and the body was burnt - I could not tell whether it was born alive, nor did I ask her; she mentioned who was the father of the child; I then asked if he had influenced her in any way to make away with the child - she said No, no one had any knowledge of her being in the family-way, exclusive of herself. On Monday evening she was removed to the poor-house.
GEORGE EDWARD CARRUTHERS . I am a surgeon of Mile-end-road. On the 26th or 27th of March I was in the prisoner's presence with Stone; she was in a very weak state - I asked her if she had not been recently delivered; her reply was she had not; I gave her to understand that I was a medical man, and pressed her not to conceal it from me: she continued to deny it - I saw the after-birth, and her still denying it led me to apply my hand on the abdomen, and the uterus had not contracted, which satisfied me there had been a recent delivery; she persisted in not having had a child, and I left her - I went again; I had not entered the room two minutes before Stone, the beadle, came: I saw him find in the flower-pots something, which I washed - it was the greater portion of the head of a child - it had the appearance of having been burnt; Stone afterwards searched the fire-place; I took the bones from him - there was one human infant rib: a portion of the bones of an infant thigh, and some small bones which I could not distinguish - I am positive those were the bones of an infant; she no longer denied having a child, and I asked her if the child cried - she said that it did not,and that it fell from her; she then said she had laid the child in a box, and it remained there till the Wednesday night(she was delivered on the Tuesday morning), when she took it out of the box, and burnt it; she said no person knew of her being in the family-way but herself; it is impossible, from what I saw, to state whether it was born alive or not.
GUILTY (of concealing the birth.) Aged 36.
Confined Eighteen Months .
Before Mr. Baron Garrow.

Could Mary Kelly have been an abortionist?
And the gutted body a failure laid down to the score of old Capt' Jack?

[AP Wolf]

Sorry... here follows the second half of the story concerning Mrs Rees, and her husband:

[AP Wolf]

The 'Star' in November of 1888 claimed that 'Kelly, who was then only 17 years of age, entered the service of a Mrs Rees, who stands committed to the next assizes on a charge of procuring abortion.'
The following report is from The Times of December 20th 1888, South Wales Circuit: