Murders of Thomas Smith and Squire Knyston

 

Photo of Thomas Smith

On April 4, 1905, 15-year-old Thomas Smith would leave his home on Wood Street in Chorlton-on-Medlock in Manchester, England. His mother would think that he was looking for work. However, the timid boy would not return home that night. It was assumed that maybe he had gone to visit either his sister in Dunkinfield or the one in Denton. 

The next day two boys he knew came to the house and asked if Thomas was going to work. Not knowing where Thomas was and not wanting him to lose his job she sent a note to his employers that he wasn't feeling well. However, she was worried sick about him. She would make inquiries to see if he was at either sisters, but he wasn't.

At 3pm on April 11, 1905, a rag-and-bone men would go to an uninhabited house on Hoyle Street off Fairfield Street in Ancoats. While gathering items he looked in the cellar window a body would be found lying on his back under a slab. He would tell another rag-and-bone man his discovery and the two would go to the police. 

The police would break into the home and go down to the cellar. It was obvious that the boy was murdered brutally. There was a bloody brick on his neck. A newspaper comic of "Funny Cuts" from April 8th was found stuffed in his mouth as a gag and his red handkerchief with 7 black stripes was tied over it. He was partially dressed and what clothes he had were torn and disarrayed. His pants were pulled down in the back and cut in the front. 

 His face was so beaten that he was unrecognizable. His body was also covered in bruises. He had fought back with his attacker that the nail from his middle left finger was torn off. His arms were covered in scratches he wasn't just beaten, but also stomped as a boot print was on his stomach. His genitals were also mutilated while he was alive. 

It could not be said if he was sexually assaulted, but it was suspected that he was. 

Even though the brick was bloody and found at the scene the coroner believed that a knob-like object was used to beat him. 

It was thought that he had been dead for a couple of days even though he had been missing for a week. It's not stated if they think he was held prisoner, but they know that the crime didn't happen in the cellar he was found in. The only access was a window as the doors to the cellar were locked. 

He had not been reported missing, but when the description was put in the paper his mother knew it was him. His mother and older brother, Issac, would go to identify him. They could not identify him from his face due to the brutality on it. Instead, they identified him by his clothes. At the time he was dressed in a black Vicuna jacket, black vest, dark grey trousers with black stripe, blue and red striped cotton shirt, two odd black stockings, and clasped clogs. He also had in his possession a second-class ticket for the swimming bath, Mayfield Baths, number 7,837.

In 1906, 15-year-old Squire Kynston lived with his mother at Whitsuntide at 7 Back Grey Street in Manchester, England. In August he and his mother would get into an argument after he had stayed out all night. She saw him the day after he stayed out on Butler St. She would say "You naughty boy, go right home and stay in the house" while slapping him on the side of the head. She would never see him again after this argument. 

Someone had told her later he was with his cousin. She would assume that Squire was staying with her sister and assumed he was safe. She did not check up on him however since she and her sister did not have a good relationship. It wasn't stated if he was staying with his aunt or just assumed he was. 

On Chapel St behind London Road Station, there was an unoccupied house set to be demolished. On November 20th A workman would enter the house. He stated when he entered the ground floor rooms of the home there was a stench in the air. He would find out that the stench was coming from the cellar. He would go down the stairs nearly tripping over something. It was Squire's body. The worker would quickly go and get the police. 

One of his shoulders was under a slab of flag and his head was partially under a slope stone. Squire was not wearing any clothes when he was found, but a thin strap was found wrapped around his neck. It's believed it was wrapped tightly around his neck. It was unknown what his cause of death was as he was too decomposed and rats had been eating him. However, it was believed he may have been sexually assaulted as his pants were not on him. He was not beaten on his head like Thomas.

Though both boys had died in different ways, the way they were found in similar ways and places. 

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK (Thomas)

Unsolved Murders UK (Squire)

Days of Horror

Manchester Evening News April 12, 1905

Leicester Mercury April 12, 1905

Birmingham Evening Mail

May 12, 1906 Omaruru, Nambia John Doe

On May 12, 1906 an Italian migrant worker who worked for the Otavi Mining and Railway Company by building the OMEG Railway in Nambia would die from malaria. He was buried at the Rhenish Cementary in Omaruru.

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Find a Grave

Murder of Jeanne Van Calck

In 1906 9-year-old Jeanne Van Calk was living with her grandparents in Brussels, Belgium. Though she was living with her grandparents she would frequently visit her mother, but would never get to know her father as he had abandoned them.

On Feb. 7, 1906, Jeanne would leave her home to go to her mother's, This was not unusual, but it was the first time she would go alone as her grandfather was working. She would never make it to her mother's home on the corner of Baudouin Boulevard it was supposed to be a short distance.

Around a quarter till midnight that same night a machinist from the Théâtre de l'Alhambra, Joseph Eylenbosch, and his son found a suspicious package outside the door of 22 Rue des Hirondelles in Brussels. They would contact police officers about it. When police arrived they felt inside the package that was thick paper tied with a hemp cord. Inside the package, they could feel hair and skin. They would then bring it to the station before inspecting it. 

Inside they first saw Jeanne's blue peacoat and checkered dress. Inside was Jeanne's body with her legs missing and amputated at the groin. A search was done for the girl's legs. Which wouldn't be found till the 16th by a gardener in the park of the royal Stuyvenbergh farm.

Two men would arrive at the police station and report Jeanne missing. It would be found that Jeanne and her clothes matched the description of the dead girl. Upon hearing about her daughter's death Jeanne's mother fainted. 

Though Jeanne was dismembered her cause of death was still found. She had suffocated to death on her own vomit after consuming a large quantity of alcohol. There were also other signs of violence against the young girl. It was believed that whoever had dismembered Jeanne was familiar with cutting into meat like a butcher, or doctor. It's believed her death happened between 8 to 9 in the evening. The papers used to wrap the girl's body were from the newspaper "Le Soir" from the dates Jan. 12th and 27th 1906. Other papers came from an edition of "Journal De Paris". 

A friend of Jeanne's would later state that around 7 p.m. they saw Jeanne with an unknown man around 7 p.m. near her grandparent's home. They stated that the man and Jeanne were not going towards where her mother lived, but the opposite way. 

There were many suspects in this case. It was found3 years later that the spotting of Jeanne by her friend was not investigated further because she was a child. It was believed that the police had messed up the investigation. 

Émile Rossel, the owner of Le Soir would open a subscription service to help fund a marble monument to pay homage to Jeanne. She would be known as "Little Angel of Rue des Hirondelles". Jeanne would also be seen as a symbol of childhood innocence. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Find a Grave

DH