Emily Armstrong
Encyclopedia
Emily Armstrong was a British
victim of an unsolved murder in which she had been beaten to death
and later found at her place of employment, a dry cleaner's shop on St John's Wood
High Street. Police
later determined she had been killed roughly an hour before her body was found at around 4:00 pm. A postmortem examination also showed that her skull
had been shattered by at least 22 blows from a blunt object, later believed to be a claw hammer
.
Although her handbag
had been missing at the scene, it was later found nearby with a bloody handkerchief
bearing a laundry mark H-612, although no leads resulted from that piece of evidence
.
While authorities pursued several theories, they failed to find a suspect. Witnesses reported a "suspicious man" around 30 years old and between 5'5" or 5'6", however, police were unable to identify the individual. A murderer who had recently escaped from Broadmoor hospital
was also considered before witnesses failed to identify him in a police line-up. Several army
deserters were also questioned, however, all were eventually released.
One possible theory suggested a link to a similar murder which had taken place ten years previously when 65-year-old Gertrude O'Leary was found beaten to death on June 30, 1939; although no known connection has been proven.
Police eventually concluded that Armstrong's murderer had either been a transient or "a man who had fled to Ireland
."
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
victim of an unsolved murder in which she had been beaten to death
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
and later found at her place of employment, a dry cleaner's shop on St John's Wood
St John's Wood
St John's Wood is a district of north-west London, England, in the City of Westminster, and at the north-west end of Regent's Park. It is approximately 2.5 miles north-west of Charing Cross. Once part of the Great Middlesex Forest, it was later owned by the Knights of St John of Jerusalem...
High Street. Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
later determined she had been killed roughly an hour before her body was found at around 4:00 pm. A postmortem examination also showed that her skull
Human skull
The human skull is a bony structure, skeleton, that is in the human head and which supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.In humans, the adult skull is normally made up of 22 bones...
had been shattered by at least 22 blows from a blunt object, later believed to be a claw hammer
Claw hammer
A claw hammer is a tool primarily used for pounding nails into, or extracting nails from, some other object. Generally, a claw hammer is associated with woodworking but is not limited to use with wood products...
.
Although her handbag
Handbag
A handbag, or purse in American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag that is often fashionably designed, typically used by women, to hold personal items such as wallet/coins, keys, cosmetics, a hairbrush, pepper spray, cigarettes, mobile phone etc....
had been missing at the scene, it was later found nearby with a bloody handkerchief
Handkerchief
A handkerchief , also called a handkercher or hanky, is a form of a kerchief, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric that can be carried in the pocket or purse, and which is intended for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping one's hands or face, or blowing one's nose...
bearing a laundry mark H-612, although no leads resulted from that piece of evidence
Evidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
.
While authorities pursued several theories, they failed to find a suspect. Witnesses reported a "suspicious man" around 30 years old and between 5'5" or 5'6", however, police were unable to identify the individual. A murderer who had recently escaped from Broadmoor hospital
Broadmoor Hospital
Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital at Crowthorne in the Borough of Bracknell Forest in Berkshire, England. It is the best known of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth and Rampton...
was also considered before witnesses failed to identify him in a police line-up. Several army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
deserters were also questioned, however, all were eventually released.
One possible theory suggested a link to a similar murder which had taken place ten years previously when 65-year-old Gertrude O'Leary was found beaten to death on June 30, 1939; although no known connection has been proven.
Police eventually concluded that Armstrong's murderer had either been a transient or "a man who had fled to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
."