A DETECTIVE PUZZLE.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.'] was somewhat surprised that a paper of the standing of the Spectator (March 24th) should publish a criticism of
the above case based, on the reporters' misrepresentations of what I said, without first making inquiries as to the truth of the report. You state that Mr. Heslop made one little mis- take, probably from want of experience in murder cases." In 1877 I gave evidence in two murder cases, both of which were found guilty. Since then I have given evidence in seventeen or eighteen such cases. I have been Divisional Police-Surgeon for eighteen years in Manchester, and have made about two thousand medico-legal post-mortem examinations. I never said that Mrs. Farrer could not have inflicted the wound her- self, but when asked by the coroner stated that it was possible. In this the coroner will bear me out. What I did add was that I did not think that the old lady, aged over seventy years, after inflicting the wound which had divided the left coronary artery and made a puncture into the right ventricle, could have performed such co-ordinate acts as to dress herself in the way described, and to have stitched her garment up in front for four or five inches, afterwards putting the needle and thread away. I knew of the case of the late Empress of Austria, and other similar cases. But what were the conditions of the victims ? They might certainly walk almost automatically for a short time, but were they in a condition as to strength and intelli- gence to perform such acts as this old lady did ? Is it not more likely that she suddenly became faint and fell on her face, causing the bruises which were found after death on the spots on which the face rested on the floor ? I came to the conclusion that the blood did not come from the nose, as there was no blood in the nostrils and the nose was not broken. You state that there was no motive for the crime of murder. I have known similar cases where the motive has been found. I was not called in by the police because they did not know that it was not a case of sudden death from natural causes, which I understand was the opinion of the medical gentleman who first saw the deceased. I have the authority of the coroner for the city of Manchester to state that the reports in the papers were grossly misrepresented and exaggerated.—I am, Sir, &c.,
[We greatly regret if, unintentionally, we misrepresented Mr. Heslop's evidence, but we relied on reports in a paper of the highest standing,—i.e., the Manchester Guardian. We are sorry to have given annoyance to Mr. Heslop, and not to have been aware of his experience as a police-surgeon, but we cannot admit that we in any way exceeded fair comment on the reports before us.—En. Spectator.]
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