Great excitement has been caused by a peculiarly brutal and
audacious murder committed at Blackheath last Sunday night. Mrs. Tyler, a well-to-do widow lady of sixty-one, living in Kidbrook Park Road, had gone to bed in excellent health at 10.15 p.m. She had locked the door of her bed- room, which was on the first floor, and was in the habit of sleeping with her window open. Early on Monday morning the cook, the only other person living in the house at the time, found, on coming downstairs, that the back door was unfastened, the plate-cupboard open, though no silver was missing, and on entering her mistress's room, the door of which was unlocked, found her lying dead on the floor in her nightdress. The doctor stated at the inquest that Mrs. Tyler had been violently throttled to death, and the most plausible suggestion is that a burglar, who had entered by the bed- room window, was interrupted by Mrs. Tyler, strangled her to prevent her giving an alarm, and then, his nerve failing, made off without his plunder. It is said that the finger- prints were unusually small, though great force must have been used, and the murderer had chosen his time well, for usually Mrs. Tyler's two daughters and another servant lived in the house. No arrest has yet been made, and at present there seems no clue.
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