On this day in 1934

William Vinnicombe noticed that a trunk at Brighton Railway Station’s lost luggage office was starting to smell. So, he called the police, and Chief Inspector Ronald Donaldson arrived to crack it open.

The source of the smell was predictably gruesome: the incomplete remains of a pregnant woman somewhere in her mid-20s. The trunk contained only her torso. Her legs were later found in a suitcase at King’s Cross railway station, but her head and arms were never found.

The woman was never identified, but police suspected that her killer may have been a Doctor Massiah, who was known to conduct abortions. This was never proved and the doctor was never charged.

The investigation reaches Jersey

However, the police investigation took officers from Scotland Yard to Jersey on 9 July to follow up on details of Larienne Lousse, a French woman whose description matched that of the woman – or parts of the woman – discovered in the trunk. She had lived on Jersey and, following her departure, had been in regular correspondence with a couple still living in the island right up until the trunk’s appearance in Brighton.

Brighton police searched other premises in the city and discovered another trunk containing a dead woman. This was 42-year-old Violette Kaye who police said had been killed by Toni Mancini. Although not dismembered, she’d been packed into a trunk which he’d kept at the foot of his bed, and decomposed and leaked through its cracks. Mancini was found not guilty.

Baby in a suitcase

Separate from these cases, the body of a baby was found in a suitcase at Brighton railway station three days after the dismembered woman had been discovered in the trunk. And, over 100 years earlier, in 1831, John Holloway murdered his wife Celia and left her remains in a trunk in Preston Park. He was hanged.

Nobody suffered a similar fate for killing the woman in the trunk at the railway station. The police trip to Jersey didn’t help them identify either her or her murderer, so whoever it was got away with it. 

 

...and on this day in 1900

Jersey has had various opera houses and theatres over the years, many of which have been destroyed by fire. The Theatre Royal burned down in 1863 and was replaced in 1865 by the Royal Amphitheatre. That was renamed the Theatre Royal and Opera House, but burned down in 1899. It was replaced in 1900 with the Opera House, which was opened by Lillie Langtry on 9 July 1900, prior to it being finished. However, despite the fact that work still needed to be done, it staged its first play that same day: The Degenerates by Sydney Grundy, which starred Langtry herself.

Theatre and cinema

Designed by Sidney Cooper, the new theatre had a 40- by 60-foot stage and boxes for both the governor and bailiff, but as films became more popular it was converted for use as both a theatre and cinema, and badly damaged by fire in 1921. This led to a further closure for 12 months for renovations.

The Opera House went through a variety of owners until, in 1995, it was purchased by the States of Jersey for £1.3m, effectively guaranteeing its future for the enjoyment of everyone in the island.

 

...and on this day in 1994

Jersey Police dispatched 24 officers to Les Ecrehous to protect islanders’ huts and repel a possible French invasion. Ten boats carrying 150 people had set off from Carteret, cheered on by almost 1000 French spectators. Because of the tides, they arrived over four hours later than the police, who had come ashore at 6am.

A good-natured ‘invasion’

Fortunately, the visitors didn’t have mischief in mind. Many had brought families and all had brought picnics, which they ate once they landed, and spent the whole day, awaiting the right tide to head for home. One of the passengers was a priest who said mass during the visit, having outlined a church and altar using seaweed.

The only trouble was an attempt by the French to replace the Union Flag with the flag of Normandy. Two French visitors got into a fight over this, requiring the assistance of a further 12 Jersey police, but otherwise the day passed off without any great incident. Two police officers slept on Ecrehous overnight.

 

...and on this day in 1744

Philippe de Rullecourt led and was killed in the French invasion of Jersey that later became known as the Battle of Jersey. He had been born in Artois, close to Calais and died in the building that later became St Helier’s The Pierson pub.