The Murders of Sydney George Hawker & William George Jefferies (1915)
On Wednesday, 21st July 1915, the body of a young porter named Sydney George Hawker was found dead on the stairs at premises in St. Augustines, Bristol. Although there were bloodstains and patches of hair on the stairs and on the doors of the premises, it was at first assumed that Hawker had been killed by a fall. However an expert examination by one Dr. Lucas revealed a series of curiously shaped wounds on the top and back of the skull and behind the ear. He concluded that these had been inflicted from behind by some pointed instrument. A postman who had been delivering letters on the morning of the discovery reported seeing two men outside the premises acting as if they wished to avoid being seen. Police investigations having failed to produce any suspects a verdict of 'murder by some person or persons' unknown' was returned by an inquest jury at Bristol on 20th August.
By this time the case was being associated with that of a middle-aged labourer named William George Jefferies, whose body had been recovered from the River Avon at Crews Hole. The circumstances were such that on 16th August an inquest had reached a verdict of 'Drowned in River Avon whilst suffering from wounds in the head, there being no evidence to show how the wounds were caused'. Dr. Lucas and a colleague, Dr. Foss, had found two series of wounds on the head of Jefferies which could not have been self-inflicted. They stated that death was due to drowning, but that the wounds were a contributory cause as the man (a strong swimmer) must have gone into the water in a dazed condition. The wounds (caused some minutes before death) had evidently been made by some sharp instrument such as a chisel. In the cases of both Jefferies and Hawker there were no skull fractures. There were parallel wounds and - roughly speaking - the position was the same. If it was a coincidence, it was a most remarkable one.
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