The Mysterious Murder.

A boatman working near the foot of Little Street in Brooklyn, on October 3, 1864, saw a package floating on the water. Thinking it might contain something of value, he took it into his boat. He unraveled the enameled oilcloth surrounding the package, and inside, covered in sheets of brown paper, was the trunk of a human body. The head, arms, pelvis, and legs had been cut off with a saw or sharp knife, as if by a butcher.  The clothing had not been removed. He took the package to the 42^nd Police Precinct.

Coroner Norris examined the trunk and believed, from the healthy-looking flesh, that the body had been living no more than six or eight hours before it was found. It had been thrown in the water so recently that a portion of the clothing was still dry.  It was a young man dressed in a fashionable style. He wore a white muslin shirt with a small, narrow pleated bosom, a white flannel undershirt, a section of coat, and a gray vest. A soft gray hat had been in the package, along with a piece of iron to weigh it down. The coroner concluded that the man had been murdered.

One week later, on October 10, a package wrapped in the same manner was found at the foot of Corlears Street in New York City. Inside was the pelvis that went with the trunk. In one of the pockets of the pants connected to the pelvis was a ring of six keys, including one fancy bureau key with a brass top. The same day, the thighs were found, twelve miles away in Gravesend Bay. On the 13^th, the legs and feet, still wearing boots and clothing, were picked up off Yellow Hook. The Common Council of Brooklyn offered a reward of $1,000 for the discovery of the murderer or murderers.

Several people who had recently missed friends and relatives called on the 42^nd Precinct to view the remains.  No one was able to recognize the man, and the authorities feared that without the head, identification would be impossible.

Finally, on October 17, the head was found, floating in the water, near Fort Hamilton. It was packaged like the other pieces, wrapped in oilcloth. Coroner Norris sent a messenger to bring the head to Brooklyn. The head was that of a handsome young man, about thirty-five years of age, with chestnut brown hair, inclined to curl, whiskers thick and short, with mustaches of a sandy color. It was perfectly matched to the other body parts.

It was certain, now, that the man had been murdered. The head had a bullet wound in the right temple and another below the right eye.  The head was in such good condition that the coroner determined that it had to have been floating for less than 14 days. A cast was made of the face, the head, and the remains were photographed, and the head was put on public display in the rotunda of the Brooklyn City Hall.  The mayors of New York and Brooklyn each offered rewards of up to $1,000 each for information on the murder. Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, a national publication, printed an engraving of the photograph in the hope that one of its readers would recognize the man.

But, there were very few serious identifications. A young man named Meechum left Lovejoy’s Hotel on September 30 and had not been seen since. No one was able to identify the head as Meechum’s.  A woman positively identified the murdered man as her missing son, but this was proven untrue. Another claimed it was her missing husband. He was a discharged soldier, and they had recently married. The next day, he got his civilian clothes and disappeared. This claim was debunked when the coroner asked for her marriage certificate showing that she was married on October 7. The first body part appeared on October 3.

By November 11, the head and other remains were so decomposed as to be beyond recognition. Coroner Norris ordered a post-mortem examination. Dr. Spiers performed the post-mortem and gave a full report to the coroner’s jury, who concluded that the man had died of a gunshot wound to the brain, on or about the 2^nd or 3^rd of October 1864. They were unable to say at whose hands the deceased received his wounds. The jury recommended increasing the rewards offered for information and expressed hope that Coroner Norris would continue his work on the case until it was successfully solved. However, following the jury’s verdict, the case was essentially closed.

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Sources: 

“The Mysterious Murder,” Evening Post, October 11, 1864.
“The Mysterious Murder,” Evening Post, November 11, 1864.
“The Mysterious Murder-,” Evening Post, October 17, 1864.
“The Body of a Murdered Man Found in the River,” New York Herald, October 4, 1864.
“Brooklyn Intelligence,” Journal of Commerce, Jr., October 26, 1864.
“Information Wanted,” Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, November 5, 1864.
“The Late Mysterious Murder,” Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, November 5, 1864.
“The Murder Mystery,” Press., October 19, 1864.
“The Mutilated Remains Found in the River,” Journal of Commerce, jr., October 5, 1864.
“The Mysterious Murder,” New York Herald, October 19, 1864.
“The Mysterious Murder,” Daily Times., October 19, 1864.
“The Mysterious Murder,” New-York Daily Tribune, November 15, 1864.
“The Mysterious Murder Case,” Journal of Commerce, Jr., October 18, 1864.
“New York Matters,” Newark Daily Advertiser, October 25, 1864.