Martha var 39 år när hon den 7 augusti 1888 blev dödad. Hennes senast kända adress var 19 George Street, Spitalfields (känt som Satchell’s Lodging House). Mordet skedde i huset George Yard Building på George Yard. Det ska troligen finnas ett fotografi av Martha i livet men ägs av familjen och har aldrig visats.
Klockan 02.00 gick ett vittne förbi platsen där Martha hittades och då fanns ingen kropp på platsen. 03.30 gick ett annat vittne förbi och säger då att det låg någon där, det var dock inget ovanligt så mannen reagerade inte mycket på detta.
På Bank Holiday måndag, den 6 augusti, gick Martha ut med Mary Ann Connelly, som var känd som ”Pearly Poll.” De sågs under hela kvällen på pubar i sällskap med en soldat eller soldater. Enligt Pearly Poll plockade hon och Martha upp två gardister, en korpral och en menig, på Two Brewers-puben och drack med dem på flera pubar, inklusive White Swan på Whitechapel High Street.
Some time around 11:45 PM Martha and Pearly Poll went separate ways. Martha with the Private into George Yard and Pearly Poll and the Corporal into Angel Alley. Both, obviously, for the purpose of having sex.
1:50 AM: Elizabeth Mahoney returned to her home in George Yard Buildings. At the time that she ascended the stairs to her flat she saw no one or anything unusual in the building.
2:00 AM: PC Thomas Barrett saw a young Grenadier Guardsman in Wentworth Street, the north end of George Yard. Barrett questioned his reason for being there and was told by the Guardsman that he was waiting for a ”chum who went off with a girl.”
3:30 AM: Alfred Crow returned to his lodging in George Yard Buildings and noticed what he thought was a homeless person sleeping on the first floor landing. As this was not an uncommon occurrence he continued on to bed.
John Reeves left his lodgings in the George Yard Buildings at 4:45 AM. By this time the light was improving inside the stairwell. Reeves also noticed the body on the first floor landing but he was also aware that it was lying in a pool of blood. Reeves went off to find a policeman.
He returned with PC Barrett. Although not yet identified, the body was that of Martha Tabram. The body was supine with the arms and hands by the side. The fingers were tightly clenched and the legs open in a manner to suggest that intercourse had taken place.
Others who testified at the inquest include Francis Hewitt,the superintendent of George Yard Buildings and Mrs. Mary Bousfield (also known as Luckhurst), Martha’s former landlady at 4 Star Street.
The Post-Mortem:
The post-mortem examination of Martha Tabram was held by Dr. Timothy Killeen (also spelled Keeling or Keleene) at 5:30 AM on the morning of August 7th. Tabram was described as a plump middle-aged woman, about 5’3″ tall, dark hair and complexion. The time of death was estimated at about three hours before the examination (around 2:30-2:45 AM). In all, there were thirty-nine stab wounds including:
- 5 wounds (left lung)
- 2 wounds (right lung)
- 1 wound (heart)
- 5 wounds (liver)
- 2 wounds (spleen)
- 6 wounds (stomach)
Martha Tabram’s death certificate.
According to Killeen, the focus of the wounds were the breasts, belly, and groin area. In his opinion, all but one of the wounds were inflicted by a right-handed attacker, and all but one seemed to have been the result of an ”ordinary pen-knife.” There was, however, one wound on the sternum which appeared to have been inflicted by a dagger or bayonet (thereby leading police to believe that a sailor was the perpetrator).
Wearing at the time of her death:
A black bonnet Long black jacket A dark green skirt Brown petticoat Stockings Spring sided boots showing considerable age