Human remains found in David Attenborough’s garden solve famous 131-year-old murder

When national treasure David Attenborough moved into his current house, some human remains were found in his garden that solved a 131-year-old murder case, and the crazy story has gone viral again 16 years on.

The biologist moved into his Richmond, London home in 2009. A year later, he started doing renovations on the property, and the shocking discovery was made. Builders found a human skull buried in his garden, and a police investigation took place immediately. Detectives quickly discovered that it belonged to a woman who was murdered in 1879.

Julia Martha Thomas, a widow in her 50s who lived in Richmond, was murdered 131 years earlier by her housemaid. She was killed on 2nd March 1879 by Kate Webster, an Irish woman with a history of theft, and it’s one of the most famous Victorian crimes, known as the “Barnes mystery”.

A few weeks after hiring her, Julia decided to terminate Kate’s employment. However, the maid convinced her to keep her for another three days, during which time she killed her.

Credit: Illustrated Police News

Kate admitted to killing her employer, saying: “She had a heavy fall, and I became agitated at what had occurred, lost all control of myself, and, to prevent her screaming and getting me into trouble, I caught her by the throat, and in the struggle she was choked, and I threw her on the floor.”

She boiled and dismembered the body and threw most of the remains into the River Thames. However, nobody knew if her statement about the killing was actually true.

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When the skull was discovered in Attenborough’s garden, a coroner analysed the remains in detail and found it had fracture marks consistent with Webster’s account that she fell down the stairs. They also found that it had low collagen levels, which would happen when it’s boiled.

In 2010, the coroner officially recorded Julia’s death as an “unlawful killing” and ruled her cause of death as asphyxiation and a head injury. After 131 years, the case was finally solved. Police told the BBC it’s a “good example of how good old-fashioned detective work, historical records and technological advances came together to solve the ‘Barnes Mystery’.”

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Featured image credit: DAVID HARTLEY/Shutterstock