Constabulary Report of Murder - 1897

The principal duty of the Coroner was to hold inquests on the bodies of those who had died suddenly, violently, unnaturally, in prison or in suspicious circumstances. Inquests would be held in public resulting in reports appearing in national and local newspapers. In general, it is more likely that the newspaper report will survive rather than the coroner's record as prior to the WW II the official guideline recommended the destruction of many records after a limited time period.

Our staff came across this intriguing murder case whilst doing some research for a customer. Annie Mable Spencer was brutally murdered by her husband in May 1897. The local doctor who had been treating her for insomnia had called to see her one night, but when she couldn’t be found the replies he received from her husband made him suspicious. He then noticed some blood on John’s clothes. It was then that John’s manner changed and he become irrational. A detailed search of he grounds was carried out and her body was later found under a mound of leaves and branches. She had been murdered with an Adze [Special Axe]. Her skull had been fractured and her neck was virtually severed from her body. John was later committed to trial; he was found to be insane and was sent to Broadmoor Criminal Asylum to serve at Her Majesty’s pleasure.