A HORRIBLE CRIME NEAR MELUN
A WOMAN'S CORPSE WITHOUT HEAD OR LEGS IS REMOVED FROM THE SEINE

The funeral remains were tied up in awning fabric and weighted down with an automobile brake drum; The victim of this terrible tragedy, which appears to date back about four weeks, was five months pregnant
On Sunday afternoon, Mr. Charles Merle, a gardener in his sixties, in the service of Mr. Boutillier, Bois-le-Roi, was taking a canoe trip on the Seine, near Livry, at the height of the castle park which belongs to the Duke of Treviso, five kilometers upstream from Melun. As he was near the swimming pool of the Feuilleraie, he saw, floating on the waters, among the rushes emerging from the river, a rather large object which appeared to him to be a tied bag. He attempted to move the package using an oar, but unexpected resistance annihilated his efforts, the object appearing to be held at the bottom of the river.
Returning home, the next morning he reported his discovery to his boss, Mr. Boutillier, who advised him to notify, by letter, the public prosecutor of Melun. This letter arrived yesterday morning. As soon as he received it, Mr. Nourissat, prosecutor, went by car to the places which had been indicated to him. He was accompanied by MM. Demay, investigating judge; Jodelet, substitute; Doctor Malvy, forensic pathologist and gendarmerie captain Adam.

The funeral find

Brigadier Foucher and Constable Martin went by boat to where the package was located, about ten meters from the bank, towards the opposite bank, near Mr. Javal's property. The package was removed from the water with considerable difficulty, as it was held there by a rope similar to those used for scaffolding, at the end of which a heavy metal piece was attached. We realized, after having cleared it of the mud which covered it, that it was an automobile brake drum, in the throat of which were still most of the rolling balls, and weighing ten-eight kilos.

First findings

Brought to the shore, the package was untied, then opened. An awning, with broad brown and white stripes, enveloped a woman's body, which was missing its head and legs. Clothing surrounded the corpse: a petticoat, a corset, a lace camisole and a shirt. Following a fairly prolonged stay in the water, these clothes did not present, on first examination, any notable particularity. No marks were found on them.
During their first investigation, the magistrates realized that, due to the weight which ballasted it, the corpse must not have been carried by the current very far from its immersion point. The hypothesis that the body could have been thrown from the top of a bridge could not be considered, Melun being downstream and the only bridge upstream being that of Chartrettes, several kilometers away. It was therefore assumed that the macabre parcel must have been brought, at night, to the path bordering the bank and, from there, transported by boat to the middle of the river, or that it had been brought by boat to the place where he was discovered.

The autopsy

After these initial observations, the body was placed in coffin in the afternoon and transported to the morgue of the North cemetery of Melun, where Doctor Malvy carried out the autopsy around five o'clock. The practitioner noted that the section of the neck, carried out at the level of the cervical vertebrae, and those of the legs, flush with the trunk, had been done by a trained hand and by means of very sharp instruments. The cut of the bones was perfectly sharp.
Examination of the victim's remains allowed him to deduce that it was a woman of twenty to thirty years old, quite strong and probably blonde or light brown. He also made a very interesting observation: this woman was five months pregnant at the time of her death. And the immersion of the corpse could be fixed. three or four weeks...
Doctor Malvy will submit his report to the public prosecutor's office today. Mr. Demay, investigating judge, will also continue his investigation by carefully examining the objects which accompanied the corpse.