The Charing Cross Trunk Murder took place in a third floor office at 86

Rochester Row Rochester Row is a street in the City of Westminster in London that runs between Greycoat Place in the north and Vauxhall Bridge Road in the south. It is joined by Greycoat Street, Rochester Street, Vincent Square, Emery Hill Street, Vane Stree ...

in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West En ...

in London on 4 May 1927.

Events

On 6 May 1927, John Robinson, a 35-year-old estate agent, took a cab to

Charing Cross railway station Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashf ...

, where he deposited a large black trunk in the left-luggage office. On 10 May after a "dreadful smell" was noted, the police opened the trunk to find the dismembered body of a woman, with each limb separately wrapped in brown paper. The shopowner who sold the trunk and the cab driver were traced, and the police that visited the office at No 86 said it was "hastily vacated but scrupulously clean". Although the identity parade failed to pick out Robinson, a more careful search of the property found a matchstick in the bin with a small spot of blood. Robinson confessed to the murder of Minnie Bonati, for which he was hanged on 12 August. A laundry tag on the dead woman's

knickers Panties (in American English; also called pants, undies, or knickers in British English) are a form of women's underwear. Panties can be form-fitting or loose. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genit ...

for "P Holt" was traced to a Mrs Holt in Chelsea, who had employed ten women as servants over the past two years, and all were traced except for a "Mrs Rolls". Holt confirmed that the head of the dead woman was that of Mrs Rolls, who turned out to be Minnie Alice Bonati, who had left her Italian waiter husband to live with a Mr. Rolls, and now used his name. Bonati was working as a domestic servant and supplementing her income with prostitution. She had met Robinson at Victoria station, and they had gone to his office for sex. She died after an argument about money, with Robinson claiming that she attacked him, leading him to push her away, causing Bonati to fall, hit her head and die. He claimed that he panicked, bought a knife and trunk and disposed of the body, because he thought that no one would believe him. Robinson's story was contradicted by

forensic pathologist Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases ...

Bernard Spilsbury, who said that Bonati had died of

asphyxiation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can ...

after being knocked unconscious, which could not have been caused by a fall as Robinson claimed. During his investigation Detective Inspector Grosse of the Metropolitan Police also pursued enquiries on behalf of a newspaper, an action which some held to be "reckless and unscrupulous" and argued should lead to the withdrawal of his pension. After being produced as a trial exhibit, the trunk was retained in the collections of its private "Black Museum" (now the Crime Museum), where it was the subject of Episode 47 of the 1952 radio crime drama '' The Black Museum'', with

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

as both the host and narrator of the show.Episode
of the 1952 radio crime drama '' The Black Museum'' entitled ''The Trunk'' narrated by

at the Internet Archive It was also loaned from the Crime Museum to the ''Crime Museum Uncovered'' exhibition at the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall Museum (fou ...

from October 2015 to April 2016.

References

{{Reflist 1927 in England Crime in Westminster Dismemberments Murder in England 1927 murders in the United Kingdom Trials in England May 1927 events