Percy Lefroy Mapleton - The Murder

The Murder

On the afternoon of 27 June 1881, 64 year-old Isaac Frederick Gold, a coin dealer, was murdered on the express train going from London Bridge Station to his home in Brighton. Gold had entered a first-class smoking compartment in the third carriage, and was later joined in the compartment by 21 year old Percy Lefroy Mapleton. When the train arrived at Preston Park Station Mapleton was observed getting out of the carriage in a distressed state and covered in blood. He had lost his hat, collar and tie, and had a gold watch-chain hanging from his shoe.

Giving his name as Percy Mapleton Lefroy, Mapleton complained that he had been attacked by two men during the journey who had hit him on the head, knocking him out. Richard Gibson, the ticket collector at Preston Park Station, accompanied Mapleton for the rest of the journey to Brighton, where Mapleton told Henry Anscombe, the Station Master, that he had been shot and wounded during his journey. Asked about the gold chain that had been seen hanging from his shoe, he replied that he had put it there for safety.

Although the police were not satisfied with Mapleton's story, as no one had lodged a complaint against him, they decided he must have been attempting to commit suicide—then a criminal offence in Britain. They took him to the local police station, where he made an official complaint against his attackers, even offering a reward for their capture. Constable Howland interviewed Mapleton for details of his alleged attackers before sending him to the County Hospital for treatment, where his wounds turned out to be quite superficial. Suspicious that such slight wounds could cause so much blood, the examining doctor wanted to detain him, but Mapleton suddenly announced that he had an urgent appointment in London. He returned to the police station for further interviews, and then—having bought a new collar and tie—went to Brighton Station where increasingly dubious police took him into an office and searched him. They found two Hanoverian medals in his pockets, which he denied all knowledge of.

Meanwhile, the carriage had been shunted into a siding and examined, which revealed three bullet marks and other signs of a fierce struggle, including blood on the carriage's footboard, mat, and door handle, as well as on a handkerchief and newspaper. Investigators also found coins similar to those found on Mapleton.

The authorities still saw no reason to detain Mapleton, and he was escorted by Detective Sergeant George Holmes to the home of Mapleton's relatives who ran a boarding house at Cathcart Road in Wallington in Surrey. Meanwhile, police organized a search of the line between London Bridge Station and Preston Park Station. In Balcombe tunnel, railway staff found the body of an elderly man, later identified as Isaac Gold. He had been shot and stabbed, and near his body they found a knife smeared with blood. His gold watch and chain and a large sum of money had been stolen. The Station Master at Balcombe immediately sent the following telegram:

Man found dead this afternoon in tunnel here. Name on papers "I Gold". He is now lying here. Reply quick.