Two Similar Deaths
In January 1915, Division Detective Inspector Arthur Neil received a letter from a Joseph Crossley, who owned a boarding house in Blackpool, Lancashire. Included with the letter were two newspaper clippings: one was from the News of the World dated before Christmas, 1914, about the death of Margaret Elizabeth Lloyd (née Lofty), aged 38, who died in her lodgings in 14 Bismarck Road, Highgate, London (later renamed Waterlow Road). She was found in her bathtub by her husband, John Lloyd, and their landlady.
The other clipping contained the report of a coroner's inquest dated 13 December 1913, in Blackpool. It was about a woman named Alice Smith (née Burnham), who died suddenly in a boarding house in that seaside resort while in her bathtub. She was found by her husband George Smith.
The letter, dated 3 January, was written by Crossley, the landlord of Mr and Mrs Smith, on behalf of Crossley's wife and a Mr. Charles Burnham, who both expressed their suspicion on the striking similarity of the two incidents and urged the police to investigate the matter.
Read more about this topic: George Joseph Smith
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