The Investigation
On December 10, a coroner's jury was organized. Since it was an unusual occurance for Marr to send his servant girl out at that hour, it seemed evident that someone had been watching the shop and residence for an opportunity. The crime had been committed between 11:55, when she left and 12:20, when she returned. Murray stated he had heard bumping noises around 12:10, so it was decided that the killers had still been in the home when Jewell returned and began to knock, and had fled out the back door.
An attempt was made to trace the maul by the chip in its blade. There was no blood on the chisel but since Jewell stated that Marr had been looking for one earlier that evening, it was thought that it was brought to use as a weapon, since if it had been in plain sight, he would have found it. Cornelius Hart, one of the carpenters who had worked in the shop that day was detained, but with no case against him, was released. Marr's brother came under scrutiny, since he was rumored to have had a disagreement with him, but after being interrogated for forty-eight hours, he was exonerated due to a firm alibi. A servant girl who'd previously been let go was also questioned, but she lacked motive as well as criminal companions, and was too small to have performed the murders by herself.
The four victims were given a memorial service, then buried beneath a tall monument in the local parish church of St. George's in the East, where they had baptized their firstborn child three months earlier.
When the maul was cleaned on Thursday, December 19, it appeared that some initials were carved into the handle, perhaps with a seaman's coppering punch: "I.P." or "J.P.". Those who were working on the case now had a way to try to trace the owner.
Read more about this topic: Ratcliff Highway Murders