Although the Jack the Ripper murders, so far as we know, ended in November 1888, with the murder of Mary Kelly, for many years afterwards any murder in London was looked at as possibly being the work of the same perpetrator.
In December, 1894, a murder took place in Kensington which, at first, was considered a possible ripper atrocity.
This is the story of that terrible crime.
THE KENSINGTON MURDER 1894
Holland Park Road is a quiet backstreet located in Kensington, West London.
It is perhaps best known today for Leighton House, the former home and studio of the artist Fredric Leighton, whose works, depicting historical, mythological and religious subjects, made him one of the most popular artists of the late Victorian age, and led to him becoming the first painter to be granted a peerage, a distinction which was announced in the New Year’s Honours list of 1896.
The patent creating him 1st Baron Leighton, of Stretton in the County of Shropshire, was issued on the 24th of January, 1896.
Unfortunately, since he died the next day, and had no children, the Baronetcy died with him, giving him the posthumous record for the shortest lived peerage in history.
POPULAR WITH ARTISTS
In the late 19th century Holland Park Road and the surrounding streets became a popular enclave with artists, and, in addition to Frederic Leighton, a veritable colony of high-profile, extremely well off painters and sculptors settled in the locality – amongst them the pre-Raphaelite Valentine Prinsep, the caricaturist Phil May, and Herbert Gustave Schmalz, whose depictions of New Testament topics became massively popular in the 1890s.
Indeed, his “The Return From Calvary” was sent on a nationwide tour in 1894, and by November of that year over half a million people had turned out to view it.
THE RETURN OF JACK THE RIPPER
However, in early December, as well as plaudits and praise for his artistic work, Schmaltz’s name appeared in newspapers in relation to a shocking murder that, as far as some sections of the press were concerned, was on a par with the Whitechapel murders.
When a letter purporting to come from the perpetrator and signed “Jack the Ripper” was received by the police, suggested to some that the miscreant behind the previous outrages had returned.
THE COUPLE IN THE STREET
The story of what the press dubbed “The Kensington Murder”, began at around half-past 11 on the night of Sunday the 25th of November, 1894, when Herbert Schmalz left his home on Holland Park Road to post a letter.
As he was passing Lord Leighton’s house, he noticed a man and a woman coming towards him.
The woman, he later recalled, was short and shambling in gait.
The man was tall and erect. He had conspicuously broad shoulders, a clean-shaven face, with small head and feet.
He wore a “billycock” hat and a Chesterfield overcoat.
However, since there was nothing suspicious about the couple, he paid them little attention as they passed and continued on with his errand.
SCHMALZ SEES AN ATTACK
Having posted his letter, Schmalz returned to Holland Park Road, where he noticed the same couple, about a hundred paces further along, outside the house of Valentine Prinsep. The woman was leaning against the wall, and the man was about a foot away from her.
As Schmalz looked on, the man seemed to fall against the woman, and the couple collapsed onto the pavement with a thud. There was a slight movement, after which the woman cried out, “You brute!”
Hitting his stick on the pavement, Schmalz called out, “What are you up to?”, and hurried towards them.

THE CHASE
As he got closer, the man sprang to his feet and headed off at speed towards Addison Road.
Schmalz gave chase.
As he passed the woman, who had now risen to her knees, he heard her exclaim, “Oh Christ”, in a tone of great surprise.
With Schmalz in hot pursuit the man turned left along Addison Road, then left again onto Kensington High Street, where Schmalz, having lost sight of him, gave up the chase, and returned home.
He had the presence of mind to make a quick sketch of what he had seen, but, showing little to no concern for the woman, he retired to bed, not realising that he had, in fact, witnessed a murder taking place.
And, despite the fact he heard a police whistle shortly after retiring to bed, it would be another five days before he actually came forward to, in the words of one newspaper, “acquaint the police of his dreadful secret.”

THE BODY ON THE PAVEMENT
At a quarter to twelve on the Sunday night, Mr. Herman Sauber, a retired tradesman, arrived in Holland Park Road to pick up his daughter who had spent the evening at number 8.
“As I was walking along on the right side,” he later recalled, “I saw something on the pavement. It was a woman lying on the path, with her head towards the kerb. I thought she was a drunken woman, and shouted out, but received no answer. As she did not move I looked round and found she was lying in a pool of blood. The road is very badly lighted just there, and I could not see anyone. I immediately proceeded to my friends and informed them of what I had witnessed. Mr. Corbould went out for assistance.”
The Weekly Dispatch, of Sunday the 2nd of December reported that:-
“Alfred Chantrey Corbould, an artist of Pembroke Road, said that he had been visiting a studio on Holland Park Road, when Herbert Sauber arrived and spoke of seeing a woman on the pavement. He and his host had gone out into the street where they saw a woman lying on her side in what appeared to be a puddle of water.
THE POLICE FETCHED
He could see that something serious was the matter with her, so he went to fetch a policeman.”
Corbauld returned with Constables Thomas Gordon and William Pattison, albeit he would later complain that the two officers appeared to be in no particular hurry.
On arrival, Constable Gordon shone his lantern onto the woman, and those present saw to their horror that her throat had been cut.
Gordon then set off in a cab to fetch a doctor, leaving Pattison to conduct a search of the immediate vicinity.
The woman’s left shoe was off and was lying close to her foot, whilst her bonnet lay on the pavement alongside her.
There was also a cherry wood walking stick with wet marks of blood on it.
DOCTOR TOWNSEND ARRIVES
Shortly afterwards, His colleague returned with the Divisional Police Surgeon, Dr. Meredith Townsend, who described the sight that greeted him at the subsequent inquest into the women’s death:-
“She was quite dead, although she had not been dead more than half an hour. Her body was warm, and the blood on the stones was congealed. In his opinion she had been injured while standing near the wall of the garden, and had fallen forward. He did not think there had been any struggle. Her clothes were not disturbed. On removing the fur boa which she was wearing he found a large wound in her neck some four inches in length.”
Feeling there was nothing more he could do at the scene of the crime, Dr. Townsend ordered the removal of the body to the mortuary.
At the mortuary the body was searched for anything that might help identify the victim, but apart from a sixpenny piece and a few coppers nothing was found.
A SEARCH OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
By this time Inspector O’Shea from nearby Kensington Police Station had arrived at the crime scene, and he ordered that thorough search of the neighbourhood be undertaken.
Although the hooked cherry wood walking stick had blood on it, and was thought to belong to the murderer, it was evidently not the murder weapon, and, believing that the knife used might have been thrown into one of the gardens in the vicinity, several constables were employed combing every inch of every garden throughout the night, but to no avail.
THE MURDER WEAPON FOUND
The next morning builder’s labourer James Andrews arrived for work at Mr. Stanham’s Builder’s yard, off Kensington High Street, and found a knife embedded in a scaffolding board in the yard. The board was lying on the ground, some six or seven feet from the gate, over which the knife appeared to have been thrown.
According to newspaper reports:-
“It is a shoemaker’s knife with a very keen edge, and when found was covered with blood.”
The knife was duly handed over to the police and taken to Kensington Police Station where it was placed as evidence along with the walking stick.

WHO WAS THE VICTIM?
In the meantime, other officers were engaged in trying to establish the victim’s identity, and to that end several people were taken to the mortuary and shown the body.
A coffee stall keeper named Cox and a number of women recognised her as being a member of the “unfortunate class” although none of them knew her name.
THE RETURN OF JACK THE RIPPER?
The nature of the wounds and the revelation that the woman had apparently been a prostitute caused consternation amongst the police.
According to Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper:-
“The victim was a member of the “unfortunate” class, and from the nature of the wounds in her throat the police were at first inclined to regard the crime as of the “Jack the Ripper” class. In this belief it was reported to Scotland Yard.
During Monday detectives from all parts of London, who had been engaged on the Whitechapel murders, and Dr. Bond, the Home Office expert, visited the Kensington mortuary, and examined the body.
It had been left unwashed so that an accurate judgment might be formed as to the nature of the murder. But after examination, the detectives – as well as Dr. Bond – came to the conclusion that the crime had no resemblance to the Whitechapel murders.”
A DESCRIPTION OF THE DECEASED
Inquiries to identify the woman continued throughout Monday, and, to that end, a description of her was issued to the newspapers.
Several newspapers published a sketch of her, whilst the London Evening News published a somewhat judgemental description of her:-
“She was a poorly-clad woman, and evidently belonged to the unfortunate class, who have become more and more numerous in the neighbourhood of High Street, Kensington during the last twelve months.
She was a good looking woman with a dark complexion of about 30 years of age.
Her clothes are described as a black skirt, red-striped flannelette bodice, low shoes and black hat trimmed with white satin – tawdry display typical of the attire of the fallen women who infest the neighbourhood.
On the third finger of her left hand were two common dress rings, and in the pocket of her dress was found a cotton handkerchief, a sixpenny-piece, and a few coppers.”

LILIAN CREBER RECOGNISES THE BODY
In Clements Road, Notting Hill, or Notting Dale as this neighbourhood was known at the time, Lilian Creber – also referred to as Cremer by several newspapers, who described her as a single, poor looking woman, who bore in her face the traces of a hard life – was getting worried about her lodger, Augusta, or “Gussie” or “Gus” Dudley.
Gussie, like Mrs. Cremer, was an unfortunate, who would often go out at night, leaving her three year old daughter, Hilda, in the care of Mrs. Cremer until she returned home in the early hours of the morning.
Gussie had gone out on Sunday night, seeming to Mrs. Cremer “sober and cheerful.”
Unusually for her, she had not returned by Monday morning, and, on learning of the murder, Lilian, fearing the worst, had scooped Hilda up in her arms, and had gone to the police station.
The officer she spoke with took her to the mortuary where he showed her the body of the murdered woman, whom she instantly recognised as her missing lodger.
According to several newspaper reports:- “On sighting her mother’s body at the mortuary her daughter had extended her arms and cried out, “Mama, Mama.”
HER NAME WAS AUGUSTA DAWES
Mrs. Creber told the police that, although she knew her as Augusta Dudley, her lodger had also received letters addressed to Augusta Dawes,
On publicising this, they were then contacted by a carpenter’s wife by the name of Kate Forsyth, of 12 Wellington Road, Hammersmith, who said that the victim’s name was, in fact, Augusta Dawes, whom, she said, she had known for two years, and who had lodged with her and her husband until twelve months ago, when she had left to go into Kensington Infirmary.

SHE HAD TWO CHILDREN
She informed the police that Augusta had two children, the aforementioned daughter, and a little boy, aged six, who was, as far she knew, in the workhouse.
She believed that for one of the children Augusta had received 25 shillings or a pound a week, and for the other five shillings a week.
A FURNISHED ROOM
Sometime after going into the infirmary she had returned, but Kate had let her room to someone else.
She had allowed her to stay with her as a friend for a night or two, but then Augusta had taken her boxes and gone away, telling Kate that the father of the second child had taken a furnished room for her at a rent of five shillings a week.
Thereafter Kate had only seen Augusta once or twice, the last time being two weeks before her death.
The police had now identified the victim, the murder weapon had been discovered, and a clue – In the form of the cherry wood walking stick had been found.
A LETTER FROM JACK THE RIPPER
Then, on Wednesday the 28th of November, a letter was received by Detective Inspector John Smith, addressed to “Police Station, Kensington, W., London, England”.
It read:
Dublin, Nov. 27th
Dear Sir,
The murder that was committed I did it. I did it just to the right of the door of a gentleman. I got her by the throat and tried to choke her, but without success. I got her on the ground and cut her neck with a sloid knife. It was a very good cut. When I had cut her a fellow was coming along, so I flew for my life, but left the stick, and the knife was thrown away in the back lane in a back street. I did the murder at 12.30.
So good bye. On the job.
From Jack the Ripper.
You will find my name is well known at certain places round there.”
Although the police didn’t realise it at the time, they now had an important clue as to the identity of the perpetrator of the crime.
THE POLICE ON THE TRAIL OF THE KILLER
Far from being a red herring, this letter would prove instrumental in identifying the perpetrator of Augusta Dawes murder.
On the previous evening, the headmaster of Eastcote, a residential school for the sons of the privileged and wealthy who were considered to be of weak intellect, which was located at Hampton Wick, and run under the auspices of Dr John Langdon Down and his wife Mary, contacted the police to notify them that one of their pupils had absconded on the Sunday evening.

REGINALD SAUNDERSON
The pupil was 21 year old Reginald Saunderson, the son of Mr. Llewellyn Traherne Basset Saunderson, J.P., and nephew of Colonel Edward James Saunderson, the Member of Parliament for North Armagh.
A head injury when he was a child had left Sauderson feeble minded – but otherwise he was of an agreeable nature, although he could be cunning, deceitful and mischievous in his doings at times, and on the few occasions when he had taken too much drink he had become decidedly excitable.
Saunderson had been a pupil at Eastcote since December 1888, but, since he had not been confined there by a doctor, he was not considered dangerous and consequently was not watched as closely as other patients.
Indeed, he had absconded many times for short periods of time, and had had to be brought back, although he had not done so for the last two years.

JUST TURNED TWENTY ONE
Shortly before the murder he had turned 21,making him an adult, and his time at the school was drawing to an end.
Two or three months before, his family had decided that, once he had finished at the Eastcote, they would send him to Canada to work as a farmer or a labouruer, and Dr. Langdon Down had suggested that he should do a little gardening and digging work at Eastcote to prepare him for his forthcoming career.
Saunderson had readily agreed to the suggestion, and he subsequently borrowed a knife from one of his fellow pupils.
HE ABSCONDED FROM THE SCHOOL
On the evening of Sunday the 25th of November he had arranged to go to the local church with some of his schoolmates, but, at the last moment, he had excused himself telling them that he had promised to accompany one of the masters to a different church.
Unbeknownst to the other boys and the staff, Saunderson instead set off alone on foot for London.
WAS SAUNDERSON THE MURDERER?
Over the next few days, as particulars of the murder of Augusta Dawes began appearing in the newspapers, several pupils and masters at the school became concerned that Saunderson might have been involved, and, on Tuesday, the school had contacted the police.
The next day, Chief Inspector Swanson and Inspector John Smith made their way to Eastcote, taking with them the cherry wood walking stick, the knife, and the Jack the Ripper letter that had been received at Kensington Police Station that morning.
They met with schoolmaster Francis Rollison, who identified the walking stick and the knife as those taken from the school.
They then handed him the Jack the Ripper letter, which had been received at Kensington Police Station that morning, and he instantly recognised the handwriting as being that of Reginald Saunderson.
Although they were convinced that they now knew the identity of the murderer, the police kept their suspicions from the press and public for the time being, although efforts began to apprehend him.
TRACED TO IRELAND
Thanks to the letter, they knew he was in Ireland, and so they contacted their counterparts in Ireland with a view to tracing and arresting him.
THE INQUEST
The inquest into the death of Augusta Dawes opened at Kensington Town Hall on the Thursday the 29th of November, with Mr. Luxmoore Drew, the Coroner for West Middlesex, presiding.
The first witness was Lilian Creber, who identified the victim as a woman who lodged with her and whom she knew as Augusta or Gus Dudley, although she had since found out that her actual name was, in fact, Augusta Dawes.
According to Lilian, Augusta was not a sober woman, “she liked a drop of drink,” she told the coroner’s court.
“She drank to excess, did she not?” interjected the coroner.
“Yes, sir,” Mrs. Creber conceded.

KATE FORSYTH TESTIFIES
The next witness was Kate Forsyth, who identified the deceased as Augusta Dawes, and said that she had lodged with her till 18 months ago.
There was an awkward moment when a juryman asked Kate if she knew the name of the father of Augusta’s child.
Kate was about to answer, when the Coroner interrupted and observed that he didn’t think they should ask that question unless it was a material point.
HERMAN SAUBER’S EVIDENCE
Herman Sauber then testified to finding the body, and he was followed by Alfed Chantrey Cobauld who recounted what he had seen, and told how he had gone to fetch the police.
THE CHERRY-WOOD WALKING STICK
Next came the two police officers, Gordon and Pattison, who told what they had seen, Patterson mentioning the cherry wood walking stick in his testimony.
At this point the coroner recalled Lilian Creber, and, showing her the stick, asked her if she had ever seen it before. Lilian replied that she hadn’t and stated that when Augusta left home on Sunday night she was certainly not carrying a stick.
DR. TOWNSEND’S TESTIMONY
The final witness that day was Dr. Meredith Townsend who gave details of the scene that greeted him when he arrived in Holland Park Road, and described the injuries that the victim had sustained.
The Coroner handed him the shoemaker’s knife that had been found in the builder’s yard on the Monday morning, and asked him whether, in his opinion, it was such a weapon as might have caused the injuries described
Having examined the knife closely, the doctor opined that he was satisfied that it was the type of weapon with which the wound might have been inflicted.
And with that the inquest was adjourned until Monday the 10th of December, to give the police time to obtain fresh evidence.
THE LIFE OF AUGUSTA DAWES
Newspapers in the meantime had been looking into the history of the victim, and by the end of the week it had been established that Augusta was 28 years old and hailed from Bristol.
She was the youngest daughter of a respectable family, her father being a wine and spirit merchant who had left his family and emigrated to Canada, where he died.
One of her sisters had married an officer in the army, who was in receipt of a pension, and the couple had settled in the suburbs of London.
Augusta had remained at home with her mother, although she had worked as a barmaid at several hotels in Bristol, in one of which she met the man who became the father of her first child.
AUGUSTA MOVES TO LONDON
Five years ago, her mother had died, and Augusta had left for London where she lived with her married sister for twelve months.
She became restless, and longed, so the newspapers stated, for a more active and exciting life, and, to that end, she moved out and got a job as a barmaid.
According to one newspaper:-
“She dressed smartly and in good taste, and her conversation was that of a bright and intelligent woman.
For time all went well. She was respected, well spoken of, and admired.

TROUBLE FOR AUGUSTA DAWES
Then trouble came to her.
She had two lovers.
The position of these men to each other may be briefly described. They were engaged together in business. The one man she admitted to her favours; the other she repulsed.
The men quarrelled through jealousy of each other, it is said.
SHE MET A GENTLEMAN
Within a very few months after the quarrel between the two men Augusta Dawes found that her condition would no longer permit of her remaining at business, and, two months before her child was born, she met in the Skating Rink at Olympia another man of gentlemanly appearance who spoke to her.
They afterwards met frequently, and ultimately the girl went to live with him at a house in Fulham Palace-road.
This man with whom she threw in her lot is now a convict. He was sentenced at the end of 1892 to 10 years’ penal servitude on a charge of fraud.
HER DOWNWARD SPIRAL
Thereafter, Augusta had started drinking heavily, and her life had begun the downward spiral that eventually led to her murder.
HERBERT SCHMALZ COMES FORWARD
Reading all these accounts in the newspapers appears to have pricked the conscience of Herbert Schmalz, and on the Saturday he went to the police to tell them what he had seen during his errand to post the letter.
One of the mysteries of the case is why it took him so long to come forward.
He cannot have not known about it.
Indeed, when he returned home after chasing the man who had attacked the woman, he must have noticed the excitement in the street.
Over the next few days, he would have seen the police searching for the murder weapon, and would have been aware of inquiries being made into the woman’s murder.
And yet, he didn’t tell the police what he had witnessed until the following Saturday.
I can only surmise that he had been out of London during the week, possibly in connection with the exhibiting of his Return To Cavalry, but that is mere speculation on my part.
THE POLICE WERE INTERESTED
However, when he did come forward, the police listened to what he had to say with great interest.
They still hadn’t released details of their prime suspect, so when Schmalz’s description of the man he had chased matched that of Reginald Saunderson, they were even more convinced that they had their man.
Furthermore, Schmalz’s account of the pursuit, and his assertion that the man was just too fast for him, also tweaked the police’s interest, since one of the things the staff at Eastcote had told them about Saunderson was that he excelled at sport, particularly running, and when he got going no-one could catch him.
SAUNDERSON WAS THEIR MAN
The officers investigating the murder had little doubt now that Saunderson was guilty of the crime, all that remained was to get him back to London to face justice.
Throughout the remainder of the week, they were in contact with the Royal Irish Constabulary with a view to having Saunderson arrested.
It had been discovered that Saunderson had eventually made his way to the house of Mrs. Copeland Jones, a friend of the family who lived near Belfast.
THE ARREST OF REGINALD SAUNDERSON
On Tuesday the 4th of December, Saunderson was arrested by Sergeant Mount of the Royal Irish Constabulary, and, following a brief appearance before a local magistrate, he was remanded in Armagh Gaol, where he was granted special privileges on account of his social status and standing.
According to The Newcastle Chronicle:-
“When in prison there, the accused did not partake of the ordinary prison fare, but received his food from the leading hotel, where orders were given for him to be supplied with anything he required.”

TRANSFERRED TO BELTURBET
Soon afterwards he was transported by train to Belturbet.
The Newcastle Chronicle reported on the eventful journey:-
“A later telegram from Armagh states that a large crowd anxious to get a view of the prisoner assembled at all the stations along the line, particularly at Belturbet, where it was with difficulty that the escort, which was met by Sergt. Mount and a strong force of police, could press their way through the crowd.
Having succeeded in reaching the car-stand, Sergt. Mount, the escort, and the prisoner, took possession of the car in waiting. and at once drove to the Police Station.
Having arrived at the barracks, arrangements were made to hand over the prisoner to Detective-Sergeants. Thompson and Dyson, of the Metropolitan Police, who arrived at Belturbet yesterday by the 1.30 train for the purpose of conveying the prisoner to London.”
SAUNDERSON BROUGHT BACK TO LONDON
On the evening of Friday the 7th of December, the two officers and their prisoner left Ireland for London, arriving at Willesden Station early the next morning, where the few people who noticed them were struck by how much taller than his escorts Saunderson was.
The prisoner was taken to Kensington Police Station, where he was charged with the murder of Augusta Dawes.
SAUNDERSON IN COURT
Shortly after eleven o’clock that morning he appeared before Mr. Curtiss, the Magistrate, at West London Police Court
“The accused is a tall, dark, well-built youth of gentlemanly presence,” The Shields Daily Gazette reported that evening. “There is on his face just the faintest beginning of a moustache, and his appearance is decidedly youthful.
The eyes have a vacant expression, and on taking his place at the bar the prisoner’s entire aspect was one of extreme depression. He was attired in a long, heavy ulster cape over his coat, his neck being hidden by a muffler and his hands covered by woollen gloves.”
Mr. Sims, prosecuting, outlined the case against him – mentioning the knife, the walking stick and the letter the handwriting of which had, he said, been confirmed as being Saunderson’s.
At the end of the hearing, Saunderson was formally remanded to Holloway Prison until the following Saturday.

THE CONCLUSION OF THE INQUEST
The inquest into Augusta’s death resumed at Kensington Town Hall on Monday the 10th of December.
The first witness was Walter E. Knee who identified Augusta as his cousin. He had not seen her for fourteen years, although she had called at his house last July, but he wasn’t in at the time.
RICHARD STUBBLES’S TESTIMONY
The next witness was Mr Richard Stubbles, a resident of Holland Park Road recalled having seen the deceased with a man in Holland Park Road at about 11.30 on the night of the murder.
The man, he said, was tall, well dressed and leaning on a walking stick with a crooked handle. He got very close to the couple, at which point they moved on and headed in the direction of Addison Road.They appeared to him to be very friendly.
HERBERT SCHMALZ GIVES EVIDENCE
Herbert Schmalz then testified to having witnessed the murder and told how he had chased after the man.
MR. SAUNDERSON SENIOR’S INTERJECTION
At one stage, Mr. Llewellyn Saunderson attempted to give evidence as to his son’s mental state, but the Coroner told him that they would not go into the question of insanity.
Following the coroner’s summing up, the jury returned a verdict that the deceased was murdered by Reginald Saunderson.
THE FUNERAL OF AUGUSTA DAWES
The funeral of Augusta Dawes took place on the afternoon of Tuesday the 11th of December.
A crowd of some two hundred people watched as the coffin was removed from the mortuary and placed on a hearse for the journey to the Kensington Cemetery at Hanwell.
A mourning coach carrying a sister of the deceased and Mr. Knee, her cousin followed. At the gates of the cemetery two further coaches conveying her friends met the cortege, which then proceeded to the grave where Augusta Dawes was laid to rest.
THE FATE OF HER DAUGHTER
As for the fate of her little daughter, The Morning Leader, in its edition of Monday the 17th December, informed readers that:-
“A lady in the neighbourhood of Kensington has adopted the infant child of Augusta Louise Dawes. The Coroner has received several letters from the country offering to adopt the child.”
SAUNDERSON IN COURT AGAIN
Regional Saunderson made several further appearances at West London Police Court, his last being on Thursday the 3rd of January, 1895, on which date he was committed for trial at the Central Criminal Court, or Old Bailey.
Much discussion took place over the next few weeks as to his state of mind, and several eminent medical men gave their opinion that he was insane and was not fit to stand trial.

REGINALD SAUNDERSON AT THE OLD BAILEY
On Wednesday the 30th of January he appeared at the Old Bailey before Mr. Justice Willis.
According to Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper:-
“The prisoner stared vacantly about the court, and listened listlessly to the evidence of the prison doctors. His dark, unkempt hair, falling in heavy locks over his brow, his stubbly beard, and the deathly pallor of his features gave to him an unusually weird appearance.”
UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND
Dr. Walker, The Medical Officer at Holloway Prison, testified that his mental state had deteriorated considerably, and he had become so violent that they had found it necessary to retrain him in a strait jacket and place him in a padded cell.
Asked by the judge if Saunderson had sufficient understanding to realize the charge and conduct his defence, Dr Walker replied, “He is quite unable to take any notice of what is going on.”
OF UNSOUND MIND
The judge then told the jury that, in his opinion, no further evidence was required and asked them to consider their verdict.
After consulting for a few minutes, they returned a verdict that Reginald Saunderson was of unsound mind, and not in a proper state to plead.
SENT TO BROADMOOR
Mr Justice Willis then announced, “That being so, I order him to be detained during Her Majesty’s Pleasure.”
“Saunderson was then tapped on the shoulder,” Lloyds Weekly Newspaper reported, “and, without uttering a word, he quietly descended the staircase to the cells.
On the 2nd February, Home Secretary Herbert Asquith authorised the removal of Saunderson from Holloway Gaol to be detained under Her Majesty’s Pleasure at Broadmoor Lunatic Asylum, where he remained until his death in 1943, aged 69.