Evening News
London, U.K.
29 December 1888
THE POPLAR MURDER.
THE TWO SAILORS CAN BE IDENTIFIED.
Mr. Charles Ptolomey, whose name was mentioned in our columns yesterday, as having seen two seamen accost the woman near where she was discovered dead, has received a visit from some officers of Scotland yard. Mr. Ptolomey, who is a night attendant at the Poplar Union, made the following statement to a reporter, yesterday:
"last night some detectives from Scotland Yard came to see me about this mysterious affair. They asked me if I could identify the sailors? I told them I could pick the men out of a thousand. How I came to notice them was in this way: It was about five minutes to eight o'clock on Wednesday night, when I was going to my work. Upon going up England row (nearly opposite Clarke's yard) I noticed two sailors. The shorter one was speaking to the deceased, and the tall one was walking up and down. So strange did it seem that I stopped and 'took account' of them. Then I heard the woman say several times "No! no! no!" and the short sailor spoke in a low tone. The tall one was about 5ft 11in. He looked like a Yankee. The shorter one was about 5ft 7in. It struck me that they were there for no purpose, and that was the reason I took so much notice of their movements. I shall always remember their faces, and could, as I say, pick them out of a thousand. I have been to the mortuary, and seen the deceased. She is the same woman, and she was sober when I saw her with the sailors."
THE MEDICAL EVIDENCE.
It is understood that sensational medical evidence may be expected when the Coroner's inquiry is resumed on Wednesday next.
