Torso in the Thames

Description: A body was found in the river Thames near Tower Bridge, London, England on September 21, 2001. The body was of an Afro-Caribbean boy, aged somewhere from 5 to 7 years old. The head, legs and arms were missing. Cause of death was loss of blood. It was clear from the start that this was no ordinary murder. Most murders in the UK are solved, but most murders anywhere are a drunken brawl or domestic dispute: the victim and murderer know each other, and the identity of the murderer is obvious. As is the identity of the victim. The case was in the news, though it was not such an overwhelming media frenzy as the murders in Soham or the disapperance of Amanda Dowler in 2002. this may because the victim was faceless, nameless, and had no known relatives to interview. This killing appeared to be a muti murder. A South African expert, Dr. Hendrick Scholtz, performed a second post-mortem and agreed with this conclusion. The limbs and head were most likely removed for muti to make potions. This would most likely have been the cause of death. The body was dressed in orange shorts, a colour associated with bad muti. The body was disposed of in flowing water, which may have been to wash away the evil. This the first muti murder known to occur in England, and this case has brought muti murders to western attention. Despite an appeal by Nelson Mandela and the offer of a reward of pound48 000, the police are without any leads. Nobody even knows who the victim was.