A Barmaid Found Murdered

On Saturday, February 20, 1897, The Illustrated Police News published a lengthy article in regards to Miss Elizabeth Camp, a barmaid of Walworth. She was found dead in her train carriage after being bludgeoned to death by a chemist's pestle. She was going to be met by her fiancé once departing the train, but she was not given the chance, as she was murdered within four minutes of separate stops. At first, the police were not sure how to find the murderer, as they had very little clues. They went as far as to check the local asylums to see if it could have been a "lunatic". They then arrested a barman named Browne, who worked with Elizabeth and was engaged to her prior to 1896. They suspected jealously was most likely the motive in the murder, but Browne was freed after a few hours of questioning because he had a solid alibi. The murderer of Miss Elizabeth Camp still remains a mystery.

It is interesting that this story received such a large section of the newspaper, as well as an image, because it shows that The Illustrated Police News found this particularly significant and attractive to readers. This could be due to the violent nature of the crime, as it was particularly brutal, as well as be because a train ride is a simple everyday thing for people, and this crime could happen to anyone. Whatever the reason, this article truly highlights the threat that women faced at all times, even when simply traveling on the train. It also shows that women were blamed so easily for crimes that were committed against them, because it was their fault in some way according to the police. For example, Miss Camp was murdered because her former love was jealous that she had moved on with another man, and the news does not attempt to condemn this. The article also mentions that the woman was of "fine physique" so the man must have had immense strength to overpower her, which further places subtle blame on the victim because she was not able to defend herself against her attacker. While this article might have shown no problems at the time, we can see today the problematic gender expectations that unfairly disadvantaged and ultimately hurt women.