'Barnes mystery' of Attenborough garden skull solved
A skull recovered in the back garden of broadcaster Sir David Attenborough in south-west London belonged to a woman murdered in 1879, a coroner has ruled.
Julia Martha Thomas was killed by her maid, Kate Webster, but her head remained missing. The case became known as "the Barnes mystery".
The skull was found during building work in Richmond last October.
The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing and the cause of death as asphyxiation and a head injury....