Victorian Murder Mystery. A gravestone inscribed "An Unknown Woman, Found Dead, March 25, 1887" bears mute testimony to a notorious unsolved murder. The victim, described by police as a young woman in her early 20's with blue eyes and brown hair, was found frozen in the mud on Rahway's Central Avenue early on the morning of March 25, 1887, her throat slashed and her face badly beaten. She had worn a feather-trimmed green dress, yellow gloves, "foreign good shoes", jewelry, and a fur cape, and had been carrying a basket of eggs. Since her jewelry had not been taken, robbery was ruled out as a motive, and it was assumed that she was a foreign prostitute who'd fallen prey to a drifter. Despite a $250 reward, no one came forward to identify the mystery woman or to provide any information. Her body was consequently removed from the morgue and interred in Rahway Cemetery on May 2, 1887. Since the young woman's virtue was uncertain, her grave was dug at a discreet distance from family plots, but numerous burials over the years have long since ended its isolation.
Victorian Murder Mystery. A gravestone inscribed "An Unknown Woman, Found Dead, March 25, 1887" bears mute testimony to a notorious unsolved murder. The victim, described by police as a young woman in her early 20's with blue eyes and brown hair, was found frozen in the mud on Rahway's Central Avenue early on the morning of March 25, 1887, her throat slashed and her face badly beaten. She had worn a feather-trimmed green dress, yellow gloves, "foreign good shoes", jewelry, and a fur cape, and had been carrying a basket of eggs. Since her jewelry had not been taken, robbery was ruled out as a motive, and it was assumed that she was a foreign prostitute who'd fallen prey to a drifter. Despite a $250 reward, no one came forward to identify the mystery woman or to provide any information. Her body was consequently removed from the morgue and interred in Rahway Cemetery on May 2, 1887. Since the young woman's virtue was uncertain, her grave was dug at a discreet distance from family plots, but numerous burials over the years have long since ended its isolation.
Bio by: Nikita Barlow
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