Police Constable Frederic Vince lived in the village of Sonning. Part of his duties as a constable was to walk a beat which took him along the towpath from Sonning toward the Dreadnought public house. Nestled into the bank of the Thames, the Dreadnought was a popular stopping off point for many of the boatmen who worked on the river and on any given day a collection of punts, rowing boats and barges could be seen moored alongside the towpath in front of its peeling façade. PC Vince would have enjoyed his gentle stroll along the river despite feeling hot in his heavy helmet and close-fitting jacket.
Thursday 30 April was a glorious spring day, the sun filtering through the trees on to the dusty pathway. PC Vince may have been looking forward to a jug of ale upon reaching the inn, but with three-quarters of a mile to go he spotted among the reeds, about six feet from the bank, another miserable parcel with some linen protruding from its wrappings. knowing at once what the parcel would contain, he fashioned a drag from some string and a stick and managed to bring the bundle to shore. He then made his way to the Dreadnought where, instead of a cooling jar of ale, he procured a boat and a piece of floor cloth, which he placed under the fragile parcel, before towing the boat back along the river to the police station.
The body inside the parcel was that of a baby boy of about nine or ten months. He was wrapped in a piece of white flannel and although there was no brick in the parcel there was a gaping hole through which, it was conjectured, a brick might well have fallen. The head of the boy was wrapped in pink flannel, the ends of which were twisted and formed like a rope. These were crossed at the back of the head and brought around to the front where they were tied tightly under the child’s chin. A pocket handkerchief was stuffed underneath the fabric.
Dr Maurice found the body to be extremely decomposed, having been in the water between three and four months. There was nothing left by which the body could be identified. He was of the opinion that the flannel, being tied in such a way, would have been sufficient to cause death by strangulation, although there was not enough evidence to say positively. The jury at the inquest had no choice but to return a verdict of “Found drowned”.
From information in the possession of the police, they are confident that the body was thrown into the water not far from the “Dreadnought,” and the landlord of the “Dreadnought” has stated that he saw a man with a parcel near the towing-path about the time the child is said to have been drowned. It was in order to find this child that the dragging operations were carried on near the “Dreadnought” last week. It is stated that the child was one which Mrs Dyer received at Caversham and whose whereabouts could not be traced.
Berkshire Chronicle, Saturday 2 May 1896