On February 5, 1920, a man on his way to work made a shocking discovery.
Looking up from a ditch by the side of the main Crosby Road was a pair of lifeless blue eyes. The body of a pretty 15-year-old lay mutilated in the ditch, close to the allotments. Her dark, bobbed hair was matted with blood, her mouth bound with a man’s handkerchief and her throat had been cut.
No weapons were found at the scene but as police began to investigate the shocking crime, they discovered two vital pieces of evidence. A plain, bone cigarette holder which was found at the scene, and the handkerchief used to gag the teenager, were the only clues to this shocking crime.
As investigations got underway it emerged Mary Drury, a quiet but contented girl, had left her home shortly after 7pm. Dressed in a wool coat and tam-o-shanter hat, she told her parents she was going to visit a friend who had been absent from school that day.
Plan to visit uncle
However when Mary did not return home, her father went to the house in Park View and learned she had never been there that evening. Earlier in the day, Mary had also told a school mistress she planned to visit an uncle in Crosby that evening, but again she had not turned up.
Alarmed his daughter was missing, John Drury reported his fears to the police, telling them Mary was ‘high spirited but content’ and was usually in bed by 9pm. He and Mary’s uncle, who treated his neice as one of his own family, searched until 4am for the missing teenager to no avail.
However the following morning, the police went to the scene and seized clues to help with their investigation. They took the cigarette holder and handkerchief but could not find any weapon.
Mary’s body was taken to the mortuary and a post mortem was carried out. It was clear her head injuries had been caused by some form of blunt instrument, with considerable force, and her throat had been cut with a knife. There was no sign she had been sexually abused.
Railwayman found dead
Mary Drury funeral report
The following day, on February 6, a young railwayman was found dead on the line near to Sandhills Station. When questioned by Lancashire police on February 4, Leahy had admitted he knew Mary and used to speak to her on the allotments.
On the night of the murder he had been for a walk at 7pm, and when he returned he had blood on his coat. Mary’s school friend, Isabel Conrad, said Mary would meet frequently with Leahy, and he owed the teenager 2s. Another witness said that on February 5, Leahy had arrived at her house saying he was suspected of being involved with Mary’s murder.
When the woman said there were other suspects, Leahy replied: “They have taken my overcoat.” The inquest into Mary’s death heard samples of hair matching the victim’s were found on Leahy’s coat. There were also human blood stains. On February 20, the jury concluded that the man found dead on the railway was responsible for the brutal murder on the allotments.
On February 25, an inquest into the death of Leahy concluded he died by suicide on the railway track. A verdict of murder was recorded for the death of the scholgirl.
Hundreds of mourners attended a funeral service for Mary at St Luke’s church, Great Crosby. Among the congregation were many children with friends from school and Sunday school laying wreaths at the graveside.
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