Torso in the Thames
Encyclopedia
"Adam" is the name given to a young African boy whose torso
was discovered in the River Thames, London on 21 September 2001. He is believed to have been between the ages of four and seven. The murder is believed to be linked to a ritual killing. Despite the use of forensic science, the Metropolitan Police Service
have not caught the killer.
The torso was discovered on the afternoon of Friday, 21 September 2001, as it floated past the Tower of London
towards Tower Bridge
in Central London
. A passer-by crossing the bridge had noticed an orange object in the water, and realising it was a body as it passed under the bridge, alerted the police. The Metropolitan Police
sent its marine search unit to the scene, who recovered the torso further downstream. The body was found to be the torso of a young black child, the orange being a pair of shorts around the stumps of the legs.
The discovery of the torso shocked police, and prompted massive media coverage in the United Kingdom and around the world. The police named the body Adam in the absence of any positive identification.
. This type of killing involves the removal of body parts such as the ears or genitals. However Adam's genitals were not removed, and the police ruled out this theory.
in his lungs that he had only been in the United Kingdom for a few days. A potion that contained ingredients used in African ritual magic was also discovered in his stomach.
, Africa.
Metropolitan police travelled to Nigeria and launched a campaign to track Adam's parents. Despite visiting elementary schools and looking at reported missing children in the region, there was no success.
Surveillance of the woman's associates brought the police to another Nigerian, a man named Kingsley Ojo. Searching of Ojo's house found a series of ritual items, however none of the DNA on the items matched Adam's DNA. Ojo was charged with child trafficking offences and jailed for four years in 2004.
The police also note that Adam would never have been found if his body had washed out into the North Sea
, which would have occurred only two turns of the tide after his discovery.
On 29 March 2011, it was discovered that the torso belonged to that of 6-year old, Ikpomwosa, after a TV-Crew managed to track down a woman who used to care for him in Germany, due to his parents being deported back to Nigeria. Mother of 2, Joyce Osiagede had told ITV London Tonight that she handed the 6-year old to a man - reportedly named Bawa, who proceeded to take the child to London. Detectives have said that this is a 'major breakthrough.
Alain Foix, Vénus et Adam. Galaade éditions. Roman, 2006
Torso
Trunk or torso is an anatomical term for the central part of the many animal bodies from which extend the neck and limbs. The trunk includes the thorax and abdomen.-Major organs:...
was discovered in the River Thames, London on 21 September 2001. He is believed to have been between the ages of four and seven. The murder is believed to be linked to a ritual killing. Despite the use of forensic science, the Metropolitan Police Service
Metropolitan Police Service
The Metropolitan Police Service is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London, excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police...
have not caught the killer.
The torso was discovered on the afternoon of Friday, 21 September 2001, as it floated past the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
towards Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, England, over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name...
in Central London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. A passer-by crossing the bridge had noticed an orange object in the water, and realising it was a body as it passed under the bridge, alerted the police. The Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
sent its marine search unit to the scene, who recovered the torso further downstream. The body was found to be the torso of a young black child, the orange being a pair of shorts around the stumps of the legs.
The discovery of the torso shocked police, and prompted massive media coverage in the United Kingdom and around the world. The police named the body Adam in the absence of any positive identification.
Initial investigations
Police soon realized after recovering only the torso, that the circumstances were unusual and not typical of a sex-related murder. It was initially suspected that the murder was a medicine murderMedicine murder
A Medicine murder is the killing of a human being in order to excise body parts to use as medicine. It is not human sacrifice in a religious sense because the motivation is not the death of human, but the creation of an item or items from their corpus for use in traditional healing...
. This type of killing involves the removal of body parts such as the ears or genitals. However Adam's genitals were not removed, and the police ruled out this theory.
Post mortem
A post-mortem was carried out on Adam's remains. This established from the amount of British food in Adam's stomach and pollenPollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
in his lungs that he had only been in the United Kingdom for a few days. A potion that contained ingredients used in African ritual magic was also discovered in his stomach.
Nigerian link
Adam's bones were also analysed to see if it could determine his geographical origins. As everything a person eats bears the trace of the soil of where it was grown or reared, soil samples were compared to places around the world. Scientists determined from this that Adam originated in NigeriaNigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Africa.
Metropolitan police travelled to Nigeria and launched a campaign to track Adam's parents. Despite visiting elementary schools and looking at reported missing children in the region, there was no success.
Linked cases
In July 2002, a Nigerian woman arrived in the UK from Germany, claiming to have fled from a Yoruba cult that practiced ritual murders. She claimed that they attempted to kill her son, and that she knew Adam was murdered in London by his parents. However, police searching her flat found orange shorts with the same clothing label as those found on Adam.Surveillance of the woman's associates brought the police to another Nigerian, a man named Kingsley Ojo. Searching of Ojo's house found a series of ritual items, however none of the DNA on the items matched Adam's DNA. Ojo was charged with child trafficking offences and jailed for four years in 2004.
Developments in the case
Progress on the case has been considerable given the lack of evidence and the existence of only Adam's torso. However, the lack of dental records or face imagery has been a major block to solving the crime. Still, Metropolitan police believe the publicity surrounding the case has acted as a deterrent for further ritual crimes in the UK.The police also note that Adam would never have been found if his body had washed out into the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, which would have occurred only two turns of the tide after his discovery.
On 29 March 2011, it was discovered that the torso belonged to that of 6-year old, Ikpomwosa, after a TV-Crew managed to track down a woman who used to care for him in Germany, due to his parents being deported back to Nigeria. Mother of 2, Joyce Osiagede had told ITV London Tonight that she handed the 6-year old to a man - reportedly named Bawa, who proceeded to take the child to London. Detectives have said that this is a 'major breakthrough.
External links
- News article, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, 27 February 2003 - "'Child sacrifices in London'", This Is LondonThis Is LondonThis Is London may refer to:*thisislondon.co.uk, a website belonging to the Evening Standard*"This is London" or "This is London Calling", an opening message on the BBC World Service*This Is London, a 1983 album by The Times...
, 16 June 2005 - "Boys 'used for human sacrifice'", BBC, 16 June 2005
- http://www.youtube.com/user/kewgardens#p/c/B702528EF40DD60F/26/9fipivO5RAYDr Hazel Wilkinson of Kew's Jodrell Laboratory explains her work in the case. Video from Royal Botanic Gardens, KewRoyal Botanic Gardens, KewThe Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
, 2010]
Further reading
- Sanders, Todd 2003. Imagining the Dark Continent: the Met, the media and the Thames Torso. Cambridge Anthropology 23(3), 53-66.
Alain Foix, Vénus et Adam. Galaade éditions. Roman, 2006