Brighton found itself at the centre of an extraordinary – but gruesome – coincidence in 1934, when the uncovering of a murdered woman in a trunk led to the find of a second victim who had met the same fate. Despite the eerie similarities, the two incidents were completely unrelated.
The first victim was discovered on 17 June 1934, when William Joseph Vinnicombe noticed an unpleasant smell wafting from an unclaimed trunk at the Brighton railway station left luggage office.
The Met’s Chief Inspector Robert Donaldson was sent to investigate. Upon forcing the trunk open, he made a stomach-churning discovery; layers of blood-soaked paper and cotton wool concealing a parcel tied with sash cord. Inside were the torso and arms of a woman.
View 7 ImagesThe unclaimed trunk was found to contain human remains(Image: Daily Mirror)
Alerts were sent to other stations, leading to the discovery of a suitcase at King’s Cross in London containing the legs. The head was never found. The press named the mystery victim ‘The Girl with the Pretty Feet’ or simply ‘Pretty Feet’ because the corpse had ‘Dancer’s Feet’. A post-mortem, conducted by eminent pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury, revealed that the woman was about 25 and five months pregnant.
Neither the victim nor her murderer was ever identified – but hunt for her killer led to the discovery of a second murder. As police conducted door-to-door searches near Brighton station, they stumbled on the second remains found in eerily similar circumstances.
7View 7 ImagesThe body of Violette Kaye was also discovered in a trunk(Image: Getty Images)
7View 7 ImagesTony Mancini(Image: Getty Images)
The victim in this instance was 42-year-old Violette Kaye (born Violet Saunders). A known prostitute and a heavy drinker, she had moved from London to Brighton in 1933 with her younger lover Tony Mancini. Theirs was a volatile relationship.
On 10 May 1934, the couple had a furious fight at the Skylark café on the seafront, where Mancini worked. Kaye had accused him of being romantically involved with a teen waitress. It was the last time she was seen alive.
The next day, Mancini told friends Kaye had moved to Paris. Meanwhile her sister-in-law received a telegram that read ‘Going abroad. Good job. Sail Sunday. Will write. –Vi’.
View 7 ImagesTony Mancini seen relaxing on Brighton beach(Image: Mirrorpix)
Mancini moved into 52 Kemp Street, near the station, bringing with him a trunk. Inside was Kaye’s body. Mancini placed the trunk at the foot of his bed, draped it with a cloth and used it as a coffee table. Visitors eventually began to complain about an unpleasant smell and fluids seeping from the trunk.
Unnerved by questioning from police about Kaye’s disappearance, Mancini went on the run, but officers investigating the first body in the trunk, searched his premises and found Kaye’s decomposing remains.
Mancini was arrested in London on 17 July. His his trial began December 1934 at the Lewes Assizes – a high court for capital crimes. The prosecution focused on a fatal blow to Kaye’s head and a graphologist testified that the handwriting on the form for the matched Mancini’s handwriting on the café menus.
View 7 ImagesThe bedroom on Kemp Street where Violette was found(Image: Getty Images)
One witness, Doris Saville, claimed Mancini had begged her for a false alibi, while friends testified that he had boasted about giving his “missus” the biggest hiding of her life.
The defence team took a different approach, focusing on Kaye’s lifestyle and issues with alcohol. Mancini claimed he had simply found her dead in their flat and, fearing his criminal record would make him the prime suspect, panicked and hid the body. His lawyers even suggested a client might have killed her.
They also presented evidence from friends of the couple who said they seemed ‘contented’.
View 7 ImagesThe Skylark Cafe where Mancini worked(Image: Mirrorpix)
The jury deliberated for just over two hours before returning a not guilty verdict, after being swayed by defence counsel Norman Birkett.
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It wasn’t the end of the story, however. In 1976, Mancini confessed to a News of the World journalist that he had indeed killed Kaye. He claimed that during a blazing row, she had attacked him with a hammer; he wrestled it away, and threw it at her, striking her temple and killing her instantly.
A prosecution for perjury was considered, but the Director of Public Prosecutions ruled he could not be tried again. Tragically, the ‘Girl with Pretty Feet’, was never identified, and her murderer – along with Violette’s – was never brought to justice.