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The Torso In the Thames

London Police continue to investigate and have launched a fresh appeal.

Jessie London
6 min readSep 27, 2021
Tower Bridge, London, where Adam’s body was found.

London Metropolitan Police call him Adam. His true identity remains a mystery. Adam was a young child, around 5 years old, whose torso was found in the river Thames, London. Despite the horrific details of the crime, and multiple police appeals, no parents or family have come forward to claim the boy. In 2021, police are asking the public for their help, to bring Adam peace and justice.

On the 21st of September 2001, Adam’s body was discovered in the river Thames. The young boy’s limbs and head had been expertly removed from his torso. Police were unable to match him to the description of any missing children and no one came forward to claim their son, brother, or family member.

The investigation

A post-mortem revealed that Adam had been poisoned, his throat slit, and his blood drained. Pollen samples in his gut showed he had been living in the south-east of England for only a matter of days or weeks before his death.

Inside his stomach, pathologists found a strange concoction made of African river clay — including vegetation, ground bone, and traces of gold and quartz. The presence of ash in the mixture proved that it had been burned before the Adam was forced to eat it.

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Jessie London
Jessie London

Written by Jessie London

Full-time Author & Writer of fiction & fact. British lady who loves tea with milk and bland biscuits.

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