The Story in Moffat : Moffat Museum

This is Cemetery Cottage, on the A701, where Jim Nelson and his family lived in 1935. The Mortuary was underneath the family’s living accommodation

Timeline
29^thSeptember	Body parts seen at Gardenholm Linn by Susie Johnstone. Police called to the scene & detailed notes were taken. Remains collected and taken to Moffat Mortuary.
	Sgt. Sloan noted “I found four bundles, two heads, a thigh bone and two arms. The top of the fingers and top of the thumbs were missing and there were also several pieces of flesh and skin lying loose.”
	Jim Nelson, the cemetery keeper, lived in the rooms above the mortuary with his wife and children, including a new-born baby. That night the stench from the body parts was such that Jim lit several paraffin lamps in an attempt to disguise the smell. Next day the family were provided with alternative accommodation in Moffat
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30^thSeptember	More body parts discovered. Local GPs Huskie and Pringle undertook a post-mortem investigation. Based on the parts found, it was thought that the remains were those of a woman in her early 30s and a man aged 45/50.
	There were no grounds for thinking that the murders were local. Police held the view that the murders had taken place further north – this conclusion reached as the remains appeared to have been thrown over the east side of the bridge.
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1^stOctober	More remains found as Police search the area. Professor John Glaister and Dr. Gilbert Miller arrived at the scene and examined the remains. They noted that the man would have been 5’9” tall and the woman 5’2”. They concluded that mutilation of the bodies had taken place after death and that the dismemberment had been undertaken by someone with detailed anatomical knowledge.
	The remains were taken to Edinburgh for more detailed investigation.
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2^ndOctober	Extensive searches of the area continue. George Lammie (farmer at Gardenholm Linn) finds more remains. Police ask owners of garages and filling stations for information on any suspicious cars or activity.
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7^thOctober	Bloodhounds were brought in to assist in the search – with no success.
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8^thOctober	Progress had been made on identifying the newspapers in which some of the remains had been wrapped. Sgt. Sloan had carefully preserved and dried the newspapers. The Sunday Graphic of 15^th September was found to have been a limited-edition newspaper, distributed in the Lancaster/Morecambe area.
	The forensic investigations in Edinburgh had also progressed and it had been concluded that both victims were female.
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13^thOctober	Police had been able to connect the Scottish investigations with reports of 2 missing persons in Lancashire – Mary Jane Rogerson and Isabella Ruxton. There was felt to be sufficient evidence for Dr. Buck Ruxton to be charged with the murder of Mary Jane Rogerson.

28^thOctober	A Council roadworker found remains some 6 miles north of Lockerbie.
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4^thNovember	Remains found by Jen Gwendoline Halliday near Gardenholm Linn at Adamsholm Wood.
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5^thNovember	Dr. Buck Ruston charged with the murder of Isabella Ruxton.
	Despite the many searches the trunk, right thigh, fingers and foot of one of the bodies were never found.
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2^ndMarch 1936	Trial of Buck Ruxton at Manchester Assizes. Moffat Residents who travelled to Manchester and gave evidence at the trial were George Aitken, George Lammie, Jen Gwendoline Halliday, Sergeant Robert Sloan and Constable James Fairweather.