In 1876, the headless body of middle aged Henry Derry was found floating in a casket in the Avon river. This was not a murder but a good old fashioned "body snatching".
A fairly well-known fact is that in the good ol' days, bodies were not readily available to anatomists for dissection in medical schools and bodies were often dug up soon after burial (illegally of course,) for students. This was the case as a local student admitted the crime and had removed the head for further study.
Thereafter, the River Avon is said to be haunted by the ghost of Henry Derry, his headless torso in search of his lost body part.
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