Killers slaughtered 60 people then sold bodies as 'fresher corpses meant more money'
dailystar.co.ukREAD MORE: Hilarious moment woman tries to beat drunk driving test by Irish folk dancing But it’s thought they actually murdered up to 60 more.Their gruesome tale is told in the London Dungeon’s summer show Bodysnatchers, which is on until Sunday and was created with the help of Dr Drew Gray, a lecturer in the history of crime.Back in the 19th century, the only way for doctors and surgeons to learn about the human body was to cut one up and examine it.So they needed bodies – the fresher the better, before any decay set in – for students to learn from.This is where grave robbers such as the London Burkers came in.Dr Gray says: “They’d be looking for a burial that had taken place that day, then that night they’d go in and dig up the body.“They might do two or three in one night and then take them to one of the London teaching hospitals, St Bart’s for example.“They would meet a porter or a representative of the main surgeon in a pub or around the back of a hospital.
Then they would negotiate a price for the dead body.“The body is taken away by the porter, while they pocketed the money and went off to dig up the next one.“By the time we get to the 1820s, it’s become really profitable.
It’s supply and demand.“They’re beginning to earn eight to 14 guineas for a body. That translates to £500 to £1,000 in today’s money.
It’s a nice little earner.“More importantly, that sort of money is much more than you could earn as a working-class labourer or even a skilled tradesman.
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