Two more physicians helped Doctor Ike with the autopsy, and there was a six-man jury there as well. A whole crowd had joined in front of the barn and watched as they stripped her naked for the autopsy. Adolescent boys and men stood and stared at their first naked woman, even though she was dead. There were no external injuries except a knot on her temple, and no water in her lungs or stomach. There was no blood found in either chamber of her heart, and she was also a virgin; this quieted the towns talk about her being pregnant and having the right to be dead.
Deputy Reid went to go get Jim, who had been staying with Kelly Tillet and his wife and baby. He did not want to go back to the city because he knew the town “had it in for him.” (pg. 115; Simpson)
After lunch, the coroner came back and opened up her head. “When his scalpel struck her left temple, about a tablespoon of thick, black blood oozed out.” (pg. 116; Simpson) After removing her scalp, they found a bruise slightly larger than a silver dollar.
There were so many threats against Jim, the Third Division, Naval Battalion, and North Carolina State Guard were ordered to stand guard at the jail where Jim was (also known as the Pasquotank Rifles). Many untrue rumors were spreading through the town about Nell Cropsey’s case and what condition her body was in. The verdict of the jury was announced the morning after her death, and it said that “Ella M. Cropsey came to her death by being stricken a blow on the left temple and by being drowned in the Pasquotank River.” (pg. 120; Simpson) They also mentioned Jim’s name in the verdict, which worked up the whole town confirming their thoughts that he murdered Nell.
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