Intrigue surrounds the identity of an unearthed human skull, thought to be the key to solving a Richmond murder mystery dating back to the 1800s.

The discovery of the skull, believed to be that of Julia Martha Thomas, sparked a wave of interest on Friday when it was found in wildlife enthusiast David Attenborough’s Park Road, Richmond, garden.

Following the gruesome discovery, the garden was sealed off and speculation began to mount the skull could be that of Mrs Thomas, a former resident who was murdered by her maid 131 years ago.

On Tuesday, west London coroner Alison Thompson took the unusual step of opening an inquest into the death of the unidentified woman behind closed doors. Ms Thompson asked detectives from Richmond CID to conduct inquiries into the identification and circumstances of her death.

Investigating officer, acting Detective Inspector Dave Bolton, said: “We are keeping an open mind as to whom the skull belonged to and the bones will be subject to further forensic examination and anthropological study to establish the cause of death, age of the victim and possible identity.

“One line of inquiry is the now widely-speculated story the skull is Julia Martha Thomas, who was murdered at a venue in 1879, very close to the site where the skull was recovered.”

Workmen found the human remains while excavating land at the derelict Hole in the Wall pub next to Sir David’s home.

The 84-year-old bought the plot last year to transform it into an orchard and garden. The Attenboroughs declined to comment on last week’s find.

Mrs Thomas, a widow in her 50s, was killed while living in Park Road in 1879. Her maid Katherine Webster was found guilty of her murder and mutilating the body.

Despite Webster’s confession and the recovered mutilated remains, her head was never found and the case became known as the Barnes Mystery. Now the riddle of her final resting place may have been solved with the grisly find just metres from her former home.

D Insp Bolton said: “Police ask that any relatives of Mrs Thomas contact us.

“If scientists are able to subsequently extract DNA from the skull we will seek to compare the DNA of a known relative of Mrs Thomas to see if we can conclusively prove or disprove that the skull is indeed that of Mrs Thomas.”

Is discovery of skull mystery's solution?

When Julia Martha Thomas’ body was found dismembered and floating in a box close to Barnes Bridge on March 5, 1879, one of Richmond’s greatest murder mysteries began.

The gruesome discovery of human remains sparked interest – not just because the body had been mutilated, but because the murder victim’s head was missing.

Until Friday, the mystery of where Mrs Thomas’ killer – her maid Katherine Webster – had disposed of the head was no nearer to being resolved. However, now the final chapter in the riddle appears tantalisingly close.

The sequence of events leading to the grisly murder were set in motion in January 1879 when twice-widowed Mrs Thomas employed Webster as a live-in maid at her Park Road home.

After a month of living together, on February 28, Mrs Thomas wrote in her diary that she had given Webster a warning to leave and two days later was seen behaving oddly at church before never being seen again.

Three weeks later, police investigating Mrs Thomas’ disappearance found “a quantity of charred bones and some burned buttons” in the kitchen scullery of her home and no sign of Webster. Putting two and two together they sent officers to Ireland to apprehend the missing maid, by then a murder suspect.

By March 31, Webster had appeared in Richmond Magistrates’ Court charged with murder, with the prosecution claiming she had killed her mistress, boiled the body, chopped it into pieces and disposed of it in the river.

Her motive appeared to be anger at Mr Thomas criticising the standard of her work and showing a “nasty spirit” towards her.

Though they could not be 100 per cent sure how Mrs Thomas met her end, Webster was found guilty of the crime at the Old Bailey and sentenced to death.

On the day of her execution, Webster admitted to her priest: “I alone committed the murder of Mrs Thomas.

“I was slightly excited by having taken some drink, and when my mistress came home I was aggravated by her manner. I pushed her downstairs and then strangled her.”

How the murder story unfolded

Murder most horrid: How the Richmond and Twickenham Times reported the case

The horrible discovery in the Thames (March 29, 1879): The mutilated human remains, found in a common deal box in the Thames at Barnes, and supposed to be those of a murdered woman, were on Monday the subject of a coroner’s inquiry. The only remaining conclusion is that a foul murder has been perpetrated on some woman, whose head and other portions of her body are now missing.

Supposed horrible murder – the Barnes mystery explained (March 29, 1879): Richmond has been horrified this week by an explanation of the Barnes mystery, which leaves only too little room for doubt that a shocking case of murder and mutilation has occurred on Richmond Hill. Not a speck of blood was found anywhere about the premises but police discovered some small bones, evidently human, which appeared to have been in a fire. The garden was carefully dug over, but nothing of importance was discovered there.

Arrest of the accused – 10pm: A telegram has just arrived at Richmond police station stating that Inspector Jones, of the T Division, has apprehended the woman, Catherine Webb [sic], at Enniscorthy, Ireland. He is expected to arrive in London with his prisoner and the woman will probably be brought up at Richmond police court on Monday morning.

The Richmond murder, committal of the prisoner (May 12, 1879): Throughout the proceedings she maintained her usual calm demeanour, and manifested no emotion when she was committed for trial.

The Richmond murder – discovery of a bag (May 31, 1879): The limbs appeared to have been chopped up in a manner that would lead to the belief that the only object the person who had divided them had in view was to cut up the body as small as possible. The first question for them to consider then was, were these remains that had been so treated, the remains of Mrs Thomas?

The Richmond murder (July 5, 1879): At the Central Criminal Court, on Wednesday, before Mr Justice Denman, Catherine Webster [sic] was brought up for trial on the charge of having murdered Mrs Thomas at Richmond. The court was opened punctually at 10 o’clock. She looked pale, careworn and ill, and was allowed a seat.

The end of the Richmond murder – no longer a ‘mystery’ (August 2, 1879): On Tuesday morning last, the curtain fell on the last act of the Richmond tragedy by the execution of its sole perpetrator Kate Webster.

This was her confession: “On Sunday evening, March 2, upon her return from church she came in and went upstairs. I went up after her and we had an argument, which ripened into a quarrel, and in the height of my rage I threw her from the top of the stairs. She was seriously injured, and I became excited at what occurred, lost all control, and to prevent her screaming or getting me into trouble, I caught her by the throat, and she was choked. I became entirely lost... I determined to do away with the body the best I could.”