Mamie Stuart
Mamie Stuart (c. 24 November 1893 - November or December 1919) was a 26-year-old English woman who disappeared from her home in Caswell Bay, Wales, in 1919 and whose disappearance became known via the media as the Chorus Girl Mystery. Her husband, George Everard Shotton—who had bigamously married Stuart in 1918—was considered the prime suspect in her disappearance. Although investigators strongly suspected foul play, as no body could be found, Shotton could not be tried for Stuart's murder. He was instead convicted of bigamy and sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment. Stuart's dismembered body was found by three potholers in 1961, stashed behind a slab of rock inside a narrow, abandoned lead mine on the Gower Peninsula, just from the home Stuart had resided in at the time of her disappearance. Shotton had died of natural causes in a Fishponds hospital in April 1958. A coroner's court found him guilty of Stuart's murder in December 1961. The disappearance and eventual discovery of Mamie Stuart was known as the Chorus Girl Mystery due to her background, the duration of time she remained missing, and the unanswered questions behind her ultimate fate. Early life Amy Stuart was born in Sunderland in November 1893 to James Stuart, a ship's captain, and his wife Jane (née McGregor). She had one sister, Edith, and a younger brother, James Smith Stuart. As an adolescent, Stuart developed a passion for dancing. She also developed aspirations to perform in music halls and West End theatres. With her parents' consent, at the age of fifteen Stuart performed as a chorus girl on provincial tours with a troupe named The Magnets. She adopted the name "Mamie", and later left her family home to pursue her career. She later formed her own dance troupe, which she named The Five Verona Girls. This troupe performed nationwide and became a popular attraction, with the dancers—in a prudish era—sometimes daring to expose their legs to knee height. Stuart was later described by police as being an attractive young woman with brown, bobbed hair and grey-blue eyes, approximately to tall, with "very even teeth with one missing" and "of good carriage". As a result of an attack by a dog when she was a child, Stuart had four faint tooth marks on her right cheek, which she concealed with cosmetics. By early 1917, one member of The Five Verona Girls had become pregnant, while another broke her ankle. Shortly thereafter, the troupe disbanded and Stuart returned to her family home. Marriage Shortly after the disbandment of The Five Verona Girls, in July 1917, Stuart (then aged 23) became acquainted with a marine engineer named George Shotton in their native Sunderland. Shotton introduced himself to Stuart as a widower, and the two soon began a relationship, with Shotton purchasing a diamond engagement ring for her within months of their acquaintance. Less than a year after their acquaintance, they had married in South Shields. The newlyweds then held their honeymoon in Droitwich Spa. Shotton and Stuart initially lived