Shark Spit Out A Rat, Threw Up A Bird, Then Came A Human Arm. What Happened

Not very often do you hear of a shark helping solve a murder mystery. But it did happen nine decades ago in Sydney, Australia, when the giant fish vomited a human arm, leading people to assume that it had killed someone. First, the shark threw up a rat, then a bird, and then came a human arm, stunning everyone.

The arm had a rope tied around the wrist and a distinct tattoo of two boxers in a fighting stance, helping authorities identify it. The arm belonged to James "Jimmy" Smith, a man who had gone missing weeks earlier.

According to the Dictionary of Sydney, in April of the same year, a fisherman named Bert Hobson hooked a small shark off Coogee Beach. Soon after, the tiger shark, about four meters long, swallowed the smaller shark.

The fisherman managed to catch the big shark too and brought them to the Coogee Aquarium Baths, which became one of the attractions on Anzac Day, similar to Memorial Day in the US.

At that time, Sydney was terrified of sharks because three young men had been killed by them at nearby beaches earlier that year. The fish were called "public enemy number one." On April 25, Anzac Day, the shark started acting strangely and suddenly vomited a human arm, shocking spectators.

Charles Hobson, an aquarium worker, immediately called the police, sparking one of the most unusual murder investigations in Australian history.

At first, people thought this would be another shark attack incident, but a medical examination revealed that the arm had not been bitten off; instead, it had been cleanly cut with a knife or other sharp object.

Despite sharks' strong stomach acid, which normally destroys human tissue, experts estimated the arm had been in the shark's stomach for 8 to 18 days, as it was well-preserved, and the tattoo was still recognisable, according to Grunge.

After reading a newspaper report, Jimmy's brother, Edwin Smith, contacted the police, suggesting the arm could be his missing brother's. The well-preserved arm allowed police to obtain fingerprints, which confirmed it belonged to Jimmy Smith.

Jimmy Smith was a small-time criminal, a former boxer, and connected to illegal gambling and Sydney's underworld.

Police investigations revealed that Jimmy was last seen drinking with his friend Patrick Brady, a known criminal and expert forger, at the Cecil Hotel in Cronulla. Afterwards, they went to a cottage by Gunnamatta Bay.

The next morning, Brady took Jimmy to the home of Reginald Lloyd Holmes, a middle-class businessman who secretly ran a smuggling gang, bringing cocaine, cigarettes, and other contraband into Sydney via speedboats. Jimmy had worked for Holmes in these operations.

But the duo had a fall-out over a failed insurance scam, and it was suspected that Jimmy had begun blackmailing Holmes. Later, Holmes claimed that Brady murdered Jimmy and tried to use the severed arm to extort money from him, according to IFL Science.

Patrick Brady did go on trial and was acquitted due to the lack of evidence.