{"id":117992,"date":"2023-08-27T14:11:44","date_gmt":"2023-08-27T14:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/?p=117992"},"modified":"2023-08-27T14:11:44","modified_gmt":"2023-08-27T14:11:44","slug":"mans-tattooed-arm-was-vomited-up-by-tiger-shark-in-familys-aquarium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottontailsonline.com\/world-news\/mans-tattooed-arm-was-vomited-up-by-tiger-shark-in-familys-aquarium\/","title":{"rendered":"Man’s tattooed arm was vomited up by tiger shark in family’s aquarium"},"content":{"rendered":"
A bloke's tattooed arm was coughed up by a 14-foot tiger shark residing in the aquarium of a family-owned swimming baths, sparking a murder inquiry.<\/p>\n
The shark living in Sydney's Coogee Aquarium, Australia, vomited up the severed limb a week after it was caught and put on display at the family attraction.<\/p>\n
Owner Bert Hobson had been in need of a new attraction for his fledging baths and a tiger shark which had been spotted in the nearby waters was targeted.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: 'Fearsome' ocean predators lurking on UK beaches as Brits warned touch could kill<\/b><\/p>\n
Just a week into the exhibit the tiger shark coughed up an arm which was later identified thanks to fingerprint technology not available at the time in 1935.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The limb of Jimmy Smith, 45, was coughed up after the massive tiger shark also spat out a bird and a rat.<\/p>\n
Witness Narcisse Leo Young told The Sydney Herald: "I was three or four meters from the shark and clearly saw come out of its mouth a copious brown froth which smelled really foul."<\/p>\n
Police at the time believed the arm had been cut off, rather than bitten off, and soon tales of the mysterious killing had a firm grip on Australia.<\/p>\n
Mr Smith had been an associate of local crime figure Reginald Holmes, a drug smuggler who used passing ships to transport his illegal goods.<\/p>\n
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He and Smith had worked with one another before the latter began blackmailing Mr Holmes, with the 45-year-old's final moments said to be at a hotel with fellow crime associate Patrick Brady, an ex-serviceman.<\/p>\n
Even Brady had pointed toward Holmes as the prime suspect in Smith's disappearance, with the drug-smuggler shooting himself in the head when questioned by police, a shot which he somehow survived.<\/p>\n
He was later interrogated and admitted Brady had killed Smith, showing up at his property with the dismembered arm and rambling about dumping the remains in the harbour through a "Sydney send-off".<\/p>\n
The grim name for the disposal of bodies was popular among crime gangs bumping off those no longer required during the 1920s and 1930s.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Smith's arm had been dumped in the sea and eaten by a smaller shark before the tiger shark swallowed the other ocean-going predator.<\/p>\n
Ron Hobson caught the shark just nine days later while Holmes had ordered a hitman to take him out to secure a life insurance pay-out for his family, and was found dead in his car from three bullets to the chest.<\/p>\n
No conviction was ever recorded as the only evidence was the severed arm following Holmes' death, and Smith's body was never found.<\/p>\n
Both Port Hacking and Gunnamatta Bay were searched by the Australian Navy and Air Force but no remains were found.<\/p>\n
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