ALBURY — 1934 · Murder
The "Pyjama Girl" Case
On 1 September 1934 the body of a young woman wearing yellow silk pyjamas with a dragon pattern was found in a culvert under Howlong Road in Albury. The unidentified woman became known in the press as the "Pyjama Girl", and her body was preserved at Sydney University's medical school for years in the hope of identification. Ten years later, in 1944, a new dental examination showed she was London-born Linda Agostini; errors in the first examination had delayed identification. Her husband confessed to killing her. He was tried for murder but convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to six years; after serving part of the sentence he was deported to Italy. The case is studied as an example of the importance of forensic odontology.
- Date
- 1934
- Place
- New South Wales, Australia, Albury, AU
- Category
- Murder
- Case Status
- Solved
- Coordinates
- -36.0737, 146.9135 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 1 September 1934An unidentified woman was found in a culvert in Albury.
- 1934–1944The body was preserved in Sydney for identification.
- 1944Dental examination identified her as Linda Agostini.
- 1944Her husband confessed; he was later sentenced to six years for manslaughter.
- 1948He was released and deported to Italy.
Sources
- NFSA — Australia Today: The 'Pyjama Girl' murder case nfsa.gov.au ↗
- PubMed — The identification of Linda Agostini: dental evidence pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- Wikipedia — Killing of Linda Agostini en.wikipedia.org ↗
- NFSA
- PubMed
- Wikipedia
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.