A MAN KILLED.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 86, 4 January 1908, Page 5

A MAN KILLED.

—■ RESULT OF A DRUNKEN QUARREL EyE-WiTNESS'3 ACCOUNT OF THE TRAGEDY. ' A wharf labourer, John M'Anally, yesterday camo to an untimely end in AVelliugton, D apparently as tho result of a blow from James Mallachy Sheridan. / Tho tragedy occurred at'the roar of. tho New Zealand Insuranco Company's new building at tho corner of. Lambton Quay and Groy. Street. w Mr. James Riokard, omployod by tho con- A tractors for tho building (Messrs. Trevor and u Son), ' who : was pn . eye-witness, ~; 1 gave a ti Dominion representative thp following statemeiit'. — i. t' STORY OF" AN EYE-WITNESS. . "I was sitting down, at about 1.15 o'clock fixing a'handle to a hammer, when tho two w men cntored tho section from Featherston U Stroot. Thoy , both appeared to be - drunk, n M'Anally considerably moro so than Sheri- b dan. Thoy v/ent'over to a. corner'near the h mortar heap and sat down. I . asked them casually what thoy wore doing thero, and w Sheridan replied something about having tl brought his mate thero to provont his money ti boing stolon while ho was drunk. They wire h thero for ten or fifteen, minutes, and then 1< M'Anally .tried .to get up, and Sheridan ■would not let him. 'Thoy rolled about a bit, s and Sheridan got deceased on his back and ii was kneeling over him.' While in this posi- it tion M'Anally . struck up sharply and hit l Sheridan, soinewhero about tho oye, drawing t blood..f Sheridan then 'got up and moved fi itway as if about to clear out. M'A,nlly o also got on to his feot andwent after liim, r and looked proparod'to giyo him ono,' tvhen t Sheridan wheeled i round and struck him on tho side of tho .'face. M'Anally dropped hko stone. He didn't movo after that, except tc lift his right arm a few minutes after he v fell.': ■ c : Rickard thought • the .man • had got' a t " kncck-out" blow, and took little notioo. n He regarded'.the' affair as a drunken squabWo ana v/ent'tjn with bis' work. As deceased g did not come round, however, he lifted him d from the position in which ho had fallen, and li placed his head on tho sand heap. ■ ' v "I lifted one of his eye-lids, and his eyo b seemed glassy-liko, but evon then I had no i thought that ho was dend.i I.also asked tho foreman of tho job what he thought of him." f "SAW THAT HE WAS DEAD." * Rickard then had occasion to, go'upstairs ill tho building, and, looked out from the first-floor window., Doceased : by this time Had turned a-bad colour, and Rickard and t the foreman plasterer, who also had looked t out of the window, descended hurriedly, and c wont to him.. They then saw that ho was t doad. This .would be about ton minutes i after tho blow i; had been struck. Mr. W. .Carroll, the ,foreman plasterer,. , said to Sheridan, "You haro killed that ( . man." a '' ' j 'l'hoy then decided to go for a policeman. | , Sheridan provious to this. had been sitting ■ beside tho man. Once hp had put do- . ccasod's hat over his faceup keep .the sun , off. He did not seem to understand that any- . thing was tho matter,, "nil aftar being told the man.was dead, seemed .to be chafing his | facp:. 'On., catqbing sight of. Constable Phil- : |ip2,,,ivbp h.ad iip, ;ho mndo ol? , dowivFeatherston Street, with soveral people' Constablo Phillips after him.' l Subsequently, said Rickard, tho body was i taken away by the police to tho Morgue. j Mr. Thomas l'earco,- contract foreman, j said that Sheridan did not. seem to' think . ho . had hurt M'Anally, ; "i Tho comer of tho . Wellington Trust and Loan Company's section, whoro tl)e tragody occurred, is sheltered from view of Featherston Street by tho western, wall of Messrs. Voung and Tripe's building.' It was surmised by those present that the two men had gone there to bo out of tho way, and to sleep/off the effects of tho drink. Near by is a heap of sand for mortar purposes, and ,whorc deceased fell heavily is a bed of caked mortar. THE ARREST. When Sheridan made off, followed by sev- , eral people, Constables Clay, who was passing , down Lambton Quay in. n tram-car, saw tho commotion. Concluding somothing had occurred, he jumped off the tram and chased tho accusod and arrested him in Panama Street. Ho was taken to the Lambton Quay Polico Station and charged, with murder. Ho will bo brought before tho Court this morning. A remand will be applied for, probably to Friday. Sheridan, who lives at Karori Crescent, ' is tho son of Mr. P. Sheridan, of Welling- ) ton.. He is about,thirty years of ago, and a well-built young fellow. He is a carponter I by trade, lie was under tho influenco of i drink when arrested. ' . THE DECEASED. The deceased, who appeared to bo about forty years of age, was a sturdily-propor-tioned man of about medium height. Ho' resided in Little Pipitea Street, and leaves i a wife . and two children. When r searched yesterday, a pawn ticket for a watch, in Sheridan's name, and 255. in silver were found in his pockets. Deceased was a seafaring man, but latterly had followed the occupation of a wharf labourer. ' THE INQUEST. An enquiry into the doatli of M'Anally will be held by the District Coroner (Mr. Jas. Ashcroft) at 11 o'clock this morning.