THE CITY TRAGEDY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 87, 6 January 1908, Page 8

THE CITY TRAGEDY.

' . ACCUSED BEFORE THE COURT.

•, REtyIAND CRANTED., ■ EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST. As a sequel, to the occurrence early, on Friday afternoon which resulted .in ; tho death of John William M'Nally, ,Jas;/ Malachy Shoridan appeared at the Magistrate's Court • -on Saturday-morning-oharged with having caused:tho doatlrof M'Nnily. In the absence of itlie Stipendiary;' Magistrate', the bench was occupied by,'-Messrs;- H. '•*• C., C. Crump, jmd ' E.; Ca'rrigan:' No answer to tho chargo was "made by the ac- , cused, for whom Mr. JL" Gray , is acting. Snb-Inspector O'Donovah applied for, and was'granted, a remand until Wednesday, as an "inquest was about'to "be held on tho . body of deceased. No bail was' asked .for.

THE INQUEST. -- • t

VERDICT OF THE JURY. ,'An .inquest , concerning- the- death' o1 ■ M'Nally -was held at .tho Morgue on Satur day■ morning before Mr.- James Ashcrofl (Coroner). ■ ■ • 1 : ,i.\: Tho .names of the jurors were: Heipj .Claronce Salom (foreman), . James jDollier • Whltmore, Peter Ross, Chas. Johnson, John Corrigan,' arid James M'Gpverri; ' Sub-Inspector O'Dpnovan: led the evidence on behalf of tho police ; • Mr. ,A.. Gray represented Sheridan,' and Mr. I), M'Laren v watched the -proceedings on hehalf of ' thb Wharf Labourers' TJnion, of which'deceased r.'as a member. . : > IDENTIFICATION OF THE BODY. James Moore, Seamen's . Missioi\er, depostdj. that' ho had seen deceased about five 1 times a week , during tho past 21 months. Ho hao never seen him under tho infliienco of drink. He identified' the body 4 as' that sf John William M'Nally. ; • • John Edwin Gamble, • acting accountant and • .cashier to the Wellington. Harbour Board, gave evidence that the body in tho Morgue .was-that of John William M'Nally;' who had been employed casually "as a wharf labourer by tho Board. On tho date of« the occurrence witness paid deceased wages totalling-375. in gold and, silver about midday. When deceased, was signing s the; receipt ho seemed like a..man suffering'from' the after-effects of • drink/' Deceased appeared to be quite able to look after himself. Witness knew nothing about his general habits. . MEDICAL TESTIMONY. Dr. Henry stated that he was .summoned to a vacant space adjoining- Young and' lVjpe's building ,in. Grey. Street at about ■1.50,0n Friday , afternoon.: A man waslving on the rground . covered over .with a tarpaulin. Examination disclosed the fact that . the,, man .was dead. The -body was- 4uite warm. In his opinion the.man had not Im-ii dead more than a quarter of an\hour There ■ was no blood on deceased nor anytbire to show what had occasioned death. Witness .was present at;tho post mortem. Mr. Gray: Did. you take notes regarding what ,you ;saw;at tho post mortem? '■* .Witness: I havo-riot written up my'notes' ; yet. : .. . . , ~ ~ / Dr. Fyffo, sworn, .said that,-fby\'.'Brder ! of: the Coroner, ie.made a; post mortem'on the'body of deceased on Friday evening. Dr. Henry was also present. Deceased was a well-made man, ■ and, as far;, as he could see, between 40 and 50 years, of age; The body was. well nourished, and the rigor mortis was w;ell marked; There were" no s>gns of' external violence on the head.or jn unv-other part of the body. When reniqyiug the brain and cutting through the spinal cord,' biowl' : was found• running right down tho spinal cord. ' The Coroner: Could this blood have arisen #s of yonr own operations? Witness: No, not by any chanco. .. Continuing, the mtnoss stated- that/both ' lateral' ventricles of tho' brain 'wcre 'fiill of blood and blood ..clot, . which, bad escaped thence into the base of tho brain. . It was impossible ■ to say exactly 'where' (he hemorrhage came from. .Thore .was iw fracture of tho skull. With the exception of the train, all .the ,organs were those of a Wealthy nan.,- . There was some .fluid smelling of . in the stomach. ; This organ was. . slightly ' congested, . probably duo to the effects, of alcohol. The cause of death was. hemorrhage into the substance, and base of ' the .brain, due , to, a; blow or. .violence when .vessels.' were probably congested through alcoholic excess. The hemorrhage was sufficient to cause instant death.' ■ ; The; Coroner.: Are you quite'sure. ...the ; ' hemorrhage'could not, have resulted.:without violence? ( . Witness: There was no disease , of the kidney's, .or of tie vessels.' If there had been,' the/hemorrhage might have arisen, without violence. , ./ . Mr. Gray: I gather from what, you say that the fall on the ground, in the course' of which tho man . struck his head, would', bo - sufficient' to induce hemorrhage ? Witness:. l'es. It is probablo it might. necessarily a violent fall?— The 'fall must have, .been somewhat heavy, because the conditions were similar to those found in,case of concussion of the brain. Deceased was heavily built?— Yes. Would a fall from his own height occasion the hemorrhage ?—lt depends ■ on what his head struck. • If . deceased had been struck a violent blow from a manVfist would you not expect to find; some mark?—l might or I _might not. l'ou usually /find some mark?— Usually, but not necessarily so. . If the man were struck and fell over and there was no mark, is it- possible that the blow was not a severe one?—lt'is impossible to say.' Was there anything to show on which side the '.man' might' have . been ■ struck?— No. There was rather more l hemorrhage on the' right than on the left side. It is your opinion that the condition cf the blood vessels was due to abuse of alcohol?— That is what I am inclined to think. It is purely, a suggestion. The blood vessels were congested. . . The conditions were similar to those found in cases where/there had been ozcessivo vise of alcohol?— Yes. There was nothing which would lead you to believe that lie was a liard drinkor?— No. There was no cirrhosis of tho liver. But tho congestion of the stomach showed that ho had been drinking to excess ? —Yes. Recently. You mean drinking that day ?—No. Drinking recently. Would the congested condition of tho blood vessels of the brain render him more susceptible to injury ? —Yos. I think so. Inspector O'Donov'an: Could you form an opinion as to what part of the head was struck ? —lt is impossible to say. It might hive been on either side.' Thero was more

. hemorrhage on ,tjie right sido than on th •left side. » J ; y . : '. ' i If death, ojisued immediately after a bio' «;as madei'would'thore bo a mark ?—-A mar would not bo so.likely to. appear as in a cas where death did not .onsuo for somo tim afl;er, r i:.' •?:. ' ' ' ' . :; At4bis-,stagp,;Dr,;Horiry, who was prescn Eyffo lipid-the.post mortem, was rc called... He stated.that ho agreed with Di 'Fy/fo l'cgardinc. tiiq,condition of tho organs and.also i.with nisoonclusions as to tho cans n, of .death.. s*-• • ■ ' h ■" j ?'. ED ENCE 0 F TH E WI DO W. Ra'clicl M'Nally, widow of deceasqd, . de posed'-th'atHhbir'"hbiriO' was at No,; 22 Littli 8 iPipjtea- Street.''...'Deceased - -was .41' years, o ' age'./,-,Sho Jasf'sa#!him at'7.3o on'Thursdiii 6' ov® n 'lg) when 'lie was 'leaving home,' it. bei'nf bis intention to have his hair cut. He tool with :him 25.-Gd.-j which came out'of. hei 'purse. Deceased,was perfectly.sober at th< > time. "She-'had never seen liim under . tilt . .infliionco'of 1 liqiior-since their marriage or j. July/2-last.'.'-. J3ofpro he went out he ate a ' hearty moalX He never complained to -hoi >. 'that ho wis suffering'from any injury or that 3' .he ; had-.been concerned in 'an.v-'row. Tho chain . and'-locket-,produced; -w'ero his property,, and tho.-watch was similar, to the one which, lie woro. When ho went out on Thursday night ho. had his.nyatch,,chain and locket,on him. Ho worked steadily during .the week, oxcelit , , on;tho holidays./- :*On Thursday' night ho .'. hbine at 5.20. ! r ' Tfio iCoroner.' iSomeono, told me .. that he ' fell from a dray up country some time ago, .- sustaining injuries.—Witness: I don't know anything.about that. I had only known hi'ni '. ,- lle told me that hp had ; a-leg-broken in Sydney. ■Did youievoriknowihim to havo/any sicknoss'?—No. . .... ' . " : .' • . Was : he . jequired .to go to' work on "the . Thursdav ■ ovening ?—No., PAWNBROKER CALLED. ■ Walior George Smart, pawnbroker, Willis Street; ! .'gave, evidence that, between 10 and ■ '11-'aim 1 ;. on -Friday; .-the'-watch, chain} and Jocket produced we're, pawned to him by Sheridan. Nobody was with, liinr. Ho knew Sheridan -quite' well." ' Sheridan made no representation regarding the' ownership of tho artioles.'""-Witness" thought that they be-' longc<l to'Sheridaii. : •/ . EYE-WITNESSES' STORY. ' - James A.lexan'der' > Bickard, plasterers', labourer, residing at, No. 2 Turnbull Street, deposed that he; was . working'.on' tho now building for! the Trust and Loan Company on Lambton/Quay : on : , tho date in question. :With'."tho* exe'option''of Thomas Poarce (tho foreman) ..and, himself, the other workmen :were,,,working insido tho building. Shortly after, 1, .o'clock''Shoridan deceased came •in fronvFo'atberstbn' Street on to tho vacant ;spaco alongsidonYoiing. and Tripe's building, did jipt.iseem to bo. going of' .bis own awprd. ■. Ho. seemed to .bbSsomewha.t oxcited.. They : wor.e talking, but witness could not hear distinctly.' : It*was.' ovident from the way ..that deceased'-, rolled,that he was diiunk. .. Sheridan |had had, a lew drinks; he. was .under tho influence of. liquor. Ho took''deceased'in! from the street, as far. as ho f could',' arid' then' <r mado.him sit down. ShwidanVhad hold'of';deceasod all tho time. After sitting deceased down, Sheridan sat down a!prigside"him! 'They wore sitting pro■bablj' " 'fiftyyiit'ds vaway .from Ifeatherston Street.- not; .exactly suro!'as to tho 'distance..-Witness wais.on a level ; . with them :and about twenty/feet. away. .They coi»r versed for about, a, quarter of an hour. De;ceased remained, quiet,..and Sheridan appeared 'to "'hini:.'to bo looking ; after him. Subsequently 'Deceased, attempted to get.up, but, was. :prevented "by .Sheridan. In the ,strugglo that .cnsue'd' r "Shoridan. got deceased ' over- on Ins back 'arid kept him down by kneoling over him; I 'placing a log on cithor side,_.of him.. -Eventually' deceased got .one' of his arms free, and'-liit Sheridan a fairly good blow oh' hard as ho could from the. position', in 'which ho was. . Immediatoly 'afterwards witness noticcd that the wounu 'wa's Sheridan then rose,' •picked up his,hat, which had blown off, and > mado as thiSigli to walk away. Tho deceased got _ up aiicl , followed':. Sheridan, appearing 'anxious,' r to' .strike""him ! again. Sheridan .turned round deceased on the left sidoyof tho liead: "Deceased fell, his head striking'tho'gro'uhd; r 'which,is covered with a thiri""coat : 'df ''concrete, fairly smooth, but yory hard. The ground was so hard'tliat it could not be ,'dug up with a spado. Witness had.mixedlall tho-concrete for the work on that particular spot, which had preyiouslyi been-a-back c yard: •; He said to Sheridan, "-You'have- : settled 'liim," but did not mean that the man was dead. Sheridan' replied: " Oh; no, I' have; not.;' yHo will' be all right." Subsequentlr Sheridan camo over v to whero lie'. was,' aiia, pointing' to tho wound on his faco, which was bleeding, said: "That :is : what.you for your.kindness. I brought him in here to prevent-him'giving his money away. to other, men.,. Ho . is a' good little '.bloke,'i.aiid don't take..'drink once in four. . At .witness's suggestion Sheridan put deceased's" hat','over his faco to prevent the siin' scprchiife' .'him"'"After raising his right , arm.dccefisal lay perfectly.still. Sheridan thai 'sat down at feet on a heap, of sand. )Vitness . went over, took tho cap off dccedsed's.Jface, 'and shook him a bit. DraeaseiVs.'pyes;wore i shut at. the time. Wit- 1 ness lifted, pnp. of hisioye-lids, and remarked to Mr;' Pcarce," who "was standing alfingsido, he .did not"like ;the look of him. Just then the decoasod seemed to half open his mouth. It may have been tho dropping of tho jaw. Witness :.then;lifted deceased on to his feet,-all his weight , being on witness, and , subsequently placed him in., a recumbent position;'- . Pe'arce'said deceased didn't look .too : well^.'AYithess .then went up on to the sec- ■ ond' : story' of the building ou which ho was w.prking. . Looking- out of the window, wit- \ ness tljoiight ho saw'. a chango in tho colour j of tlecoased's face. / Witness came down.im- , mediately, 1 had a look atiiim, .and conclndetl that ho was dead,, and told Pearco so. They ■ had another look "at' deceased, and, oil ] Pqarce's went for a con- . stablo. At. .this .time' Sheridan was sitting beside the deceased, man. Witness found a constable., opposite .the. J3ank of New South . ales. As. ho ahfl tho constable were enter- | ing tho.section, Sheridan bolted, and was fol- i lowed by the.constable.. Witness (lid iiot see , Shoridan. 'again..'.'Af.ter.wards witness beck- 1 oned '.to a coristablb riding on a trim car', J but. ho did not; know if tho constablo saw , liini.'.' At any. rate, tho constablo jumped off ) and went after Sheridan. Dr. Henry was , sent for, and tho, bc'dy was removed bv tho ; police. . ' •Witness Was cross-examined bv Mr! Gray, j You only saw' Sheridan strike him once?— That is.all.. ~ .. . / • And lthat.was at .the time, whon ho was apparently attempting to escape from tho deceased?— That is what I should say.. • You say that . you only saw deceased strike wio, blow?— Yes.' . Did you notice that Sheridan was bleeding in two places?—Ho "appeared to be bleeding " about tho ■ loft eye, but tho blood at. that I place might havo got thero from tho wound < on- tho right, .side.. ' , Wlien struck,; Sheridan did not retaliate?— , N0... Ho got up arid; moved awoy. , ■ Deceased ...was very drunk ?—Yes; and I i thought Sheridan was trying to look after him. j .Thomas Pearce, foreman for, Trevor and 1 Sori' pri the Trust and Loan Company's' new ' building on Lambt'on Quay, gave similar evidence.. He saw deceased strike Sheridan i on the face whilst Sheridan was holding-him j down. Sheridan did. not retaliate. After < ho was struck Sheridan got up and moved 1 away. Deceased also got up. He went ( wards Shoridan,'..who turned round and | struck liim'." Witness thought deceased's j head, could not help coming in contact with < tho concrete as ho fell. He appeared to fall i a little sideways..,. All that witness saw occurred in "five minutes. Rickard said to t Shoridan: "As you havo knocked him silly , you had better attend to him." Deceased | could scarcely stand up when ho rose to . follow Shoridan. Accused appeared to be i looking after deceased prior to that. , EVIDENCE OF POLICE OFFICIALS. ! Constable Phillips deposed that 255. 10d., I tho pawn ticket , produced, and sundry arti- I cles wore found on deceased. , Constable Clay" "gave evidenco that ho jumped off a car and arrested Sheridan. at | the ''corner of ■ Pahapia and Featherston 1 streets. On the to the police-station I Sheridan made the, following statement after i being duly cautioned :— . "1 never meant ;,to'kill liim. I met him < during tho morning in with some i Zrernari. I saw ho was wastiucr bis money on '

ho them, and tried to get him away. I fjofc liir away 'after a while, and their ho insistei jw oil lighting me. Ho struck mo sovoral times rk and'at last'l'lost my temper nncKl strucl ,so him baclc with my open hand, aii'd he fel no down. I pulled liiin on to sonio sand thn was thoro.-I noticed him. turning viiry white nt and.• 1. becamo frightened and riin away •c- Don't tell mo ho is dead, for I never mean >r. to kill him." is, Sergeant Kelly stated that when he sav so Shoridan ; at the police-station lie had a bii of skin, off his right cheek,-and-, the .wount was-bleeding.. l-Io also had a lump oyer hii loft/ eyebrow. Sheridan told - liim that hi: e . injuries wcro caused through tho deceasci le bitting him. Ho was present when Stationof Sergeant Fair, told accused that' ho was ijr charged - with murder. 1 ,Tho. aocuSed said !g "What, does that amount to?" Sergeanl it Fair roplied: "It is -alleged that you struct , r the that killed him." .Accused then 10 said: " I never struck him that I remember, l.o' I-was only trying to bold him. . I suppose in, this means a. wait of three months.". Suba sequently, 1 Sheridan told him that, lie and ir deceasocl w-ero drinking together in the Post it Office Hotel that morning,'and decoased left n to'draw his' money. at the Harbour Board d Office. When ho camp, back ho was drunk, :o and gave a stranger fivo shillings, so he toqk it him away so that ho would not give all. his i. money away.- .That. (Saturday) morning, it Sheridan told'him that lie pawned- tho watch, o He said he met the decoased' first'yesterday morning by ',the -, Dujco of Edinburgh- Hotel. 0 Deceased said ,ho had no money, but had i, somo pay', to draw from the Harbour Board, y As deceased had no money then, he-gave 11 , him ■ the watch to pawn,, intending to re--1 deem it .'when he got his pay. . Accused said he got a sovereign for the.watch and,handed - it to the deceased;' They then went to .the •Empire dive and had a drink., Ho also said 2 that lie had known the deceased for somo ' years, and had worked with him, that lie was a good sort, and hadn't drank for ■ years. s To Mr. Gray: Sheridan also said that a 1 man • known as " Dennie" was with him 1 and deceased prior to;that. When arrested j Sheridan bad ,2s. 6d. on him. ' ' . . CORONER SUMS UP. ) The Coroner, in summing up, said attention . must bo principally directed to tho. medical testimony;; which was amply , clear and detailed. Thero could be no question whatever that tho cause-of death was ail effusion of , blood-on tho brain, and thoro was nothing I 'to ■ suggest that such effusion took' place 'with- ; ,out violence. ' Rickard and Poarce had given evidence that they saw Sheridan''strike the deceased, but noither could tell how hardHhe blow was. ■ It was clear that after the blow 1 was administered tho deceased fell backwards on some hard concrete. Either-tho blow or tho.fall, or both, havo been responsible 1 for tho effusion,. Mich tho doctors . had stated was sufficieragto causo instant death. , Probably deceased might not havo. died if tho blood vessels had not been congested, a condition duo to alcoholic, oxcess.' Deceased did not appear to have beoii an habitual- drunkard,' but .just previous to the occurronco ho must havo been drinking heavily. Tbo congestion of the stomach was consistent with tho idea that deceased had consumed sufficient liquor to cause tho blood vessels to.becorno- congested also. , Thero could lie .no question: but;'-that • Sheridan . administered a blow. .It- 1 was riot-.for .tho jury - to'try 'tho caso; their duty was to bring in.a verdict in accordance with the evidence. The jury • no.t.'boulid/tp say whether, in their opinion,, Sheridan ;had. .committed .murder . or. marislaugliterror:any other offenco. That would bo -for another , Court Ito detormino. No doubt,, the evidence to the, effect that-Sheri-dan did not-appear to have any intention, of harming deceased would have its duo weight in tho other Court. - V Continuing,' Mr. Ashcroft said: "I .must say that this is ono moro of tho many uncases : arising directly, or indirectly through drink. Fully fifty per cent, of tho cases, which come before mo are more or less connected with drink. After thinking over tho.matter, I 'am sometimes almost persuaded to become a prohibitionist. It is so very sad when ono .thinks of tho largo number of cases in,which drink leads,.to suicide or crime. No warning seems to have any effect." THE VERDICT. ' ' Tho.. jury, after deliberating for about five minutes, brought in - tho following verdict, as suggested by tho Coroner :— , "That tho deceased, Johii William M'Nally,' met lus death through offusion of blood on j tliO) brain caused either by a blow administered" by James Malachy Sheridan or by a fall consequent on that blow.