WOMAN’S STORY

Greymouth Evening Star, 9 July 1932, Page 10

WOMAN’S STORY

SHOOTING OF ARCHIBALD GIBBS. SYDNEY, June 25. The shooting of Archibald Cecil Gibbs, outside the Children's Court on June S, was inquired into by the City Coroner yesterday morning. Catherine O’Byrne, who had been remanded on a charge of having murdered Gibbs, -was discharged. Detective-sergeant Hayes said that O’Byrne told him she had first met Gibbs in Queanbeyan in 1923; she was not married to him, but had taken the name-of Gibbs. He was the father of her child, which was a year and 10 months old. She had summoned Gibbs before the Children’s Court for maintenance. The case was put off for a while, and after leaving the court Gibbs sat on the steps of the court. She said to her little girl, “This is your daddy, dear,” whereupon he replied, “I don’t want her; I will kill her,” and tore up two of her photos.. and threw the pieces to the ground. Gibbs, she said, then grabbed hold of the child and said, “I will kill.her.’’ She struggled with him, and took the child and walked down Albion-street He walked dowm the street, too, and on the way he again said he would kill the child, grabbed the child, and declared that he would never pay a penny for her support. He stooped down ami commenced to open up a parcel he was carrying and again said, “I will kill her.” O’Byrne said she thought he was getting out a razor or a revolver to kill her child, and she took a revolver from her pocket, and said, “I came prepared to-day as I was told that you were going to crucify me and my child when you came out of gaol.” He made a grab at the revolver, and said, “I will blow your brains out now and the kid’s too.” Witness said that O’Byrne told him that a struggle then took place, and that Gibbs grabbed her by the wrist, causing the weapon to go off. Gibbs then stepped back and grabbed hold of the revolver by the muzzle with one hand, -while he pulled on her wrist with the other. She still had her finger through the ring of the trigger, and the revolver went off again, whereupon Gibbs fell to the ground. / • . ■ Witness said he had asked O’-Byrne whether at the time she drew' the revolver from her . pocket, she had it in her, mind to fire, and she replied, “No, I only wanted to frighten him, so that he would not kill my baby.”

Witness asked her if Gibbs had been in Tuncurry prison farm, and she replied, “Yes; that was over £6O that I gave him to mind while I was in hospital. I told him that should I die he was to pay my funeral expenses out of it, and give the rest to my little girl. He said he would, but I never got the money from him and I had him arrested, and sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment.” O’Byrne also said that a man named Jones, a friend of Gibbs, had warned her not to go near - the Gap or the bridge or a ferry, or anywhere that Gibb's could push her under a train, as he had told him (Jones) that he was going to kill her. When told that Gibbs was dead, O’Byrne said, “I did not mean to kill him, but I thought he was going to kill my baby.” To Mr. Sproule (for O’Byrne), witness said he coiisidered the woman’s statement a feasible explanation of how the shooting had occurred. Gibbs had robbed the woman of £460 altogether. She had an order for 10/- a week in the Children’s Court, and Gibbs was in arrears with that, and she had had to go on the dole. Ernest Hudspeth gave evidence as to seeing the struggle which preceded the shooting, and in reply to Mr. Sproule, said the woman was holding the pistol apparently to frighten Gibbs but he became the aggressor, and rushed her. To the Coroner: In my opinion, Gibbs was shot accidentally. The Coroner returned a verdict of death from bullet wounds accidentally received, and said the unfortunate wo man was in trying circumstances, afraid for her child, and one could quite understand that the gun might have gone off accidentally while the man grasped . her hand. It would be a travesty on justice to send her for trial, and no jury could convict. He did not intend even to mention her name in his finding. A charge of having had an unlicensed revolver in her possession was preferred against Catherine O’Byrne, 46, at the Central Police Court. Mr. MacDougalJ S.M., bound her over in a bond of £3O to be of good behaviour for two years, and to come up for sentence if called upon.