The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1866.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 164, 13 September 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1866.

SUPREME COURT. CRIMINAL SESSIONS.— September 12th. [Before his Honor Mr. Justice Johnstone. J K. Burgess, T. Kelly, and W. Levy were charged •with the wilful murder of Felix Mathieu on the 13th June last. Continuation of Evidence. F. L. Vickennan sworn : I am a surgeon residing in Kelson, and M.K.C.S. On the Sotlf June lust, 'l examined four bodies in the enginehouse. I and Dr. Cotterell examined the body of Felix Mathieu. "We discovered a stab wound in the left breast an inch and a half from the loft nipple. We found a bullet of some kind had gone through the wound. The stab wound was inllicled lirst. A broad bhule with a sharp point would have inflicted the wound. It was a common stab wound, which would not of itself have been the direct ct-.u.-e of death, I should say ilie wound was inflicted with a convex blade, a weapon such as is generally wo; 1 !! in a shea. h. nut a dagger but a knife. The sheath knife :nnv produced by Mr. Shallcrass is such a weapon as tnioiit have caused the wound. The wound was produced by puncture. J examined tho course of the hnlltt wound, it entered the stab wound and passi.".l between the fsith and sixth ribs, taking out a portion of tl-.u fii'ih. it passed completely downwards. wounding the (l;:inhrat;in and the stomach ; taking ii piwe out of the iatrer and wounding the ];iv.:^ vesscK that supply the i'.eart; ascending the vena cava, Induing lx-twecn the sixth and seventh ribs on tho opposite side, just beneath the skin, causl-itr instant (kath from hemorrhage, by cutting oil' the vs-e^eis that supply the heart. 1 produce a conical bullet which I look out of the body. It seeur? to me a large pistol bullet. I cannot say whether the bulh-t lias assed through a rifle or not. It appear.-; to have passed through a narrow space, it is cylindrical with convex amis. On Ihc same side as the stab wound, 1 found a second ; bullet wound, on the same side more towards the spine. It travelled umk-r tin; ?.ki:i. It ciiicrud between the firth and sixth rii;s nearer f> tho spine than the stab wound. I produce a paper which I found between the wound and the clorhos. I compared the paper with a newspaper. I found the 1 piece of rag now produced, in the wound. 1 should i say the weapon must have been fiivd ciosi* to the j wound or not far from it. I examined the other I bodies. Kempthorne had a bullet wound in his right car. Dudley had marks and strangulation, and Pontius a broken jaw and contusions on the right, f-ide of Ihe head as if done by stones. The paper handed by Mr. Shallcrass is the Mariboroiyh Press, May 30th, j 3566. His Honor objected to the production of the paper. unless it could be traced to the prisoners. Who could say that it had not been printed on purpose:. It might be evidence but it was not easy to sec that it was. He would not rule it might not Ik; made evidence, lie would take that Mr. Yickerman had compared it with another paper. Mr. Vickerman : I find tlvj paper take! 1 , from the body corresponds with the Mariborough Press now produced, both in words and relative position on both sides. To Burgess : The firearms were discharged near to Jlathieu, pretty near. (Burgess was allowed to examine the knife.) Witness: The wound was not deep, it went in a slanting position. The body was probably in a lying position. It was a stab upwards, the body lying on its back. I can speak as to two chambers of a revolver going off at once, as they did in the only revolver I ever fired. If two chambers did go off a once it is possible the relative position of the bullets was as I found them. I think the stab wound was inflicted first, because the skin did not show the mark of the ballet wound. The bullet made no mark on the skin. I took the ball from Ivempihorne's head, and I think it was discharged pretty near. The bone might have prevented the hall from penetrating the brain. A greflt deal depends on the charge of powder. I think the shot was fired from a distance of two or three yards. To Kelly : I was examined on two previons occasions, At the first I made no remark about the knife, as no weapon was produced to call forth the remark. His Honor suggested that the production of the depositions was the proper course, to show the inconsistency in a witnesses statement. He referred to the depositions taken on the 10th July.

Witness : It was about 16 days after the first examination that the knife was produced, I cannot say how lonic before the 20th July. I cannot speak with certainty. A similar knife to that I have seen would inflict the wound. I first heard in court that the knife was found at Mr. Potter's. It was from the character of the wound that I judged what kind of a knife would indict it. The decomposition of the bodies had no influence on my opinion. The bodies were very little decomposed, and the carrying of them had nothing to do in changing the appearance of the wound. There was no smell from the bodies whatever, decomposition was just commencing. There was one exception, the bruin of Kempj thorne was decomposed. I. could not form a true opinion how long the bodies had lain there. The weather had been favorable to their preservation. The packing in calico would not alter the wound. It | was the easiest way to carry a dead body. I should have thought of a convex blade without seeing the one produced. To Mr. Pitt : The exposure of the wound 'and heavy rain would give a softened appearance to the skin, but not alter the wound beyond making it look a little thicker. In determining the character of a wound I should examine its depth and position. The appearances in tin's case presented no irregularities. It appeared to have been caused by a broad backed weapon but a sharp pointed one. I did not measure, the length of the wound. The size of a wound is not, when made obliquely, less than that of the instrument that inflicted it The point of the wound had reached the heart a distance of four and a half inches from the skin. The cavity was not penetratpd. We found a portion of the rib taken oil". I first examined the wound with my finger, i then traced the wound in the body. The diaphragm was clean cut, except where the rib was fractured. A sharp backed instrument would have cut the heart more, where the heart bulged out it was wounded. Coagulated blood may lead to an inference as to the character of the instrument. There was onl}' a little blood in this instance. It might have been removed by the action of the weather. The wound was oblique and parallel to the action of the ribs, it would bo an obtuse angle. The wound could not have been caused by a jagged instrument. The examination was a minute one, and sufficiently minute for practical purposes. A iter taking off" the breast bone the direction of the wound was apparent. Thu wound I saw must have been produced by an instrument blunt on one side. I cannot say how long it was from the first examination to the time I saw the knife. To .Mr. Hart: Mr. Cottereli wi= with me when I made the examination. We found a piece of paper in ilic head of Kempthorne. adhering to the bullet. It was a piece of brown paper. C. F. Cottereli sworn: I am a member of the Pioyal College ot' Snrg'jons, residing in NeK>n. I assisted ihe last witness to examine the body of Feiix Mathieu. Wo found a stab wound in the left breast; also a. bullet wound in the front part of the same wound between the fifth and sixth ribs. There was another bullet wound near the spine on the same side. The wound under the fifth rib was a punctured wound. It went in an upward direction. .It was a slanting wound. It must have been caused by a sharp pointed instrument, the blade of which was an inch or an inch and a half broad. I could not say whether the blade was thicker in one part than anol bur as the bullet wound destroyed that part of the wound made by the edge. I should say the one side of the instrument was sharp ; the other might have been either sharp or blunt, but I could not say on account of the bullet. The knife produced might have inflicted such a wound by a stab. The pistol wound fractured the h'fsh rib, went towards the stomach, passed through the other side between the seventh and eighth ribs, and lodged underneath the skin. Death was caused by internal hemorrhage produced by the bullet wound. I examined Kempthorne and found the bullet in the brain. A piece of paper was found. I form no opinion as to the distance at which the shot was fired. To Kelly : There would be a change in the body of Mnthieu exposed to weather for 17 days. There must be some change. A change takes place in the act of death, and some further change must have taken place. The place where Dr. Vickennan inserted his finger was in the bullet wound, where the finger entered easily without much altering the appearance of the wound. The change which took place did not prevent our ascertaining the probable cause of the wound. The carrying of the bodies for a distance would not, in my opinion, change the appearance of the wound. I saw the bodies on the mountain, and they presented the same appearance. Kelly suggested it was impossible the bodies could have remained so long exposed and then carried to the enginehouse, without being altered in appearance. His Honor said this was a very proper remark to make to the jury, but the witness could not be pressed further after having given a distinct answer in the negative. To Mr. Pitt: The wound was an inch or an inch and a half wide. His Honor informed the jury that they would not be allowed to separate. Proper apartments would be provided for them, and an officer would be in attendance to see that their wants were supplied. John Sherwood: I recollect the bodies being brought to the enginehouse. I had custody of them when the medical examination took place. On the Sunday the bodies appeared the same as on the Saturday. I found a watch in Kempthorne's pocket, and a chain round his neck. I found a pipe in Mathieu's pocket. Kelly asked to be allowed to have a light, which the Judge said should be supplied. Kelly also made some complaint of Sullivan, which his Honor said he could not interfere with. At half-past 5 o'clock the Court was adjourned till 9 o'clock this morning.