THE GATTON MURDERS

West Coast Times, Issue 11262, 10 April 1899, Page 4

THE GATTON MURDERS

THE MfSTERY OF THE MURPHYS i SINISTER SILENCE. At the conclusion of the enquiry into the Oatton Murders (says an exchange) the presiding Magistrate felt it his duty to say that he was greatly astonished at the extreme apathy of the blood relations of the victims during the enquiry. Although there were four brothers of mature ag3, with the exception of Dan, ■who appears to have helped his brother-in-law, chey did not assist the police* Their evidence was most unsatisfactory. It had to be dragged out of them, and bad been very contradictory, especially in regard to the horses in tbe vicinity of the house at the time of the murders. The relations appeared to have treated the business a 9 " kismet," and acted as if they wished it buried in oblivion. It was on this, tho closing day of the enquiry, that Dan Murphy, on being recalled, admitted that while at Rona street Polke Station (Brisbane) he remarked that %t some one at home must have gone out of their minds and done it. He did not remember ever saying that it must have been one of the family who had done it, though he might have said it." This sensational evidence was confirmed by Joseph Murphy, a Brisbane constable, | 5 but not related to tne Murphy family of 1 Tent Hill, who deposed that he travelled from Brisbane in company with Daniel J Murphy, of Teqt Hill, on the 27th De- » cember. Daniel Murphy said to witness : ' "It must have been some member of tbe family ; no oue else would have done it, 1 aDd we shall be the talk of Blackfellow'B Creek, and everybody will look down on 7 us." Witness asked him if there was any 'member of the family who had gone " wrong in the head at any time, or drank 5 heavily He said there was not. This witness had served Mrs Murphy, i the mother of the family, with a subpoena 1 on the previous day to attend tbp Court then sitting, and in doing so had appay1 ently got a taste of that old lady's quality. s She said : " What do you want me there for? I have been theie often enough before. They nearly killed me last time I was there. The damned' wretches want me to say something to bftng it home to M'Neill, who worked Bard to help them. They are a damned lot of traitors. May God grant fchey may have some trouble themselves before they die. (She had prayed for God's mercy on the murderers when she first heard of the death of her children, and their father at the same time expressed satisfaction that they had gone to church on the previous Sunday.) They think lam keeping something back : I believe they want me to tell a lie, they are a lot of damned wretches all through.' 7 The above evidence transpired on the 23rd ult, and we will now go back to the beginning of the testimony of the Murphy family^ and as briefly ' as possible with reasonable regard to continuity review it. First, however, it is j important that the reader should bear in mind that Michael Murphy, aud his sisters Norah and Ellen, left home apparently about 7.30 p.m., arriving at Gatton at 10 past 9, started back immediately on the homeward journey, and were last seen near Moran's sliprails, where they immediately after, no donbt, turned off into the paddock before 10 o'clock. These times are of the highest importance in relation to the possible movements of M'Neill, who,accordingto the testimony of the Murphy family, could not have been the man seen at the " rails," or the man whom Sergt. Ardill saw speaking to the Murphy party before their arrival at the fatal " fcurn off." If, then, the Murphys are not all conspiring to mislead the police, M'Neill and the man at the rails are not identical, and, therefore, if it is to be contended that M'Neill was concerned in the tragedy it would- seem that it was carefully planned, and that at least two men were engaged in it. But there is no evidence against M'Neill, and there w.ould have been less suspicion had not the attitude of his wife's family been so remarkable throughout. According to the statement of Murphy, senr., he weDt to bed between 10 aud 11 o'clock on the night of Boxing Day. Up to that time, and after the departure of the party for Gattou, no one else had arrived at or left the house. The only one he left sitting up was his wife. About an hour after retiring he heard M'Neill's child cry, and the fatner speak to it. He did not see M'Neill going to his bedroom that night. Questioned closely, the witness said that he heard footsteps when saying his prayers, which he maintained were those of M'Neill. The Magistrate : "You tell us the only person up when you went to bed wa 8 your wife, and you say you beard M'Neill going to his room when you were saying your prayers." Witness: "I don't go to bed until a long time after I have said my prayers." Was there any one else in the house ? Yes, my son Will. How do you know they were not his footsteps? „ I know it was M'Neill ! You heard footsteps, but you don't know whose they were ? I know they were M'Neill's Continuing, the witness said the last time he saw M'Neill that night was when the dog cart i^ft QvftiicU took tbe party

into Gatton), but he heard him walking about. He would not swear this was M'Neill. * Now, as the police were so obviously in tent upon determining whether M'Neill was, or was not, during the night of the murders, absent from tho house of his father-in-law, where, with his invalid wife, he was a guest, we will for the present continue along that line of evidence, taking other salient points later. Mrs Murphy doposed that after the party left home for the dance, M'Neill returned to the house and went to his room between 9 and half -past 9. M'Neill bad previously taken his boots off. She went to her room about a quarter of an honr before she heard the clock strike 10. No one came out of any of the rooms. She did not go to sleep until after 10 o'clock. She beard Mrs M'Neill ask the little girl to kiss her, but she said, " No ; kiss dada," and Mrs M'Neill laughed. Katie Murphy, the youngest of the family stated that Norah did not wish to go to the dance, as one of the children of her sister (Mrs M'Neill) would cry after her

(Mrs Murphy had previously* asked the girls to stay at home that night), but M'Neill told her to go, and that B he would look after the little girl. Towards 9 o'clock witness saw M'Neill go to his room, and heard him moving about afterwards. She could not say if M'Neill was in the houso the whole of that night. . William Murphy, the youngest brother of the family, and who was at home on the night of the murders, said that M'Neill was in the house after the party went to Gatton. A little after 9 o'clock, witness went to the yard and turned all the horse 3 into § grass paddock, containing about 100 acres, None of the horses were shod. Coming in afterwards he saw his father and mother and M'Neill in the sitting room. •M'Neili went to his bedroom at 9 o'clock, and the witness wtmt to the kitchen to assist Katie. From where he was he coutd see anyone leaving the front door. Ho certainly heard nc one. Witness went to bed about ten minutes to 10-o'clock. His bed lay along the partition on the opposite side oi which was a bed occupied by M'Neill During the night he heard nothing bui M'Neill's snores before he (witnes) wenl to sleep. He did not* see who it wa« snoring, but he thought it was M'Neill He could not swear positively. John Murphy, another of the brothers who was at home at the time, did not sec the party depart for the dance. He wenl away to Treht Hill, and returned aboui 10.30. He did not notice that the dogs barked. He went to bed. Inspector Urquhart — Where was M'NeUl. * Witness -In. his room. I would no! be sure be was there. He was supposed to be. Who supposed,him to be there ? I did. Did you think about him on that occasion ? No! Continuing, witness said he went tc sleep almost immediately, and did noi bear a snore, a laugh, or any one speaking. The remaining evidence as to M'Neill's whereabouts ou tbe night of the murders is .that of his wife, and it is the most important. Assuming it to be credible, it would seem that M'Neill was in bed op the night of the murders, and if the testimony reproduced in this article is to be relied upon, it is clear that M'Neill could not have been in the vicinity of Moran's paddock at the time the mysterious man at the 'slip-rails' was seen. Moreover, it should be noted that, though it was a moonlight night, this man was not recognised by any of the local residents who passed him. Mrs M'tfeiH's evidence is lengthy and important, and is to the effect that her husband shared her room during the night in iquestion, and that he could not have absanted himself without her beiag aware of it. After dealing with Mrs M'Neill's examination, we propose to group the evidence that points to the possibility of some member of the Murphy household having been absent during the night without the knowledge of !.he others at the time of such absence. It is of a very slender kind, and, as we have said, would appear less but for the curiously unknowing attitude of the whole of the Murphy family, as to which there is yefc moro of interest to be written. And even behind all this mystery there is no clue to motive worthy of the name, and this it i 3i 3 that most of all makes rational speculation of the causes of these dreadsul crimes seemingly impossible.