15 Belfast’s Local History Magazine
BELFAST MURDERS
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Double Murder at the Belfast Lunatic Asylum
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n May 1911 a terrible tragedy occurred at the Belfast District Lunatic Asylum on the Grosvenor Road near the Royal Victoria Hospital.
The distressing affair was unparalleled in the history of the institution, though by no means unique in the records of other asylums in the UK and Ireland. It was bright and sunny spring day and as usual a group of inmates were working in the institution gardens. In the early part of the 20th century it was practice and in accordance with the medical theory at the time, for open-air exercise be made available to mental patients. It was part of their treatment so long as they were not suffering form any violent form of derangement. The treatment was used mainly for patients suffering from depression. Eight patients were engaged in general gardening in the kitchen gardens. The group had been working together for some months and were well used to each other. They had never abused the privileges afforded to them as working in the garden was seen as a special form of employment. None were regarded as likely to develop homicidal tendancies. They were perceived by the wardens as exceptionally inoffensive, trustworthy, and obedient workers. They were in the charge of a head gardener and an assistant and it was while the head gardener was in the green house and the assistant had gone off to get more seeds that the tragic affair took place.
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One of the patients, William John Dickson, a native of Belfast, and formerly a professional gardener had been at the asylum for nine months and suffered form depression. He was digging at the time when he suddenly rushed at an old man named Fowler who was sharpening a pea rod with a chopper. He knocked the old man down when he struck him with his spade but did not injury him too much. Dickson then picked up the chopper and struck three of his co-workers on the head with the tool. He first struck James Elliot who was leaning over weeding and he struck him such a terrible blow that he died a few minutes after arriving at the hospital. Dickson then struck Samuel Verner who was wheeling a barrow and received a fractured skull when he was struck with force. He died 24 hours after being admitted to the nearby hospital. The last victim was John Sheeren who survived the attack after receiving treatment in the hospital but was left with serious head wounds. The attack took only a few minutes and before he could continue his attack the other gardeners grabbed him. He made no attempt to resist them and his behaviour after the attack was quiet and apparently indifferent if not unconscious of the consequences of his dreadful but irresponsible act. It was as if the occurrence was one of sudden impulse and of homicidal mania. The three men who had been attacked were all from Belfast, Elliot having been in the asylum since he was seven years old. The wounds to Elliot appeared to have been dealt with almost superhuman force, which is developed by the insane during the paroxysms of violence. Dickson being a certified lunatic remained in the custody of the asylum until after the inquest and investigation. Dr William Graham, the medical superintendent who attended the scene, was regarded at the time as enlightened in his views of the humane treatment for his patients and was familiar with the most modern of theories and mental science. He had always been anxious to employ, as far as possible, his charges in suitable outdoor work, but had been in the habit of instituting such a careful and farsighted selection in regard to those so employed that up to the time of the attack no untoward result had followed a system which under the old method of rigid restraint would perhaps have been looked upon as involving a certain amount of risk. At the inquest William Dickson was charged with the murder of James Elliott and Samuel Verner. The jury at the inquest found that the men came to their death from fracture of the skull and laceration of the brain, the result of a blow on the head inflicted by a hatchet at the hands of William J Dickson. Dickson appeared at the summer assizes held at the county court on the Crumlin Road. A jury was empanelled to decide as to the sanity of the prisoner. It was stated that the accused was incapable of pleading and it was put to the jury that the only question for them to determine was whether the accused was at the present time capable of understanding what was going on. It was decided that the prisoner was insane and unfit and the jury returned a verdict to this effect. Dickson was detained until the pleasure of the Lord Lieutenant had been ascertained at an establishment for the criminally insane. 4
THE MYSTERY OF THE DOCTOR’S DEATH O n Monday morning, 31st October 1887 Dr Adam Reid who lived off the Crumlin Road, at 23 Walton Street, died suddenly at his residence. Due to the nature of his death the police were called to his home and that evening an inquest was held by Dr Dill, the borough coroner at the licensed premises of Mr Trainor in Everton Street. The doctor had been feeling unwell for a couple of days, nothing too serious, but he had complained of having a cold and had taken some beef tea to try to relieve his symptoms. On the Sunday he began to complain of palpations and took a little whisky but he was unable to eat anything. Dr Reid was 40 years old and was a widower. In recent months he had taken to the drink and his sister told the inquest that this had become a problem for him. His medical practice on the Crumin Road had
suffered and he had money problems. In recent weeks he had had to leave his practice on the Crumlin Road and had moved his practice to the small side street off the main road. By the Sunday evening before his death his sister Emily Reid was getting worried about him and sent out for Dr Parkinson but by the time he arrived Dr Reid was almost dead. Emily Reid told the doctor that her brother had been taking a white powder substance, which he kept in small packages in the back of a drawer. Dr Parkinson was able to tell the coroner that these were salts that his colleague had taken and would not have caused his death. The police searched his house for any traces of arsenic or laudanum but could not find any and when they questioned his sister as to her brothers habits she seemed to have little The Crumlin Road at the time of the death
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knowledge of them but she seemed quite sure that he did not take laudanum. She knew that in the days before his death he had taken some drops of sweet nitrate but Dr Parkinson again did not believe this to be the cause of death. The coroner called Sergeant McBrien to give evidence, as he knew Adam Reid well. He stated that Adam had recently had spell of fitting and that he had called to the house in Walton Street as soon as he heard of his death. He found there was no evidence that Dr Reid had killed himself but he could not rule out foul play, as there did not seem to be any apparent cause of death. He was aware that the doctor had for several months been addicted to drink but that Adam was quite careful in the community and he was never seen in public under the influence of drink. Both the local sergeant and a neighbour of the Reid’s, James Robinson, gave evidence that they had never seen the doctor drink.
James Robinson told the court that the doctor was well respected, and did not have a violent nature and he could think of no one who would inflict harm on him of wish ill of him. So how did a young and professional man die so suddenly? The final witness at the inquest was Dr Samuel Parkinson of St Mary’s Terrace on the Crumlin Road. He told the court of being called to the house only to find that Adam Reid had been dead around 15 minutes. After a superficial examination he found no marks of violence on the body but he found his legs to be swollen. It was his opinion that the cause of death was from fatty degeneration of the heart, accelerated by the misuse of alcohol. He confirmed that there were no symptoms that would indicate that he had taken poison. The police agreed that there was not enough evidence to suggest that there had been foul play and the jury after a short consultation returned a verdict in accordance with the medical testimony. he history of capital punishment in Belfast from the horrific, blood thirsty executions at Castle Junction through to the last hangings in Crumlin Road Jail in 1961
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Belfast Poison Case n February 1875 the inquest concluded into the death of Maria Corry who died under suspicious circumstances at her home in Sydney Street on the 14th January 1875.
in the nineteenth century as a general pick me up. She bought a small amount of the powder from a young man called Robert Jelly who was a junior assistant at the pharmacy and when she got home she mixed the powder Early on the evening of the with water and drank it. 14th January Maria Corry had gone to Moorhead’s A short time later she began pharmacy on the corner of to vomit and her condition North Street and Millfield. deteriorated such that she She had gone there to buy a called her daughter to her wrap of seiditz powder, bedside and said "Ellen, my which was a common dear, I am going to die. It powder, that people to took was the red faced boy in
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Moorhead’s that poisoned me". A minute or two later Maria Corry died. The paper that the seiditz powder was wrapped in was found in Maria house, which confirmed that she had indeed taken the powder that she had bought earlier on that evening and the remaining grains were sent off for analysis to a Dr Hodges. Dr Hodges also examined the body of Maria Corry and he told the inquest that her stomach within days was in
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a state of bad decomposition and he could not tell the court why this could be other that it usually occurred when a stomach had been poisoned or had been irritated. When he examined the powder he confirmed that it contained the same ingredients as the other powder wraps he examined at Moorhead’s the day after the death, but that there was so little of the mixture left that he could no confirm if there had been any other chemical included. He had also tested some of Maria Corrys vomit but again he could find no trace of poison present.
boxes of a dozen each and the nine left over were put in a drawer. All the poisons that were kept in the shop, and there were only three sorts, were put in separate drawers that were each marked that they contained poison. He could not believe that any of the poison could have got mixed up with the seiditz powder. Young Robert Jelly was also questioned in the court but he denied having mixed up the powders and the coroner then summed up the case against Moorhead’s. The jury asked him a number of further medical questions regarding whether seiditz powder on its own could cause death, but the coroner felt that he could not answer the question with regard to this case as there had been so little powder left over from Mrs Corry’s dose that they could not be sure of what she had actually taken. He felt it unlikely that seiditz powder on its own could have caused Mrs Corry to have such a swift death but a dose of baking soda on its own could have caused her to have been poisoned.
Alexander Scott an employee of Moorhead’s on the day in question was examined in court. He recalled that on the day before Maria Corry came into the shop there were seiditz powders made up. They were made up of Rochelle salts, baking soda and tartaric acid. 45 powder wraps were made up with the tartaric acid wrapped in separate paper, as was the normal way to make up the dose. The powders were not blended together until It was a very difficult case someone came in to buy one. for the jury to deliberate and The powders were put into the coroner advised them 8
that there was a possibility that a person could swallow an irritant substance and that no trace of the substance to be found in the stomach afterwards. He asked the jury to consider carefully their verdict as no one could be sure what Mrs Corry had actually taken on the night of her death. There was no doubt that she ahd consumed the powder form Moorheads, and that the pharmacy did not deny that they had sold her the powder, but Mrs Corry could have added another powder to her drink in error, or poison could have got into her drink in another way. In accordance with his advice the jury came back into the court after a short time and declared that "Maria Corry, on the 14th January 1875 came to her death from the effects of a powder partaken of, supposed to have been seiditz powder". The implication of the verdict was that Moorhead’s had made a mistake and the reputation of a long established pharmacy was destroyed. No further action was taken against the Moorheads but their position within the community never recovered.
MURDER IN SANCROFT STREET
middle aged man named Edward Boyce was put forward in the Belfast Crown Court on an indictment for the murder of 31 year old, Eleanor Teresa Close, a married woman in Sancroft Street on 3rd June 1915. Boyce when arrested stated that he had no intention of killing Mrs Close. That might have been the case but the events of that tragic day could have led to several others being killed or seriously injured. The tragedy unfolded in Sancroft Street a thoroughfare which runs between Snugville Street and Crimea Street just off the Shankill Road
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Edward Boyce according to the prosecution case had fired at another woman with intent but missed and killed an innocent bystander, and was therefore still guilty of murder. The Crown set out to prove that from beginning to end of the whole business the one fixed unalterable determination in Boyce’s mind, not only on that afternoon but for months previously, was to murder the woman at whom he fired. Her name was Agnes Black with whom a bout two and half years previous Edward Boyce lodged. Mrs Black from 38 Sancroft Street gave evidence of a catalogue of threatening behaviour over those two and a half years. It emerged that he had been bound over in February for assaulting her and went to prison for a month in default of finding sureties. On the day he was released he threatened her and as a result was bound over to keep the peace for twelve months.
About 5.00pm that same evening Agnes Black was satnding at her front door cradling her baby. Boyce who was living opposite came out with a revolver in his hand and charged at the woman firing several shots. She ran into the house and got behind the door, Boyce in pursuit. He forced the door open slightly and putting his right arm in fired blindly at his intended victim. Her father-in-law who was sitting in the kitchen while this was happening immediately rushed to her assistance. He struggled to get the revolver off Boyce. At the same time Agnes Black rushed out into the street screaming and sought refuge in a neighbours house Mrs McClean. Boyce broke free and chased after her and fired once again. Ellen Close had just came out of the house accompanied by her niece, She was carrying a baby when she was hit. She staggered and fell into the hall, Her niece caught the infant. Neighbours by this time were alerted to what was happening and immediately gathered around Boyce. Two police constables who were walking along Agnes Street were also quickly on the scene. They seized Boyce and wrenched the revolver from his grasp. He was arrested and brought to Craven Street Police Barracks and arrested him. A feable defence asked for the mercy of the court to find Boyce guilty of manslaughter claiming that such a verdict would satisfy the demands of justice. Boyce received ten years penal servitude at Belfast Prison. He was forty-five years of age. 9
The Hatchet Field Murder n 1753 one of Belfast’s earliest murders took place on Black Mountain. Belfast at this time was a small but rapidly growing town and the hills and mountains surrounding Belfast were remote and isolated. There is an old local saying which goes, "I’ll keep it as secret as Cole’s Murder", and the origin of this saying is this eighteenth century unsolved murder which was recorded in the Belfast newspapers. In early February of 1753, a cattle drover William Cole, his daughter Elizabeth and a local woman known as Mary Maguire were murdered with a hatchet. Mary Maguire was either a visitor or servant to the Cole’s cottage, which was near the white rock on the Black Mountain. The murder took place at night when all three were asleep when a person or persons unknown broke into the cottage attacked and brutally murdered all three with a hatchet. The murderers then set fire to the thatch on the cottage after removing any money or valuables they could find. The coroner’s inquest confirmed the cause of death and that without a doubt all three had been murdered. The son of William Cole put up a reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer but none was received by him.
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The locals talked about the role of Mary Maguire in the incident. Many Belfast people believed that the murders were committed by someone jealous of the presence of Mary Maguire at the house indicating that she may have been a companion to William Cole. The local authorities believed that the motive was simply robbery as was common at this time in the area around Belfast town. We may never know the reason for the murders but they have not been forgotten. The name white rock and the actual place where the violent murders took place have been remembered to this day in the place names in the immediate area. Anyone familiar with Belfast will immediately recognise the white rocks association with the Whiterock Road in West Belfast and the site of Cole’s Cottage is believed to have been the Hatchet Field. 10
DID WILLIAM LITTLE GET AWAY WITH MURDER? L
ate afternoon in Institution Place, Belfast, the body of Ellen Little was found lying on her bed, with two of her children lying beside her, unaware that their mother was dead. It was Easter Sunday 1837 and she had been dead for several hours, her body was cold, her eyes were wide open and her mouth was gaping. Earlier in the day Ellen had argued with her husband and had taken herself off to visit her neighbours who lived upstairs in the small house in Institution Place. She brought with her a jug of whisky and as the morning progressed she got so drunk that when she came to leave their company she could hardly walk. They helped her down the stairs and Ellen arrived home shortly before her husband, William, who was a millworker. She had
been complaining for several days to all her neighbours that there was never any money in the house and she could buy food or clothes for the children, but she always had enough to buy whisky. When Ellen got home she collapsed onto the bed in the tiny rooms
that they rented and her kindly neighbour came in to help her with the children. She placed the youngest child on Ellens breast so that she might feed it but Ellen seemed unaware that the child was there and quickly fell into a drunken stupor. An hour later her husband William
came back to the house and was very angry to find Ellen in such a state. Neighbours overheard him shouting at her that he would hang on account of her and he generally was acting in a threatening way. Neighbours across the street could look straight into the Little
Map of Institution Place at the time of Ellen Little’s death 11
lodgings and they looked across anxiously as the argument continued. Next they saw what they thought was the couple making up as William appeared to be kissing Ellen, but then it seemed to them that he was forcing Ellen down onto the bed and was restraining her, pushing has hand into her mouth and covering her nose with his other hand. The owner of the house became concerned and knocked on the door. When Little shouted out that he was busy she insisted that he open the door but he refused and told them he did not wish to be disturbed. The owner broke into the house by forcing the door and found William Little leaning over his wife who lay on the bed, apparently unconscious. His knee was on her hip, restraining her. William told her that Ellen was drunk and was sleeping and asked her to leave, but 12
she insisted that Ellen should at first be covered up as she would catch cold lying uncovered. She went over to the bed and covered Ellen with a blanket, not realising that she was probably already dead. William Little left the house and a couple of hours later the owner became concerned that she had not heard Ellen moving about, nor the children crying so she let herself into the room again and discovered Ellen’s dead body on the bed with the children’s cuddling up beside their mother. The police were called and the next day William Little was arrested and charged with the murder of his wife. At the inquest however the medical experts were unable to ascertain what exactly had killed Ellen. They discovered a number of bruises on her hips and arms, none serious and they would certainly not have killed her. She had a small cut on her lip,
some bleeding in the brain and her liver and stomach showed signs of alcohol abuse. The three experts who examined her body could not agree as to whether her death was accidental or if it was intentional at the hand of her husband as they could not tell how he had killed her, if in fact he had killed her. The court heard evidence at his trial from a number of neighbours who testified that Ellen had been a hard drinker and that her husband was often both verbally and physically abused by her when he came home from work. She could not cope looking after the children and she spent all the money he gave her on drink and rarely provided any food for her husband when he returned from work. The couple had been having arguments for over six months and many friends and acquaintances agreed that William Little had been overhead threatening his wife
with violence but they all concluded that he was provoked continually by his wife. A few months before her death Ellen and William had appeared at court on account of not having paid bills due and William had also been in court charged with violence against his wife. In this case against William Little the judge concluded that the jury would be unable to return a verdict on the charge of murder due to lack of evidence, both physical, no weapon was found to suggest that Ellen had been struck, also there was no physical evidence to suggest that he had been violent. The judge thus concluded that Ellen’s death was accidental, due to cause or causes unknown but most probably due to sustained drinking over a period of years. The charge of murder was withdrawn and William Little was freed by the court.
Murder in the Waterworks I n the 1860’s the Herdman family were wealthy linen merchants who owned mills, first at Smithfield and then the Brookfield Linen Company on the Crumlin Road. They were also ship owners connected to Belfast Harbour. The Herdmans lived in the suburbs of Cliftonville, an area where the wealthy and influential had residences. An 82-year-old aunt, Miss Agnes Herdman, lived at Cliftonville Lodge and her nephew John Herdman also lived at the mansion. At that time the Cliftonville Road stretched as far as where Solitude Football Grounds are situated today, and the lands beyond were owned by Mr. Lyons, one of the city’s wealthy landlords. A gatehouse stood at this entrance and just before this gateway were the entrance gates to the Waterworks, much
in the same place as they are today. On May 15th 1862, John Herdman was at home entertaining some friends. At about 5.45pm he left in the company of Mrs. Eleanor Thompson to take a stroll through the Waterworks. Since John Herdman was a resident of Cliftonville he had his own personal key to the entrance gate to use at his leisure. As they passed along the road they engaged in quiet conversation. While they were walking along they noticed a man coming from the direction of Mr. Lyons’ estate. That man was Mr. William Herdman, John Herdman’s cousin and a man very much known to him. As he got nearer he asked John for a moment of his time in order to discuss some private matter. John apparently tried to dismiss him and while both he and Mrs. Thompson walked on, a shot suddenly rang out. In terror they both
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turned to see William Herdman, his hand outstretched, taking deliberate aim. They both tried to flee towards the Lyons’ gate but instead they both fell. Mrs. Thompson had tripped over her dress but John Herdman had been critically injured. As they both tried in vain to rise and escape from the gunman another shot rang out. John Herdman was reported to have cried out "Oh God, I am killed, call for my wife." Mrs. Thompson in the meantime had managed to get up and run towards the gate lodge at the Lyons’ estate. Here she met a beggar-woman and the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper ran back to Cliftonville Lodge to alert the family. Mrs Herdman and her servant rushed to the scene and help was quickly summoned to the scene. John Herdman was taken into his own house where he died a short time later. After shooting his cousin William Herdman set the gun down on the ground and walked calmly down the Cliftonville Road towards the town centre. He was arrested later that evening in the Vine Hotel, Corporation Street and was subsequently charged with the wilful murder of his cousin. William Herdman was brought to trial that same July. It transpired that he was supposed to receive money from his ageing aunt. This money was to have been an allowance and its handling and distribution was left in the capable hands of a Mr. Russell who acted as Miss Herdman’s agent. Mr. Russell advised Miss Herdman to hold back some of William Herdman’s allowance until he agreed to do several things, one of which was to leave Ireland for England. William blamed his cousin, John, for influencing his 14
aunt and it was alleged at the time that he murdered his cousin as an act of revenge. He apparently was of the strong belief that it was John Herdman alone who stood between him and the money he felt was rightly his. When he eventually came to trial he used insanity as his line of defence. The defence tried to prove that he laboured under some delusion, which rendered him unaccountable for his actions. Certain eccentricities in his family were highlighted and it was also alleged that he had been a constant source of annoyance to his family and others and that he had been bound over on more than one occasion to keep the peace. The jury considered all the evidence, which had been presented before them and returned the verdict of guilty On the morning of Saturday, July 26th 1862, shortly before 11.00 am, the Right Honourable Justice Fitzgerald took his seat in the Crown Court at the County Courthouse on the Crumlin Road. The judge solemnly addressed the convicted man. "You, William Herdman, be taken hence to the place from which you came and thence on Tuesday the 2nd of September next, to the usual place of execution - there to be hanged by the neck until you are dead and that your body be afterwards buried within the precincts of the prison within which you shall be have been confined after your conviction. The prisoner then bowed to the judge and then to the court and was led away. An appeal was immediately lodged against the sentence and William Herdman successfully cheated the hangman’s noose and was detained in the asylum for life.
TRAGIC FIGHT IN BELFAST LODGING HOUSE I n the Belfast Custody Court on the 5th January 1910 a young man William Mitchell was charged with the manslaughter of Robert McCutcheon on the 3rd of January in the Mansion Lodging house in Matilda Street just off Sandy Row. The accused Mitchell and the deceased had both been lodgers in the establishment. At the initial hearing the only evidence heard was from the police who were advising the court that Mitchell should not receive bail as the only witnesses were also lodgers at the house. The police read out a statement from the accused that he made when he was arrested. Mitchell had said "I was getting a drop of tea from Morrow, and whilst talking to Mr Moore, the night man, Bob McCutcheon struck me twice. I hit him back and he fell on the floor. I never did the fellow any harm nor do I know what he struck me for. He was taken up to bed, and I did not know anything about it till this morning. It was in self defence I struck him back"
William Mitchell
Bail was refused and Mitchell appeared again at the inquest held in the old Recorder ’s Court in Townhall Street. The brother of McCutcheon formally identified the body and the first witness called was David Morrow, a tailor, who was resident in the Mansion Lodging House where McCutcheon died. He stated that he had gone
to the dining hall where Mitchell, McCutcheon and three other men were sitting talking. He had tea with Mitchell and he then went into the scullery. A few moments later Mitchell came running in and shouted "Look at my eye" and then "McCutcheon hit me". Morrow could see clearly that Mitchell had been injured and that he had been hit with either a cup or a 15
mug. McCutcheon who had gone upstairs then came into the scullery and started fighting with Mitchell again. Morrow believed that McCutcheon had started the fight and he witnessed the dead man hitting Mitchell with his fists. After McCutcheon hit Mitchell the two men wrestled and fought on the floor, and Morrow then saw Mitchell striking McCutcheon several times. He struck him so hard that McCutcheon fell hard to the floor, and his head struck the hard floor. Immediately blood began to flow from his head and mouth and Morrow pulled Mitchell off the injured man. The witness stated that both men were very drunk at the time and that he had no idea what they were arguing about as they had been on good terms earlier in the evening. Another witness James Moore was also with the fighting men and said that McCutcheon had struck Mitchell without any provocation while they were having tea. He confirmed that the warders of the lodging house had tried to stop the fight and had done 16
all they could to separate the men. The medical evidence given at the inquest confirmed much of the witness statements. Dr W J Wilson of Queens University who carried out the post mortem said that it was his conclusion that the cause of death was die to pressure on the brain, the result of the forcing out of blood between the skull and the membranes of the brain. The blood was shed owing to a rupture of the blood vessel, produced by a fracture of the skull. The blow of the fist had not caused the death but the fall on a hard flat surface had caused the fracture to the skull. The dead man also had marks around his eyes caused by a fist.
they do not allow people like this about the place, as it will destroy the charity. The place is a credit to the district and relieves many poor unfortunate creatures. A Mr Wilson who represented the lodging house made a statement on behalf of the owners that they regretted that the affair had happened at their premises but that they were satisfied that the officials on duty that night had done all they could to prevent it happening.
Addressing the jury the Coroner said that he supposed the jury should come to a verdict that the poor fellow Robert McCutcheon, had died as the result of injuries received in The coroner then made a a drunken quarrel. They statement to the lodging would not want to return a house owners and to the verdict of manslaughter. press: The jury after a brief I know this place, Mansion consultation agreed and then Lodging House, is returned a verdict in conducted on charitable accordance with the medical lines, but I think it is a great evidence, adding that the mistake to have drunken injuries were received fellows there at night. I am during a fight with William afraid that the fact that Mitchell. drunken men are allowed about the place will not tend Mitchell was discharged to respectable people going from custody and faced no there. I only suggest that other charges.
Tragedy after Pub brawl
In November, 1870, John Mullan, a cattle dealer, originally from County Derry had been residing in Belfast for a few days along with many other traders. He was staying in a house in Earl Street and was a well known figure among the other dealers. One early evening John Mullan set off for Pelans public house, on the corner of Gamble Street opposite the Donegall Quay. This was a popular bar for the cattle dealers and other tradesmen who were working in the area. John Mullen was known for his love of the drink and by the time he arrived at Pelans he had already had a few glasses of whisky that day. By eight o’clock Mullan was in the company of his associates, Felix O’Neill, Thomas Coulter, Henry McGrath and a young man named Connor. They were drinking cronies, but were all also cattle dealers. The men were drinking whisky, followed by shots of rum and glasses of ale and were all in good spirits. Samuel Colville the barman remembered the men to be loud but jovial, despite them being quite drunk they were not drinking in huge quantities. Around 8.30pm John Mullan passed Thomas Coulter a cigar for him to have a smoke and when Coulter refused to give Mullan back his cigar the men began to quarrel. The dispute led to Mullan striking Coulter and then the men began to wrestle. As they wrestled they both fell to the ground and the rest of the people in the bar began to shout and cheer the men. Both men were so drunk that as they tried to strike each other they missed most times. When the men fell to the ground Mullan fell 17
first and Coulter fell on top of him crushing Mullan's face into the ground. Immediately Mullan was helped to his feet and the barman Colville could see that he had scratched his face and bloodied his lip. There was no more physical contact between the two men, the fight was now over and the argument forgotten. Colville helped Mullan into the shop attached to Pelans and made him sit down to rest on the sofa for a few minutes. Mullan was not complaining about any pain suffered from the blow he received and he was a little unsteady on his feet but it was difficult to tell whether this was from the drink or as a consequence of the fight. The shop boy at Pelans called for Henry Gilmore, a friend of Mullan’s and they helped him from the bar. The two men stood outside Pelans, around 9.00pm, and had another quick drink. Gilmore helped Mullan to the house of Dr Alexander to get some plaster for his wound but the doctor ordered him to go home immediately and to bathe the cut and rest. Gilmore and Mullan left the doctors house but by the time the men had reached the shipyard gate at Corporation Street, Mullan said that he was having trouble walking and he began to stumble. Gilmore called for a taxi and the car took the men back to Mullan’s lodgings on Earl Street. When Mullan got in to his lodgings his brother Cormack, a farmer from Derry, was there and Cormack got him settled on the sofa where Mullan seemed to drift off to sleep. The brothers did not speak much and Cormack noticed the injuries to his brother’s face. By early Sunday morning John Mullan was moaning in his sleep and some blood had gathered around his mouth. His brother called for Dr Warwick who arrived around 9.00am on the Sunday morning. He found John in a state of state of unconsciousness and he was very cold and his pupils were dilated. Art 10.00am Mullan’s respirations was feeble, his pulse slow and weak. By 11.00 am Mullan was dead and Thomas Coulter was arrested and charged with causing Mullans death. At the inquest the doctors who were in attendance at Mullan’s death, Dr Warwick and Dr Wales both stated that death was caused by pressure on the brain produced by a quantity of blood, which had been found, clotted on the surface of the brain. This blood passing was most probably the result of combined causes rather than just one particular origin; a blow or fall, excitement of a drunken scuffle and the condition of Mullan’s brain which showed during their examination that it was in poor condition, scarred by the excesses of the drink which Mullan took daily, all contributed to his death. All the witnesses at the inquest agreed that Mullan was a heavy drinker and that generally Coulter and Mullan were the best of friends. The magistrate for the case Mr. O’Donnell instructed the jury as to the many circumstances which led to the death of Mullan and after short deliberations they returned a verdict that John Mullan had died from the excesses of his life and exonerated Thomas Coulter from all charges. Coulter was accordingly discharged. 18
LITTLE FAREWELL PARTY J
ust before the Halloween festival of 1910, in Mountjoy Street, Belfast an eight year old girl named Isabella Hill died under violent and tragic circumstances. On the 29th October, a Saturday, Isabella played out on the streets with her good friend Mary Ann Bryans who was a little older than her. Mary Ann was a kind young girl and she took Isabella to the local shop to buy sweets and "wee" Isabella as she was known was in great form, happy and in good health. Mary Ann brought Isabella home when the two girls had finished their games and she left her in the kitchen of her home with her mother who was also called Isabella.
Clarke to come with him. They both went into the house of Mrs Hill and in the room off the kitchen they found the child Isabella lying on the bed, bleeding from a wound on her head. There was a large pool of blood on the pillow and the girl was moaning slightly. The policemen immediately called for the local medic, Dr Gray, who on arrival examined the child but it was too late for her so he then administered an emetic to the mother. Mrs Hill was then taken to the Union Infirmary by ambulance. The police searched the house and found two bottles, both of which were empty and labelled "Poison" and "Laudanum". A bloodied hammer was also found.
Isabella Hill was a widow of five years and lived alone in the house in Mountjoy Street with her daughter Isabella. She was well known in the area as an industrious and hard working woman, sober and often was seen in fits of laughter since her husband had died. Mrs Hill and her daughter got on very well and Isabella took good care of wee Isabella. Mrs Hill was a weaver and worked in the local mill six days a week but she had no family living in Belfast, only a sister who lived in China. Around lunchtime on the 30th October Constable William Gilmore was on duty in the Shankill Road and Isabella Hill came up to him, She said to him, "Come up quick to 45 Mountjoy Street. I have killed by little daughter and poisoned myself". Constable Gilmore at once went to the house and called his colleague Constable 19
After she recovered in hospital Mr Hill voluntarily made the following statement to the police and this is her account of what happened; About nine or ten o’clock I got a basket and two bottles. I put one of the bottles in the basket and the other in my pocket. I went to Mr Sufferns’ and got 3d worth of laudanum. I went to Mr Roberts’ and go 3d worth more there and then I came home. My little Bella was running about the door. I brought her in, washed her, combed her hair, and had a little farewell party. I then read to her from the Bible – ‘I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star’. I put her to bed then, and waited till she slept. I then went to her bed; I brought a hammer with me. It was loneliness made me do it. I wanted her to be put on my breast in the coffin. I whispered into her ear – ‘You are going to Jesus, and I am going too’. I struck her two blows. She didn’t shout, she only trembled. I went to the kitchen then, and put the contents of two bottles into a cup and drank it. I undressed then and went to bed to my little daughter. I couldn’t stand her moaning, I got up and took her in my arms to the fire, and sat down with her, hoping she would die in my arms. As she was not dying I put her back to bed, dressed myself and went for the police.
had died in the asylum. The medics who had attended the daughter gave evidence that it took Isabella over 12 hours to die from her head injuries and that she had soon fallen into an unconscious state and then she became completely paralysed before she later died on the evening of the 30th October. She had not died with her mother by her side but at her home as she was too ill to be removed to the hospital, the doctor had stayed with her until she died. She had been struck just twice in the head which had caused swelling of the brain and ecehymosis on the left side of the head and face. Both her eyes were closed over from the swelling. Dr Graham who was the coroner at the inquest addressed the jury noting that this was a most melancholy and distressing case and that he felt that the jury would have no difficulty on coming to the conclusion that the child had met her death at the hands of her own mother. The jury found that she died as a result of a fracture of the skull, the result of injuries inflicted with a hammer by her mother Isabella Hill.
A short time later Isabella Hill was charged with murder and at once her solicitor submitted that she was not fit to plead. The jury were sworn in to make the decision whether Isabella was capable of pleading and it was confirmed by the prison doctor that she was suffering from melancholia This was the chilling account of the murder and had strong suicidal tendencies. She of Isabella Hill by her mother Mrs Isabella was quite incapable of pleading. Hill. At the inquest the police were questioned about the enquiries that they The jury found that Isabella Hill was made and they told the coroner that when insane and an order was made removing they asked about Mrs Hills family they her to a lunatic asylum to be detained there discovered that both the mother and sister during the pleasure of the Lord Lieutenant. 20
Child found dead in Ballymurphy O n the 5th of February 1859 the body of a young male child was found buried in a dung heap in Ballymurphy near Andersonstown, on the outskirts of Belfast. The local police had been informed that there was a child’s body buried on the land belonging to a Mr Ireland and Sergeant MacAuley was sent out to investigate. There he found the newborn child, dead, and concealed under a pile of manure. The information that he had received also led the Sergeant to the nearby home of Margaret McBride where he arrested her, cautioned her as to what she might say, and charged her with the murder of the child. Margaret McBride denied the charge and pleaded her innocence and said that she had never given birth to a child.
An inquest into the death of the child was held at the General Hospital in Belfast, a couple of days after the discovery of the body, to determine the cause of death and also to find out who was the mother of child as Margaret continued to deny that she had given birth. Ellen Hamilton gave
The General Hospital in Frederick Street where an inquest was held on the dead child evidence that she had known Margaret for around nine months and confirmed that she lived in a house belonging to a man called Thomas Graham. Ellen also lived in one of Mr Grahams houses next door to Margaret. Ellen saw Margaret two or three times a day but had know idea that she was with child. She told the coroner at the inquest that people in the area had said that Margaret was in the family way but Ellen had not noticed this and there was nothing in Margaret’s behaviour to suggest that she was with pregnant. On the Wednesday before the child’s body was found Margaret became sick and Ellen called to see her.
She found Margaret lying on the settle bed with her face pushed into the mattress. When she asked Margaret what was wrong she replied "that she had got no sleep all night with cramps in her inside". Ellen gave her some laudanum and stayed with her for twenty minutes to make sure she was all right and then left her. The next time she went back she found Margaret in the byre, on her hands and knees, between two cows. She was obviously in a worse condition and Ellen told her that she was in a bad place and that she should return to the house and lie down but Margaret refused. Again Ellen left her for around twenty minutes. 21
Ellen found her a short time later in the stable and she seemed better and she had her dog at her side. Ellen noticed that there was blood on Margaret’s hands but Ellen did not ask her about the blood but instead returned to her house and watched Margaret from her own house. She saw Margaret leave the stable with a bundle in her arms but Ellen could not confirm whether it was a child or not. The next witness was Thomas Graham’s wife, Mary, who confirmed that she lived in the same house as Margaret. She had known Margaret since she was a child and she had suspected for some time that Margaret was pregnant. On the Wednesday that Ellen had been with Margaret, Mary Graham had also visited Margaret in the byre, but she was asking Margaret to leave
the byre as she had work to do. She asked Margaret to move on somewhere else, and while Mary Graham was milking the cows in the byre she heard moaning coming from the adjacent stable where Margaret was, but she heard no cries and no baby. The final witness at the inquest was crucial to Margaret McBrides defence. He was William Aickin, a surgeon, who had examined Margaret. He had no doubt that she had given birth to a child, about one week previously. He also examined the body of the child who he confirmed had been born alive, as the lungs had been fully inflated. The baby was full grown and there were no marks of violence on the child’s body. The baby had died from blood loss due to the umbilical cord not having been tied so that the child
died from want of proper attention at the time of birth. The doctor’s evidence showed that Margaret had not murdered the child; in fact he could not be absolutely sure that Margaret was the mother of the child, but if she was the mother the utmost she could be punished for was concealment of birth. The judge agreed that it was not proved that a murder had been committed and instructed the jury that unless they felt that the child had died from neglect which could have been prevented then they could find her guilty of manslaughter or they could acquit Margaret and find her guilty of concealment of birth. The jury retired and a short time later found Margaret not guilty of murder as they could find no evidence that the child’s came to his death by the hands of Margaret McBride.
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TERRIBLE TRAGEDY IN DOUGLAS STREET n August 1911 three young children died and two others were injured when a ships distress rocket exploded in Douglas Street, a long, thin thoroughfare near the Beersbridge Road in East Belfast. The street was deserted at the time of the explosion except for four young children who appeared to be playing a children’s game on the kerbstone. Then suddenly the whole street shook as if a live shell had exploded; windows and fanlights were smashed in all directions and flying splinters drove through a door panel and the upper part of the street was blotted out, such
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was the thickness of the smoke. As the dust settled and the smoke cleared people from the neighbouring houses ran out onto the street and were met with an awful sight of children’s bodies, writhing in pain and covered in blood. Three of these children who were playing at the kerbside died a short time after the explosion; they were Margaret Ann Larkin aged 6 of 43 Douglas Street, Matthew McKeown aged 12 of 45 Douglas Street and Patrick Joseph Kelly aged 5 of 35 Douglas Street. The only survivor was a little girl of four named Toner of 26 Douglas Street.
The first adults to reach the scene of the tragedy were the mothers of the children Margaret Larkin and Matthew McKeown as the explosion had taken place just outside their houses. The horror of what had just happened must have been unbelievable for these parents. Within minutes four medics arrived, Dr Smyth, Dr Ferguson, Dr Blewitt and Dr Boyd, but except for the girl Toner there was little they could do. The three children had died a short time after the explosion, one of the firemen who arrived with the ambulance, declared that the sight that confronted the emergency services was the
The 1911 Census Return listing the Larkin family without Ann 23
most horrifying that any of them had experienced. Matthew McKeown was literally blown to pieces his limbs were torn from his body, the top of Patrick Kelly’s head had been blasted off and Margaret Larkin sustained appalling injuries. Ambulances from Whitla Street and the Central Station arrived quickly but in the confusion someone also called for the fire brigade which arrived from My Lady’s Road and three machines arrived promptly. Although not required the firemen quickly assisted the paramedics and in a short time the bodies of the three children were taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital. The little girl Toner who had injuries to her legs and arms was after being dressed in the Royal Hospital sent home but a short time later was rushed to the Union Infirmary where she was detained for several days, suffering from shock and loss of blood. A woman called Agnes Miskelly, who lived at 46 Douglas Street was admitted to the Union Infirmary suffering from shock but was not otherwise injured. The police thoroughly investigated the incident and a cartridge case, about 5 inches long, was picked up in the street, not far from the explosion. Head Constable 24
Peste at the inquest confirmed that the explosion was caused by a distress signal which had been removed from the steamship Calorie while a number of heater and catch boys were out on strike at Queens Island. It would seem that these boys went on board the vessel at the Hamilton Dock and while a number of distress signals were laid out in the cabin, as the crew made a stock take, they took them away from the vessel. It was thought that Matthew McKeown had somehow got hold of the distress signal and brought it to Douglas Street where the children decided to examine it and play with it thinking that it was harmless. The signal or rocket as it was referred to at the inquest was found by Robert Williams who lived in My Lady’s Road and he gave the discharged rocket to the police who compared it to a similar one which had been found at Vints Fields, an wide undeveloped area not far from Douglas Street. The other rocket had been fired at boys who were playing there and the police had been called to investigate this incident also, although no one was injured at Vints Fields. Eye witnesses told the inquest that they had seen the children in Douglas Street crouching over an object which was
placed on the kerbstone in Douglas Street and they seemed to be trying to open the object with a hammer, the children obviously had no idea that the object was explosive and would harm them. Such was the force of the blast that two large segments of kerbstone were blown apart and the police produced these fragments in court to explain the force of the blast to the coroner. All the experts in the court could hardly believe that such a device would have exploded downwards into the kerb rather than upwards, killing the children, destroying the kerb and also damaging houses up to 30 metres away. The inquest concluded that the children’s deaths were caused by the explosion and that the only person who could shed light on how the children came to have such a device, the McKeown boy, had died in the incident. The incident was investigated by a government inspector on behalf of the Secretary of State, as was required by the Explosives Act and a verdict of accidental death was returned. No one was prosecuted for this terrible tragedy and the true circumstance of how the bomb came to be used as a toy by the children would never be known.
Tragic Prison Death
hroughout the long and diverse history of the Belfast Prison on the Crumlin Road there have been numerous deaths associated with the building. Many of these were as a result of natural causes such as old age and others as the result of fatal disease. There have also been the executions where individuals have been sentenced to die at the hands of the hangman. However, the most common form of death within the prison has been the result of the prisoners taking their own lives. Today suicide is treated as a medical
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problem connected with severe depression, but in Victorian Belfast it was looked upon differently. The authorities were not as sympathetic and those who failed in their suicide attempt were treated as criminals and brought up before the courts. The result of the case often ended with the ‘victim’ receiving a fine or fourteen days imprisonment. It was within the Belfast Police Court that one of the most tragic cases of suicide in the prison’s history began. On Tuesday 27th April, 1858, two
young lads, named Patrick Magee and Joseph Moore, were charged with stealing some clothing from a washer woman named Jane Rea. The act of theft was proved by a little girl who lived with the woman. The boys both wept bitterly, and stated that, if forgiven this time, they would never make their appearance before the court again. As Magee had been before the court on a previous occasion he was sentenced to three months imprisonment and Moore received a fine. Magee was taken crying from the court to begin his sentence
but unfortunately it was also the beginning of a terrible tragedy which started almost as soon as the boy entered the gaol. The following report appeared in the local press on Saturday, May 1st, 1858. SUICIDE BY A BOY IN THE COUNTY JAIL TUESDAY, a little before three o’clock, one of the most melancholy cases of self destruction it has ever been our lot to record took place in the County Jail. Whether we take into account the youth of the deceased, or the circumstances under 25
which the event took place, we are warranted in stating that a more determined case of suicide has rarely occurred in the prison. The boy (for he was only thirteen years of age) who thus stopped short his career, was known as Patrick Magee, and was entered on the books of the head constable as ‘a suspected character.’ Although young in years, he was old in crime, this being the third occasion on which it was considered necessary to send him to prison for the welfare of the community. Magee was’brought up before the presiding magistrates, yesterday, W. T. Lyons, Esq., and J. F. Ferguson, Esq., and charged by a young woman, named Jane Rea, with stealing from her house, in Ballynafeigh, some articles which she had obtained from her customers for washing. Upon the evidence adduced, the magistrates sent the 26
prisoner to jail for a term of three calender months - a sentence which, undoubtedly, brought to a m e l a n c h o l y termination the life of the young lad. While the case was going on, the boy stated that, "if let off this time, I will be a good boy, and never trouble you again," and when the magistrates told him they had no doubt of his guilt, he stated, while weeping bitterly, "I had no dinner yesterday; my father is dead these sixteen weeks, but I’ll never be here again." Whether the bench could not pity the poor boy, under such circumstances, we shall not pretend to say, but the stern rigour of the law was enforced upon him, and he was sentenced to three months incarceration in jail. This long time imprisonment, no doubt, affected the mind of the prisoner with gloomy forebodings of what he was to endure, and his melancholy end
proved that he would rather put an end to his life than endure the continued stigma of a felon. When brought to the County Jail, yesterday afternoon, as is usual in the establishment, the prisoner was locked in the cell appropriated to him. At this time, although the prisoner appeared downcast, there were no apprehensions, on the part of officers of the jail, that he would put an end to his career, as he appeared to regard his present fate as only customary life. The officers of the jail saw no reason to suspect a suicide on the part of a boy of such a tender age. The boy was locked up in his cell; the time other prisoners in the jail passed to their dinner; but, on the warden again proceeding to examine the several cells, the unfortunate youth was found hanging dead from a hook in his prison domicile. It appeared that, he had taken the handkerchief from off his neck, and had
entwined it round his throat two or three times, and, throwing himself from a stool, which was in the cell at the time, and which the prisoner had used for the purpose of more effectually carrying out his design; for it was thrown from before his feet, and, at the time he was first seen, his feet were only a few inches from the ground. An inquest was held on Wednesday, when the following verdict was returned:"That Patrick Magee, on the 27th day of April, 1858, committed suicide while labouring under temporary insanity, by suspending himself with his neck tie from a hook, inside the cells of the jail aforesaid, while a prisoner therein; and the jury are of the opinion that every care and precaution were adopted in the jail, and that no blame can be attached to any person therein in reference to the said death.
THE TERRIBLE CURSE OF DRINK I n October 1908 a terrible tragedy occurred in Plevna Street off the Falls Road in Belfast. The period 1850-1920 is often called the Golden Age of murder in Ireland and much of this reputation came from events such as happened that night on the 24th October 1908.
James Boyle lived in Plevna Street with his wife Agnes and father in law Patrick Gallagher. Patrick was well known in the area as a heavy drinker, being drunk much of the day. He worked in the McGladdery brickworks on the Springfield Road and James Boyle worked as a labourer. Agnes stayed at home caring for the couple’s five children and attending to the house. She was also known to be fond of the drink but she was discreet in her drinking and the couple appeared to all their neighbours to be in good terms and to have a happy and complete life.
James Boyle was a good provider for his family saving consistently each week, and providing insurance for himself, wife and family. On the fateful night James and his father inlaw had gone into the city, stopping off in King Street for a couple of drinks. They were going to the Hippodrome Music Hall for a night of entertainment and bought a bottle of stout at the bar to take with them to the Hippodrome. The entertainment finished at around 10pm and the two men walked home, Patrick stumbling along, drunk as usual but both men were in good spirits and there were no cross words between them. When the men got back to the house in Plevna Street they found that Agnes had been drinking and was a little worse for wear. The children were all sleeping but Agnes had let the fire go out and the men had been expecting some supper on their return but she had forgotten.
On the fateful night James and his father in-law had gone to the Hippodrome Music Hall
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James was visibly angry and began to argue with his wife. He then asked her to go and get him a coupe of bottles of stout but her father told her not to go, as it would only make matters worse for the couple.
mouth and her lips were badly contused. Blood had come from her mouth as her tooth had broken the skin on her lips and on further examination the doctor stated that there had been a dislocation around the spine and this had caused clotting of blood at the base of John then set off himself to buy some porter the brain. and returned within five minutes. He was still in a bad mood and when he got into the It was this clotting and the blood, which house he began to shout at his wife. Patrick diffused itself over the upper surface of the was concerned and tried to stop them fighting brain, which had killed the woman. The but James struck his wife hard across her doctor also gave evidence that she smelled face, at which point Patrick rushed from the very strongly of alcohol and that when they house shouting that he was going to get the opened up her body during that post mortem police. the stench of alcohol was almost unbearable. She had died as a result of the fall and not Patrick’s alarm disturbed the neighbours who from the blow, which James had given her. came from their houses and two policemen who were on duty in Plevna Street rushed to At his trial, it was obvious to the court and the house. When they went into the house jury that James Boyle was inconsolable about they found Agnes lying on the ground with what he had done and had pleaded guilty to blood coming from a head wound. Agnes the charge of manslaughter which he had did not move, and although conscious she now been charged with. did not speak. One of the policemen went off to get an ambulance and a doctor but The judge told the court that the case was an Agnes died before the ambulance arrived. illustration of the terrible curse of drink and that he saw a great many cases like each week James was immediately arrested and charged in his courtroom. with the murder of his wife. James straight away admitted to striking his wife but kept Under the circumstances the Judge felt that repeating that she had fallen against the stairs nothing would be served by sending James and that he did not intend to kill her. He to prison as it would only result in the couples seemed very upset and kept asking the police five children being sent to the workhouse and about his children and what would happen he directed the jury that the accused had no to them and if he would be released to attend criminal record and that statements by his his wife’s funeral. As he was taken away friends and employers indicated that he was everyone in the street could hear him usually a devoted father and husband. mumbling that he would hang for it, repeating it over and over. The jury returned a verdict of guilty to the manslaughter of his wife and the judge At the inquest medical evidence concluded ordered James to enter into a recognisance that Agnes had bruising at the right of the to keep the peace and set him free. 28
Horrific murder on the Shore Road ust over 116 years ago the city of Belfast was to witness a most brutal murder which to this day has never been solved. The nature of the attack has fortunately been a rare event, as the instances of crime involving brutal rape and murder in the Belfast area has not been a common occurrence.
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What made this case so strange and sad was the fact that the poor victim had been arrested for alleged drunkenness after being found lying in the
street. A slur that any field opposite the entrance proud woman would to "The Grove," on the Shore Road he heard what detest. sounded like someone On the night of Monday, moaning. He went in the July 12th, 1895, Constable direction of the sounds and Jackson, from York Road about sixty yards from the Barracks was on his usual roadside discovered a partially beat along the Shore Road. woman, The 12th celebrations had undressed, lying with her continued into the early feet in a pool of water. hours and it was not Constable Jackson shook uncommon for the police her up but she looked quite to have to take some dazed and he concluded people into custody, from her appearance that suffering from the effects she was suffering from the of consuming too much effects of drink. He left her drink. As Constable where she was and then Jackson arrived at an open went for a car to convey
The Grove
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her to the barracks. By the time he had discovered one and brought it down, the woman had recovered enough to identify herself as Elizabeth Jones from 8 Park Row, Greencastle and that her husband was a former sergeant in the army. She still had the appearance of being intoxicated and the police constable claimed that she began to talk incomprehensibly before lying down to sleep again, moaning all the while. She was eventually brought to the Police barracks where a charge of drunkenness was subsequently preferred against her. She was held in the cells in order that she would come before a magistrate the following morning. During the night she took seriously ill and a local doctor, Dr Aiken, was sent for. He immediately ordered her removal to the Union Hospital. This instruction was promptly carried out, but despite the medical attendance there she died the following morning. At first very little importance was attached by the police 30
to the finding of the woman until rumours of what had happened that night began to emerge. It was later discovered that the woman had not been drunk at all in fact she did not touch alcoholic drink. This furthered not only the local community’s suspicion but also the police suspicion that something untoward had happened. As the woman’s movements that night were pieced together it was revealed that she had been passing along the Shore Road at around 11.00pm having visited her motherin-law. Nothing more could be discovered and the rest of her movements on that night remained a mystery. A fortnight later however an inquest was held in Belfast. The medical evidence showed that the deceased had been subjected to a brutal outrage and that death resulted in consequence. A verdict was therefore returned in accordance with the medical evidence. The police meanwhile believed that they were now following up a murder inquiry and they did their
utmost to unravel the mystery. They believed that she had been pounced upon by a man who had been lying in wait somewhere near the park. He must have dragged his victim into the park where he brutally beat and raped her before making off. Doctors believed that she had been concussed and that perhaps a haemorrhage of some sort had moved over her brain leading to the appearance of being intoxicated. This concussion eventually led to the poor woman’s death. No one came forward however to help the police catch this brutal attacker despite various appeals. The police eventually conceded that they had no clues whatsoever to identify the cruel person or persons involved and without the help of the public they could not conduct a proper investigation into the murder. And so it was 108 years ago in Belfast - a woman was brutally beaten and raped to death just off a main city thoroughfare. The murderer got away scot free.
SON MURDERS FATHER In July 1881 a William Murray from East Belfast died in hospital the consequence of a nights drinking and brawling. William Murray lived in Eliza Street with his wife and two children. He had worked at McCleish’s vitriol works at Ballymacarret for over 26 years. On this one evening in July Murray had gone to the races at the Maze after work, and on his way home had called into a few pubs to have a drink or two. He was in a very drunken state when he decided to race a few of the other carts returning from the races back to Belfast. A couple of young boys warned his wife Jane that her husband was on his way home, on his pony, and that he was very drunk. On the way William had picked up a drinking companion, a young man called Daniel Ward, who when they two men got back to the Murray house continued on his way home. Murray was in a very boisterous mood when he got home and immediately confronted his wife, Jane, about money. Jane ran an animal food store in Eliza Street, where she sold hay and other animal feeds to the local community. He asked Jane for all the days’ takings, as he wanted to continue with his drinking session. Jane immediately gave him the takings of just over 7s, but this was not enough for William. He began scolding and shouting his wife accusing her of not giving him all the money and as he struck his wife his son came rushing in to help his mother. William Murray, junior, tried to reason with his father telling him that his mother had given him everything but his father then struck him. At this point Jane decided to get away as she knew that her husband would attack her again
Murray’s son William Murray, junior was arrested and charged for his fathers murder and she knew she had to get to safety. She left her home and a short time later her daughter came for her. Back in the Murray house and William senior was very agitated and struck out again toward 31
his son who then struck his father but then the facts of the event became unclear. William senior made a statement to police that his son had struck him with a brush but his son told the police that his father fell against the fender in the kitchen of their home and injured his head.
being stuck by a blunt tool, like a brush and so his son William was arrested and charged with the murder of his father.
In court evidence was heard from Jane Murray regarding her husbands violence and also from her daughter who told the court that her father had told her that her brother had struck her When Jane arrived home with her daughter she father, but no one saw the incident and William was too scared to go to help her husband, as he junior denied striking his father. was still conscious and very angry. She pleaded with their neighbours to come and help her The day before William Murray died he husband but they refused to get involved until retracted his earlier statement regarding his son one neighbour, Mrs O’Neill said she would help striking him and told the police that he had been Jane stop the bleeding. William was beginning drunk and could not remember exactly what to lose consciousness and his daughter decided had happened the night he was injured. to get a car to take him to hospital. The coroner told the jury that after discussion William Murray had to be taken to hospital with with the police that the authorities would be a severe head wound and while there they happy with an open verdict from the inquest. discovered he had a badly infected knee. A The facts were unclear he advised them in his couple of day’s later Murray died in hospital. summing up and although the cause of death The medical examiner could not say for sure was more are less known no one could be sure what had killed him, the head injury or the whether the cause of death was due to his sons infected knee. However the medical examiner attack. Duly the jury returned an open verdict did not believe that Murray could have died and the charges against William Murray were from striking his head on the fender. The dropped and he was freed from custody, wound to his head was more likely caused by seemingly getting away with murder. 32
Gruesome discovery in Park Avenue n Belfast there was a sensation as the body of an elderly man was found dead in Oakdene Terrace, Park Avenue on the Ballymacarrett area. Mr John Buckle, a gentleman in well to do circumstances, was found in an advanced state of decomposition at his home.
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Mr Buckle lived at the house with his wife for many years and everyone in the district knew the couple well. Dr Marks J.P. had treated him for some time for a liver complaint. Mr Buckle had not been seen for some time and for several weeks Dr Marks had been unable to gain
admission to the house when he had called on his usual rounds of patients.
suspicious and his wife had told them that his illness had got so bad that he was now confined to his The neighbours were bed. well aware that Mr Buckle had not been During the early part well and the fact that of July 1908, they had not seen him however the people in out and about in the the locality missed neighbourhood did seeing Mrs Buckle as not give them any well and a very reason to be unpleasant smell was
Mrs Buckle was detained in the Union Infirmary for the rest of her life 33
coming from their house. The door of the house was kept closed and it was impossible for anyone to gain entry or to find out what was going on inside. One of the neighbours alerted the police on the 17th July and the police broke down the front door. As they went into one of the rooms the smell coming from it made it almost impossible to stay inside the house. There they found the body of Mr Buckle, lying in a bed, dead, and Mrs Buckle beside her husband’s body in a very distressed state. She was not upset about her husband but about the police breaking into her house. The police told her that the body would have to be removed to the Morgue but then she became hysterical. She kept telling the police that 34
her husband would wake up soon and would want his tea. She told them that he had only fallen asleep and would wake up and be sitting up soon. Dr Marks was called to the house and told the police and Mrs Buckle that her husband had been dead for several weeks. It was then decided that Mrs Buckle should be brought to the police station for her own safety. At the inquest it was discovered that Mrs Buckle had taken to the drink in several months and the doctor described her as being demented and with an unreliable memory. The doctor was surprised that Mr Buckle had died so soon after his diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver but the police found a telegram in the house which Mr Buckle had written asking the doctor to visit
him as soon as possible as he was very ill. Mrs Buckle had not sent the telegram and so the doctor had not come to treat Mr Buckle. On examination of the deceased the doctors concluded that he had died from his liver disease and that there appeared to be no bruises or wounds on the body although this was difficult as his body was in such a state of decomposition. A Mr William Darragh, a close friend of the couple who told the inquest that they had been married happily and that he had known them for 34 years, identified the body. The couple he said had lived quietly and in recent times had been a little short of money. He had noticed that Mrs Buckle had been completely demented in recent months and that she constantly was burning large fires in
the house that made it unbearably hot for all visitors and Mr Buckle also. Mr Buckle had refused to go to the hospital to be treated as he told Mr Darragh that "If I go to hospital when I come out there will be nothing here. She will have made ducks and drakes of everything". He told Mr Darragh of his wife’s drinking but all their friends and neighbours were aware of her heavy drinking. In the circumstances no charges were brought against Mrs Buckle and she was detained in the Union Infirmary for the rest of her life. The jury delivered a verdict that they could not be sure of the cause of death due to the decomposed condition of the body but that the cause of death was probably due to cirrhosis of the liver.
THE DURHAM STREET TRAGEDY n December 1892 Thomas Smith of Durham Street appeared at the Belfast Winter Assizes charged with the murder of his wife. Before the trial started the Crown Council, Sergeant Dodd Q.C. informed the court that the Crown had decided that the jury only had to consider whether Thomas Smith had killed his wife, they no longer had to reflect on whether there was intent by Smith to kill his wife. This was significant as the jury did not have to consider that if they convicted Smith of his wife’s murder, he
I
would be sentenced to death. Jane Ann Smith had been married to Thomas Smith for only nine months. She had been married before, but when her husband died suddenly she came into money and a public house on the Oldpark Road. After she met and married Thomas Smith they sold the pub in the Oldpark area and moved to premises in Durham Street where they opened a small shop and pub.
premises, and many people in the area believed that Thomas had problems with his wife being in control of all their money and property.
It was in October 1892 that relations between Jane Ann and her husband began to deteriorate. They had always had a tempestuous relationship and neighbours and customers of the shop gave evidence that Jane Ann often served them with a black The licence to the premises eye and bruises on her arms. was in the name of Jane Ann, She was also known to drink as was the title to the heavily, gin and whisky,
Thomas Smith
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usually hidden in a tea cup which she would sup from as she worked in the shop. Thomas also enjoyed a drink or two but neither of them showed their alcohol and seemed to be able to take a great deal before falling down or being incoherent. On the 31st October there was a noisy and violent row between the couple and Thomas was observed shoving Jane Ann into a wall, kicking her and then pushing her down. A friend came to help her but she was thrown out of the pub by Thomas, but she returned and helped Jane Ann upstairs to her bed, where she rested. The following day Jane Ann was back at work and the relations between husband and wife had not improved. Thomas was in a foul temper and was complaining to all their customers about Jane Ann being lazy, employing too many people when she could be doing the work herself, and most importantly he talked about how much she had been drinking. Again Thomas struck her, this time by using a closed fist, which he used on her forehead, and this time she fell to the ground, striking her head against the wall as she fell. 36
A local policeman who lived in Durham Street called in to see Thomas and warned him that the violence towards his wife would have to stop. If he kept hitting her, the policeman would report the incident and Thomas would be arrested. He also told Thomas that he had to remember that he was much stronger and larger than his wife and if he was not careful he would end up killing her. During the trial it was obvious from the evidence given by neighbours and friends that there was some sympathy for Thomas as they related to the court how difficult Jane Ann could be when she had been drinking and that Jane Ann told everyone in the area that she was in control of her husband, as she owned the bar and controlled the money that he had. All that Thomas had, had come to him through her late husband and at this time in the late nineteenth century this would have been a difficult situation for a man to live with. By the 2nd November Jane Smith had received a couple of days of pushing, shoving, and kicking from her husband and had taken to her bed, complaining of feeling drowsy and unwell. In the
early hours of the 3rd of November a neighbour called with her and could not raise her from her bed and called a doctor. He found Jane Ann unconscious but alive, but she died a short time later without regaining consciousness. The medical reports revealed at the trial that Jane Ann had received a blow to the head which had caused massive internal bleeding and she had died due to this single blow. The medical report could not determine whether Jane Ann had died from striking her head from a fall or whether she had been hit hard by someone. The judge summed up: What you the jury have to inquire was this, whether or not Thomas Smith was in the habit of ill treating his wife and if so was it from the effects of the ill treatment that the woman had died? There was no doubt that Jane Ann Smith was a woman of intemperate habits, as was shown from the state of her liver. The jury retired at 5.15 on the 16th December and returned to court at 5.45. The verdict was guilty and Thomas Smith was sentenced to penal servitude of 15 years.
Another Durham Street Murder O n St Patrick’s Day 1882 an inquest was held in Belfast on the remains of a man named John Kane, aged 42, of 56 Durham Street. Mr Kane had died from the effects of injuries sustained in a drunken row on the previous evening. Jane Kane the wife of the deceased gave evidence to the court that her husband had been a brass founder but that he had been out of work since December of the previous year. On the evening of the 16th March she had been called to collect him in a cart from the police station. When she had got to the police station she found her husband unable to speak. He did not speak at all on the way home to their house and there was blood coming from his nose and left ear and he had an injury to his head.
The police told her when she picked her husband up that her husband had been arrested after an altercation at Doyle’s public house in Station Street with a William McDonnell. John had been at the pub drinking with his friend Hugh McGahan of Josephine Street. They had started at around 11 o’clock on the morning of the 16th and had been drinking in the pub on and off all day.
It seems that there were many drunken people in Doyle’s pub that day and few of the witnesses could remember how the fight had started but McDonnell and Kane were in dispute and were eventually put out of the pub. The argument continued outside when McDonnell took off his coat and challenged Kane to a fight. Hugh
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tried to stop Kane from getting involved but the drink gave him courage and both men went into the street and the fight continued, this time physically. Some bystanders separated the two men but not until many blows were exchanged, no one knew who threw the first punch. Finally McDonnell knocked down Kane who fell down backwards, striking his head on the pavement. A man named McLaughlin had helped McDonnell in his fight by keeping back the crowd and shouting warnings and advice.
on the side of his head. There was also some blood on his mouth and nose, and the front of his shirt was saturated with blood. His left eye was black and there were contusions about his mouth and there was also an abrasion on his chin. Kanes head had been bandaged at the hospital and when Dr McKee removed the bandage he discovered a cut under it but the back of his head was greatly swollen. Kane could not swallow nor be roused and he announced that Kane had died. Early that morning he conducted a post mortem, which found that the flesh under and behind his ear was bruised. His skull was fractured and beneath the fracture was a large clot of blood weighing nearly half a pound, which pressed, strongly upon the brain.
The police were called to Station Street where they found a crowd of over one hundred men and saw Kane lying on the footpath, bleeding The doctor stated that the cause of death was profusely from his ear. His face was covered the injuries described and he believed that the with blood and there was a mark of a blow on skull hitting the pavement caused the fracture. his left cheek. Meanwhile the police had found out that Kane was still conscious at this stage and the McDonnell and McLaughlin had been police asked him who had hit him but he involved in the fight and had arrested them refused to tell them. Kane was quickly on suspicious of causing the death of Kane. brought to the Royal Hospital where his wounds were dressed by a nurse and a Mr However when the jury retired they returned Austin, a resident pupil, who asked the police a short time later returning a verdict that John not to allow Kane to get any more drink and Kane had come to his death from the effects to keep him under observation at the police of the injuries received by a blow an a fall on station. the pavement in Station Street, and that having a great deal of drink taken, he had been When Jane collected him the police thought responsible for his own death. he was well enough to go home but his condition deteriorated when he got home and McDonnell and McLaughlin were released Jane called Dr McKee just after midnight. and charges against them were withdrawn. When Dr McKee arrived, early on St Patrick’s Time after time in the late nineteenth century Day morning, he found John Kane lying on this story is repeated, drunken brawls in the chairs in the kitchen of his own house. He street, with no reason behind the fights, and attempted to rouse Kane but failed. There in most cases it seems that people quite was a little blood on his face and a small mark literally were getting away with murder. 38
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