The Express.
London, England, 1849-08-25 00:00:00

of death beyond what I h.ve produced. I sat the stomach
to be sash sed in cousegf•ence of a bottle of laudanum hiv-
ing been found in the house by the police. The plies-
man Barne■ here proiluced a brute cmtaining laudanum,
which he said he had found in the front room, up stain,
of the house in Miciver-place.

Examination resumed: I have not the stomach now,
I have destroyed it. lie immediate cause of death
was undoubtedly the fractures on the skull, which
were sufficient to cause death half a dozen times
over, were it possible. I traced the milks of the ham-
mer, as I suppose it to have been, on the head. They
were mostly across the head. Whether the party
was drugzed or shot, I have no hesitation in eayieg that the
cause of death was the fractures in the skull, many or which
I have to doubt whatever were inflicted during life. It
would be all but impossible to detect any appearance of
opium in the stomach. That is one of the most difficult
poisons to detect.
Mr. Lockwood re-examined—l assisted the last winces in
his examination of the body. On the external part of the
scalp I noticed 18 or 19 deep wounds, such as have been de-
scribed by the last witness, which appeared to have been in-
flicted by some instrument not very sharp nor very blunt.
They appeared to have been inflicted by. such a hammer as
bricklayers and plasterers use to clean bricks with. I mean
a hammer having a sort of hatchet at one end and a bleu-
edge at the other. There were incisions as well as
fractures, and I should say these had been made
by the sharp side of the instrument and the other jagged
wounds with the blunt side. The wounds generally were
, horizontal, but some of them were on one side. The wounds
were principally on the right side of the head. I should
therefore say they had been inflicted when the deceased was
in a recumbent position, no, had they been inflicted when the
party was in an erect position, they would have teen indis-
criminately on the one side end the other. I saw the cranium
which was extensively fractured. I saw Mr. Odling take
several pieces of the skull away. They were quite detached.
Tne fractures could not have been made by one blow, but by
several. I endeavoured to trace the course of the bullet, but
could not succeed. We turned the s back where the
fractures were, but could not ascertain where the
bullet had entered, in consequence of the broken
state of the skull. There was no aperture in the
front, and the bullet therefore must have entered from the
back. With regard to the cause of the death, if the shot did
not produce death the fractures were quite sufficient to de-
stroy life. I should say that the shot would have caused
death, but as we have not been able to discover its course, I
cannot speak with certainty. The blows which produced
the fracture were most certainly inflicted before vitality had
ceased. It was quite impossible that suck injuries could
have been inflicted by the deceased upon himself.
An inrpector of police stated that he had been directed by
Mr. Seeker, the magistrate, to state that the property found
on the woman Manning when apprehended would be shown
to the friends of deceased tz-morrow morning, when, should,
they identity anything as having belonged to the deceased,
it would he produced in evidence before this court.
The coroner said it would be necessary to produce every-
thing which might have been found belonging to the de-
ceased, or which might tend to elucidate the cause of death.
Mr. fileorge Colman—l am a builder. I live at No. 1
Minn'. place. The house No. 3 is my property. My
attention was first called to this matter on Tuesday evening
week last, when I was told that during my absence from
home • man had tailed, and that he had stated that Mr.
and Mrs. Manning had gone away; that the furniture had
ell been removed ; and that it was suspected that • man had
been murdered. I found the house was unoccupied. A
man came out at the door while I was making inquiry. I
asked who he was, but he refused to give me either his rime
or address. I told him who I was, and he replied, "Do
they owe you any rend"' I said, " No." He answered,
" Then you have no claim on the property." The been
No. 3 was inhabited by Frederic George Manning and
his wife. I did not know the Christian name of
his wife. They had occupied the house sines Lady-
day. The rent was paid up en Midsummer-day.
I could not enter the houses they being quarterly tenants,
holding under an agreement. Ido not think I was ever in
the house after they took possession. The agreement was
between Frederick Clecrae Manning and myself. I have the
agreement here ; I saw him sign it. (The agreement was
then produced and taken posses ion of by the coroner.) I
should know both Manning end his wife again if I saw them.
I had a reference when they took the house. It was to Mr.
O'Connor. The reference was not given to me personally,
but to the person who acted for me ; I received the reference
myself. The house was let on the condition that half a
quarter be paid in advance ; and I have 31. in hand towards
the current quarter. Ido not know that they ever had a
servant or a lodger while in the house, but I have seen
another female besides Mrs. Manning there occasionally.
Mr. W. Massey-1 am a medical student. I live at Swark-
stone, Derbyshire. I lodged at No. 3, Minver-place. I left
that residence a mouth last Saturday. I believe that wiz
the day I left. I had lodged there nine or ten weeks. My
landlord was Frederick George Manning. Thetis the name
I always knew him by. His family consisted of his wife only.
Her name was Maria Manning. I believe her former name
was De Roux. I saw that name on one of her pocket hand-
kerchiefs. 1 have seen it also on some of her linen. I think
he used to call her by another name than Maria. I we i.
sometimes to take my meals with them. I did so frequently.
They dil not keep a servant while I was there, but a person
used to come occasionally to clean out the rooms. They did
not keep any company besides Mr. Patrick O'Connor. He
was frequently there. I knew him by having been intro-
duced to him by Manning. Mr. O'Connor dined three times
at Manning's table with me while I was there. He appeared
to be on friendly terms with Mr. and Mrs. Manning. I enw
him at his own house I believe twice. That was with Man-
ning and I believe his wife. I accompanied them there.
He came to Manning's once, I believe, to spend the whole
evening. He appeared to be very friendly with Mrs.
Manning, but there did not appear to be any
improper intimacy between them. I cannot say that I have
ever seen them on such intimate terms as would induce a
supposition that the Menningscand Mr. O'Connor were well
acquainted with each other's circumstances. I have heard
Manning, and I believe his wife, say that O'Connor was a
wealthy man, and that he was worth 20,0001. lam sure I
have heard both of them speak of him as a man of property.
I was brought here from Derbyshire to give evidence. A
constable came to me, and told me that Mr. O'Connor had
been murdered, and summoned me to attend. Some con-
versation occurred between me and Manning and his wife,
in reference to the deceased, while I lodged there. One
night, about eight o'clock, I went home to my lodging, and
found Manning sitting in my room. I sat down, and had a
pipe and some half-and-half. lie asked me what drug
would be most likely to produce stupefaction, or partial in-
toxication, so as to cause • person to put his hand to paper.
He then said his wife had been to the docks, and seen Mr.
O'Connor. Mrs. Manning was present at the time. Ho
add that she had seen Mr. O'Connor at the docks
in • state of intoxication, and that she went home with
him, and he showed her his will. This was stated
by Manning and hie wife too. They sail that O'Connor in
that will had made over also a considerable portion of his
property to her (Mrs. Manning). There had been some differ-
ences end disagreements between O'Connor and Manning
about the lodgings which O'Connor was to have taken before
I occupied them. I recollect seeing • County Court paper
from the Whiteckspel Court, with the words " ' Manning or.
O'Connor," on it. This was before the conversation respect-
ing the will. Manning told me that Mr. O'Connor paid the
amount be had owed him for rather than go into court.
Previous to the conversation about the will, Manning asked
me (I had been reading a medical work when he came in),
what part of the skull would be the most dan-
gerous to injure. I said, 1 believed that injuries under the
ear had been most frequently attended with fatal results.
On another OCCabioll the subject of conversation being Rush,
he asked me whether I. thought a murderer went to he even.
I replied "No," and quoted some part of the scriptures in
favour of that view. His conversation generally was of a
trivial character, and distingushed by. great levity through-
out. I recollect another observation he made which
was that O'Connor had got drunk at the docks from
drinking brandy or port wine as • preventive to the cholera.
This was on the occasion when the will was mentioned by
O'Connor to his (Manning's) wife. After this observation we.
made he said to his wife, "You get O'Connor to come to this
house, and addressing me he said, "You frighten him well
about the cholera, and get him to take large quantities of
brandy." This was said' to me and Mrs. Manning when we
were in the room together. On the same occasion on which the
will was mentioned he (Manning) intimated that if the)
sould get O'Connor there he would put some stupefying
drug in the brandy or wine that he drank. He told mo
that he hated O'Connor, and that O'Connor hated him.
But their conduct when they met was of the most fr
ieodly
description. Ile said he knew that O'Connor would pay
him off some time or other for the 30s. he had sued him for.
I know of nothing more that occurred that night that bad
reference to the death of O'Connor. I did not believe what
he said to me at the time he tail it. I believe nothing. I
recollect on one occasion his asking me this ques-
t Con : have you ever had or fired an air gun off ?
and wanted to know what sort of a weapon It was. I said I
had not, but I had seen them fired off in some expetimean
on natural philosophy. Ile then asked if they made any
noise ? I told him I thought they did not ; I could not soy
positively, for it was some years since I had seen one fired
off, but I did not believe they made much noise. These
questions came up naturally from the conversation we were
holding. I should say certainly not by design on the part of
Manning. He asked me if chloroform and laudanum nad
not been given as stupefying agents d 1 said I thought they
had. I had no apprehension of anything wrong from trt se
questions. Oa one occasion he said to me, " For God's
sake never marry • foreigner, for she will be the
ruin of you if you do." His wife and he appeared
to live very friendly together, though on one occasion
while I was in bed in the morning I heard a quarrel between
them end a noise as though some person had fallen on the

ground.
By a Juror—l left because Manning appeared to want to
get me out of the how*. His wile, too, appeared anxious
that I should leave ; but they did not seem inclined to give
me my bill. She told me that my bill amounted to M. 35.,
but she wrote to my friends for 41. 10s. I wrote to my
father not to send it. I never knew the Manning, before
I went to town with them. He asked me why I locked my
door at night—whether I was afraid of having my throat cut.
I told him I always did so when in a strange place.
By the Coroner—l never saw any weapons or a hammer
in the house, but there were some garden tools, and
amongst them aWO hoe. When be asked me what wculd
produce stupefaction, it was before the conversation concern-
ing the will. I have seen Mr. O'Connor at the house onee, I be-
lieve, late at night, when]. went home ; butthe terms he and
the Kennings app
to be on made that appear natural.
When Manning said to me that O'Connor hated him, and
he hated O'Connor, no conversation arose between us on
that observation. When I was with them at O'Connor's
lodgings I saw no undue familiarity between Mrs. Manoii.g
and O'Connor ; but remember seeing her go into O'Connor's
bed-room ones. I invited O'Connor to dine with me at
Manning's, oomquestoe of civilities offered by him to me

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