The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-31 00:00:00

THE MANSLAUGHTER OF A WIFE BY ♦ BLIND MUSICIAN

IN THE CITY.

Stephen Keife, a blind itinerant musician, was charged
with killing and slaying his wife, Ann Keife, at their resi-
dence in Rose-court, Bishopsgate-street. Mr. Sleigh and
Mr. Bosley, instructed by the Corporation of the City, pro-
secuted, and the prisoner elected to defend himself.
The circumstances of this case have been very fully before
the public in the proceedings before the Deputy Coroner,
Mr. Payne, jun., and the examination of the prisoner at
the Mansion House. The prisoner was in the habit of
going about the streets performing on the bagpipes and fre-
quenting publichouses, and when in drink was of a most
violent and brutal temper, frequently striking his wife with
the stick which he used in walking the streets, and kicking
her; and at the time of the assault upon the deceased which
led to her death, he had knocked her down and Ecked her,
when she prematurely gave birth to a dead child, and her-
self expired the following day. On a post mortem examina-
tion of the body, internal ruptures were found which, in
the opinion of the medical gentlemen, were caused by blows
or kicks.

The jury found the prisoner guilty.
The learned Recorder, in very severe terms, commented
on the prisoner's brutality, and sentenced him to penal ser-
vitude for 15 years.

YHE ACCIDEN7 AND _LOSS OF LIVES
IN 7 OOLET-STREET.

INQUEST ON THE BODIES.
This (Friday) forenoon, at 11 o'clock, Mr. Sergeant
Payne, coroner for London and Southwark, and a highly
respectable jury, assembled in the Vestry Hall of St. John's
Church, Fair-street, Horslydown, for the purpose of in-
quiring into the circumstances attending the respective
deaths of Henry Harton and Thomas Howard, who were
killed on Wednesday night by the fall of the arches of some
vaults at Cotton's, and depot wharf, the site of the late fire
in Tooley-street, where Mr. Braidwood, the late superin-
tendent of the fire brigade, lost his life on the 2d of June last
year.

The enquiry, as might be expected, created a painful de-
gree of interest, and a great many persons connected with
the building trade attended and watched the proceedings.
The jury having:been sworn, they proceeded to view the
bodies and also the ruins, and when they returned to the
court the following evidence was adduced :
Mr. W. Snooke, architect and surveyor to Messrs. Sco-
veil, and also Mr. Henry Stock, his partner, of 6, Duke-
street, London-bridge. before the proceedings commenced,
stated that they attended professionally to watch the case.
Wm. Luke, jun.;John-street, St. Olive's, said—He knew
Thos. Howard, one of the deceased. He was 27 years old,
and had been lodging in Curtain-road. He knew that he
had been working at the wharf, and so had witness. He
knew that the arches had fallen.

Mary Harton, of 36, Snow-fields, said— One of the de-
ceased was her husband, and aged 29. He was working at
the wharf. He was a carpenter. The other man was an
excavator.

By the Coroner—She had heard her husband say before
the accident that he thought it would have taken place be-
fore, as the arches had given way.
The Coroner—Did he say why ?

Witness—Yes, because the arches had been struck too
soon, and before they had got the work sufficiently set. By
order of his employers he had stopped away two or three
days, and was sent for to go to work on the arches on Tues-
day last, and when he came home at night he said that he
thought the arch would have given way that day.
By the Coroner—Mr. Oliver gave him instructions to
strike the arches. .

By Mr. Snooke—She never heard her husband say any-
thing about the driving of the piles having endangered the
arches. He told her the other persons had said that the
materials were not fit for the work.
By a Juror—He said that one part of the arch had given
way a fortnight before.

Mr. Charles 'White, of Tooley-street, surgeon, said that
he was called to the scene of the accident, ar.d was there
some time before the bodies were found—when extricated
both persons were dead, and they died from suffocation,
and although the weight upon them was immense they
were not much bruised.
Jeremiah Sullivan said that he had been employed at
Scovel's wharf in making mortar and carrying bricks to
the bricklayers. He was at work under the arches when
the accident occurred. Several arches had been made
underground.
The inquiry WAS proceeding when we went to press.