The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1855-06-07

gers, James M'CoImick and John Gal
LOr
FOR THE MURDER OF
PATRICK BROWN.
Oyer and T'erminer, in and for the County
Of Monroe.-1lay Term, 1855
CounSel-SCHooNovER and TAYLOR
for Commonwealth DAVIS and DREHER
for Defendants.
Peter Shick, Henry Brotzman, John
Smith, George Felker, John Arnold,
James Kerr, Henry Tribe, William Tran
sue, Patrick Daily, Jacob Greenamoyer,
John Brong, Christopher D. Keller.
J DR.. SWlcnham U'alt0n, affirmed Il
am practcing physician in this town, |
! held post mortem examination on the
body of Patrick Brown in the month of
March last, at the shanty occupied by Pc
ter Brown, at the lower end OF town.
found a number of bruises on the scalp; two
or three or four cuts Of the scalp likewise.
/ The cuts and bruises looked rs if freshly
made; death was caused by conclusion OF
the brain, the immediate cause. The bruis
es were caused I thought by large sticks
of wood. think the concussion was caused
by round sticks of wood. The cuts pene-
trated the scalp, none penetrated the scull,
no fracture of the scull. Conclusion Of the
brain can take place by blows, when there
there is no fracture of the scull. 1t was
on Sunday about the middle of March,
Or. Er.-I was examined before Esq.
Dutot, the committing n magistrate. | don't
think [ said then, that there was no lascer-
alton of the scalp. Ican't remember what
| said at that examination. have no re-
collection of saying before the Justice that
there was no laceration of the scalp. ]
don't distinctly remember where The cuts
speak of were; think one was nearly on
the top of the head and one | think on the
temple. The cuts oD the scalp were none
of any very great extent. There were
one or two of considerable extent, and
the others were more like scrathches. |
think one Of the cuts of considerable cx-
tent was on top of head, and the other on
the right temple, just above the ear. The
one on top of head was not o7er an inch or
inch and half-cant tell whether it was
an inch, or inch and half. That cut
was nearly through the scalp. [ did mt
examine the lips of the cut. Cant tell
the length of the one on the right temple
above the ear. | have no distinct recol-
lection of the length of it at all. Cant tell
where the scratches were, nor how many
of them. | am positive there were some
scratches about the scalp, but they were
of so little consequence that [ paid no at
tention to them; nothing about them that
would have led me to suppose that death
could have possibly ensued from them
| made longitudinal incision from the
forehead to the back part Of head ,and then
made another incision across the top. |
then separated the scalp from thescull, laid
it entirely bare, didn't discover any frac-
ture of the bone of the scull. | didn't re-
move the scull so as to examine the brain.
Isuppose the contusions speak Of were in
ficted by sticks Of round wood, or some
round instrument. 1t would not be posi-
bic for man to inhict contusions to the
extent they were on that head with his fist,
because there is not sufficient power in
the blow of fit. The contusions were
quite large and the scalp was On one side,
in a Jelly; the scalp on one side of the
head was a couple of inches thick from
swelling. l should think man, over an
other one down, could not produce the
same results with his fists-I think made
the examination. about one o'clock. |
suppose one or two hours after his death.
I was not present at his death. | don't
know of my own knowledge when he died.
The body was warm when | came there.
He might have died from compression
of the bran-he could not have died from
inflammation of the BRAIN He could have
died from extravasation of blood upon the
brain. That extravasation of blood could
have been upon the surface Of the brain
| don't know whether that extravasatior
was on the surface-cxtravasation some.
times take place in the substance of the
brain. | don't know whether there was
extravasation in the substance of his
brain, small amount of blood porcd in
to the substance or the surface of the
brain may produce death. There might
{. be such a thing as that amount of blood
sufficient to produce death, might be pored
out on the substance or surface Of the brain
from an eruption Of a vessel Of the brain,
owing to q diseased state of the brain
I don't know whether Patrick Brown S
brain was in diseased or healthy state. Il
he had diseased state of the brain, death
might have been caused by the rupture
of some vessel of the brain, owing to that
diseased staie-a small quantity of blood
cffused in the bag of the pericardium, will
entirely arrest the action of the heart and
cause death. don't know whether Pat
rick Brown died from that cause-deatll
may follow 4 wound and not be caused by
it-a man may be severely wounded and
death rot take place from the woand,
but from the bursting of an aneurism,
from apoploxy, from pbthisis, or other
morbid changes. l think Patrick Brown
death did not take place from the burst