The Portland daily press., 1872-01-18
THE SWIFT MANsLAUGHTER
CASE.
Trial of Simon a. Loveit fer the killing
of Leonard r. SWEET i'm Portland Sept.
10, 1871.


Nelson leighton testlhed.-knew Leonard +
| SWEET; knew LoVeltt knew ,he FORMER 70, th'
latter one year; i've IN Portland; was mere OF
the night SWEET was Killed; saw MN that fore
noon; saw nm most every gay; ne received
blow IN my place Saturday before he was KILLED
sometime in the evening; didn't see the blow
struck saw nm afterward; ms nose was bleed
ing; the blow was on the nose between the
| eyes; don't know whether 1t broke the nose OF
not; tine leIt eye was quite piach the nose was
swollen; didn't see the blow struck.
| Cross E1dntaaed.-l TOOK the man out INTO the
bar-room; kept at 50 Fore street, hquor sa-
| loon; don know whether SWEET had Deen there
gambling; didn allow gambling; Swett used
to gamble; don know whether that was his
business or not; he did not gamble in my shop
to my knowledge
Anne ~ Leaghton testlned.-hnew Leonard
Il. SWEET; saw SWEET within week before he
was killed; was present when he was struck in
the face; he was in my dining room; he was
struck in the face by fisherman Athe man had
no weapon; saw the blow struck; SWEET was
sitting in chair; the blow knocked him back;
| saw him that evening and the nIxt morning;
one of his eyes was black and the other was
blood shot; his nose was swollen.
Cross examined. This was a tall man; had on
frock; his name was Mark Gibbons; don't
know where he came from; he was large man;
don't remember his hair; he was sunbumt;
don know whether he was SIX feet IN height
or not; they had trouble at my place; he was
angry; SWEET wasn't very angry; he struck him
while in chair; he said he insulted his friend
in Higgins shop; it was regular fisherman S
frock he had on; he had on a hatl think, a
kossuth hat; this was Saturday before the
killing on the neXt Tuesday; his name was Glib
bons.
Nelson Leighton, recalled by defendant.-The
man was large man about 200 in weight about
six feet high; said he was a fisherman; had on
frock; his name was Mark Gibbons; he was a
stranger to me.
Examined by the County AttOrney.-Saw him
after this night; about week after; after SWEET
was killed; think L have seen him once since;
saw him across the street; think he had black
moustache; he wore short frOck the same as
fishermen generally wear; think he had been
IN my place twice before; it might have been
month from the time L saw HIM till this.
Annie M. Leighton recalled by defendant
After the death OF SWEET the man came in and
=! told him; he said damn him, he ought to be
dead"
Netson leighton recalled by sovernment.-l
saw a policeman arrest this man; 1T was about
a week after; don't know where he went with
nm.
James ~ Btdc6 called.-Rec0llect the cir
cumstances OF arrestlng man by the name OF
Mark Gibbons; never had seen him before; he
was about SIX feet high; had on hsherman,s
frock; had heavy black moustache; would
weigh from IT'S to $50; carried him to Jail and
showed him to Conway and Blake: took him
man for Identification Ia man shown the wit
ness that is not the man carried to Jail.
John BtdSe recalled by government.-Recol-
lect OF MIR. Black S bringing man to me; l did
not identity him as the man who was playing
cards in the shop that night; looked at him
thoroughly; don't recollect how long it was af-
ter SWEET was killed; couldn't tell whether a
week or ten days; had as good a chance to see
this man in the Jail as did the man on the
street the day after,the murder; don't remmem-
dressed; don't recollect whether he wore hat
or cap; don't think 1T was the same man; they
We're about the same size; both stout men.
cross e1dmtned-It was some weeks after the
murder that tins man was brought over; there
were Two Drougnt over; couldnt swear that
this man was not the man in the shop; didn't
recognize the man in the shop so l could not
positively identify him.
William Conway called by government.-Was
present when Black brought fisherman over
to the jail; did not recognize him as the man
who was In the shop; was pretty sure he was
not the man; didn't notice his dress; both had
moustaches; both were big men; it was some
two or three weeks after SWEET was killed that
Black brought over the man.
Cross e1dni'aed.-I did not scrutiniZe the
features of the man in the shop very closely;
wouldn't swear positively that this was not the
same man.
Direct Resumed.-I was present shortly after
SWEET had his nose struck in Leighton's; saw
man whom Black brought to Jail; it was the
Saturday night previous to the murder that the
man struck SWEET; had seen him before this.
Benjamin Glibben recalled.-Am police of
ficer; never saw brass knuckles.
j. ID. DeceAe-Connected with the police de-
partment; know what brass knuckles are; those
are brass knuckles. (Witness shows how they
aretused) -
Cross e1dnained-I never had occasion to use
brass knuckles; l have heard of brass knuckles
hlI q N NV ho how roA 10 hAxr,
hard l could strike board with these brass
knuckles these were presented to me about two
months ago; they looked about as they do now;
L struck different ways when struck with the
knuckles; should give a back handed clip if
was standing with another; never tried them on
flesh; never tried them except on board; l
practice pistol shooting some have knocked
a man down with billy; / strike a swinging
blow with billy. ...l
Direct Observation-Disclosures shows to the Jury
the different ways of nsing a billy.) If was
surrounded with men should Fnock every
body down and make my way out the best way
could.
DR.. s. p. Getcheu called-An injury like the
one on SWEETS temple could be produced by
by pair of brass-knuckles; if two men were
struck; one had on felt hat and the other
having no hat, the blow being hard enough to
fracture the skull, the felt hat would probably
reduce the abrasion of the skin though don't
feel sure but the hat would be cut through.
Dr.. French-It is possible that the blow on
Swetts head might have been produced by
brass lnuckles with felt hat intervening; the
are more in favor of a slunS shot:
anything intervening between the instrument
and the part struck would have prevented lac
Grafton; to my mind there was weight accom-
panying the blow which produced the confusion:
the confusion ON the right temple was diffused;
my opinion is unchanged from yesterday that
it was produced by long, smooth instrument
Witness qualified his answer by saying that his
ans pyar uIU of IrnU ncf dana HnI NM 1,a
theory that all the wounds were given at the
same time; it is not probable, in my Judgment
that the wound ON the right temple of SWEET
was produced by brass knuckles. l'
Cross E1dnined--An injury of this character
would be far more likely to be the result of this
(eaded billy.) AT the post mortem
1 obtained the opinion that the
fracture was produced by one blow; single
blow from an instrument like this would not
have produced fractures like those on Swett's
forehead; 1 testified that the fractures might
have been caused by one blow (by some instru-
ment;) when L saw SWEET ON the night of the
homicide there were no physical symptoms ex-
cept insensiblllty and stertorOus breathing to
show that there was fracture of the skull;
saw at that time that the nose was broken; it is
my opinion that the fractures could not have
been produced by single blow from an instru
ment like this; man unskilled in surgery
might under some circumstances detect frac-
ture OF the nose; an unskilled person could have
detected the fracture OF Swett's nose; there
was nothing inconsistent with the theory that
there were Two BLOWS; a strong man might with
his fist break the nose and skull near the tenn
pie where the bone Is very thin; understand
the fracture began Directly over the eye and ex,
tended potn ways III my judgment 1t extended
into tie temporal poue, Tile temporal Done ana