The Portland daily press., 1873-04-26
80 f1sFtF =
MURDER AT THE AIMS HOUSE.
KILLED By q Blow of the Fist.

Yesterday morning about seven o'clock, as
Mr. Joel Merrill, keeper of the Aims House,
was seated at breakfast his daughter came rum
ming into the room and told him that terrible
light was going on near the front door, between
TWO workmen. Mr.. Merrill fastened to the
door and found Michael Sullivan, the gardener
lying prone upon his face across a stone step
which leads up to the door. At little distance
washing his hands at the water-trough, stood
John Warren. a laborer on the farm, who was
pointed out to the keeper as the man who
knocked Sullivan down. Mr.. Merrill, with the
assistance of some of the inmates of the house,
lifted the injured man up, carried him into the
hospital and placed him upon bed. He then
seized Warren locked him up and went for a
physician. When he returned, some thirty
minutes after, Sullivan was dead Coroners
Gould and Hall were immediately notified and
q coroner's jury was summoned. Gen. Mat
toeks, the County Attorney, was present and
conducted the examination. Mr.. Merrill and
several OF the inmates who were present at the
scene, were called as witnesses The testimony
was substantially as follows:
Yesterday morning Warren and some other
men were seated upon logs in the back yard,
smoking aud jesting with some women. Sulli-
van looked out of window in the west wing
OF the building, and began hurting epithets at
Warren, and made some talk about the theft Of
pair Of boots and an overseer's coat. Warren
asked him why he didn't come out of his shell
ter like man and settle the controversy; to
which Sullivan answered that he would be
down very shortly. A McNulty woman, who
was present, advised Warren to give Sullivan
ga d-d good kicking" Warren then went
round to the front of the house, and Sullivan
came down stairs and joined him. When the
men met Warren seized Sullivan by the throat
and asked him what he was abusing him for
Sullivan wanted to know what he had done to
him. Warren then struck him two blows in
the face with his fist Sullivan in feeble voice
cried out to Mr.. Merrill and began retreating
towards the door just as he reached the cato
post, Warren struck him again in the back
Sullivan staggered, fell against the post and re-
covered himself, but caught his foot in a scrap
er and was thrown to the earth, striking his
face upon some small stones. This was the sum
of the testimony. ~ -. .f,. s,1-.s
1t seems that the men have been at feud for
some years. Tho McNulty woman is said to
have taken prominent part in the long-stand-
ing quarrel, siding with Warren. There is
report that the two men were aSpirants for her
favor, and that jealousy was the cause of the
quarrel. The probabilities are, however, that
this poor-horisc romance exists only in the i'm ;
agnation, AMI that q dispute as to gardening
was the cause of the difficulty. Sullivan had
frequently jeered at Warren because his wife,
Polly Warren, was in State Prison.
Sullivan was a man about go years of age,
rather infirm, and troubled with chronic dis
ease Of the heart and lungs. He leaves a wife
and a young child, both of whom are at the
Aims House. Warren is of about the same age
as Sullivan, but much stronger and healthier
man. qsss :ruf s
A post mortem examination was held by Drs.
B. B. Foster, N. A. Hersom and T. A. Foster.
They found confusion and cut on the size of
the head, a broken nose, and some evidences of
conclusion of the brain. They found organic
disease of the heart and lungs, and came to the
conclusion that death resulted from the nervous
shock to syste already debilitated by dis
ease.
Coroner Gould returned a verdict in accord
ance with the evidence, finding that Michael
Sullivan came to his death by the hands of
John Warren. Warren has been arrested and
taken to the Jail. He says he had no intention
of killing Sullivan, is very sorry for the deed,
and desired only to administer punishment for
his abuse.