The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-12-03
WHY Is THIS THUS!
A Murder Case Four Years Old and
Never Tried.
A Man is Killed in the Station.
House, but the Slayer is not
Brought to Justice.

No surer way leading to the disruption OF
society can exist than the lax administration OF
our criminal laws. Their pains and penal
ties are the only barriers between the outlaw
and the peaceable citizen, and when they are
withdrawn government becomes mere name
and civilization by-word. We publish be-
low the full history of a crime committed un-
der the very caves of our halls of justice, and
vet after the lapse of four years and hall
nothing has been heard of it, and the &C.
cused has not been tried for his offense.
Why this singular course of action should
be taken in this individual case we have nc
means of knowing, but that there has been
culpable negligence somewhere is obvious.
If the person charged with the crime be in
nocent, his character ought to be cleansed Of
the foul stain now resting upon it; If he be
guilty, nothing should prevent his speedy
conviction Where the blame lies we can
only guess and it would seem to US the plain
duty now of our prosecuting law officers to
vlndicate themselves in this matter.
On the night of the 30th of March, 1871,
over four years and half ago, a man named
Felix Dunn was brutally beaten in cell al
the First Precinct Station, at that time stu.
ated at the corner of st. Charles and Lafay.
cite streets, by man named P. Cominskey,
who had been arrested the same time he was,
for fighting and disturbing the peace on
Tchou ptoulas street. The prisoners in the
same cell along with Dunn were aroused by
the cries. and Immediately gave the alarm,
and when Mr.. Charles Beggs, the turnkey.
came, they informed him that Mr. Dunn had
been assaulted and beaten, and was bleeding
profusejy from a wound in the head.
The turnkey Immediately unlocked the
cell and asked who the man was who did the
!, beating, when one of the prisoners named
Redwood pointed to 4 bunk and said, "that
is the man there" Beggs pulled man out OF
the cell, and, in the hurry, grabbed the wrong
man. The prisoners informed him that he
had made mistake, that the man he had
knew nothing of what had TRANSFERRED. Beggs
again entered the cell, and Redwood jumped
up on one OF the hunks and pointed ou5 Co
ninskey as the man. Beggs pulled him down,
and several other prisoners identified him as
the man who had struck Mr.. Dunn. Mr.. Dunn
was Immediately released and sent to his
home, No. Is st. Thomas street, where be
died two or three days afterwards.
DR.. J. B. Cooper, City Physician, aHd
James Jones, Jr., NJ. D., held an autopsy on
the body, and gave the following certificate:
SURGEONS OFFICE,
Metropolitan Police Department. 7
New Orleans April 9th, 1871.
At an autopsy held this day by the under.
signed on the body of Felix Dunn, aged
fortysix years, lying at No. Ii st. Thomas
street, in the city OF New Orleans, death was
found to have been caused by fracture OF the
| mt hn 1nVr
taking effect on the right parieta la, one inch
directly above the front portion of the ear.
fractur ng the bone, the fracture extending
back from this point through the occiput tc
, the left parietala, q distance, by true meas
urement, of twelve inches . ader the i'm
mediate point of the fracture, where the blow
was inflicted, there was found a large amount
of extravasation of blood, mass OF coagulum
, fully one ounce in weight.
Coroner Creagh held an inquest, and the
following witnesses were examined, who testl-
fed as follows:
| Joseph Heit policeman No. n, First Pre-.
cinc.-sIy beat is on Tchoupitoulas street
On Thursday, March 80, 1871, about $3.50
o'clock, heard some loud talk in coffee.
house at the corner of Delord and Tchoupi
toulas streets. | staid there for some time
and heard some loud knocks as if some one
was striking table. l saw two men come
out of the coffee.house One attacked the
} other and hit HIM in the jaw. They hit each
other couple of times. | ran up and took
hold of the two men. One surrendered qui
city. l believe his name is Cominskey.
The other one offered resistance. | got them
away about half block. Another Officer
came to my assistance and we brought then
to Jail. On our way Mr.. Dunn, the deceased
remarked that he did not want to make 6
charge against Cominskey. Cominskey
was perfectly sober Dunn seemed intoxi
Icated. Mr.. Dunn had no blood on him whe1
he was locked up.
Charles Beggs, night turnkey at the FRS
: Precinct Station-On the night OF March 30
, 1871, at 81 o'clock, two men were az
, rested by Officer Heit; they gave their names
"a P Cominskey and F. Dunn. | searched
them and found nothing. Both of then
3 looked quiet and peaceable, and did not have
word to say in the Office. locked then
both up in one cell. After the prisoners hac
been locked up about an hour and a half be
fore any disturbance happened between
them | heard knocking inside with til
cup. | went in and saw Mr.. Dunn sitting OF
the bunk with his face covered with blood.
: jasked him who hit him. He said: ''NeVe
: mind who hit me. All | want you to do is te
protect me-" I told him L would when h
would show me the man. He said: "Neve
mind. l went tor the Keys, opened the Gel
and went inside.
3 asked one of the prisoners who hit tina
man. He pointed to party on the lowe
, bunk, but when l got him out Of the cell the
prisoners halloed out THAT is not the man.
/ went back in the cell and asked them VIII
9 was the man. One of the prisoners remarked
: that he had on blue flannel shirt. tolc
him to go and pick him out for me. II
climbed up to the top bunk and told me 'tha
is the man" pulled him by the legs anc
9 told him to come down, and l put him In tn
b dark cell. | then went and examined Mr.
Dunn. I saw that his head was cut IN tn
: front His brother and Mr.. ONeil came a
) II o'clock and asked me if they could hay
8 the two men. l told them they could hav
9 Dunn but not Cominskey.
=. Mr.. O'Neil asked me why. | told then
!, they had been fighting in the cell and Dunn
y was badly beaten, and l would let Dunn GU
, because he required medical attention.
told them that l was ordered by the Re
; corder to make an additional charge agains
IComipskv for assault and battery on