Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-02-26
SHOT IN THE NECK.
Thomas CIeary Murdered in a
 Union City Saloon.
FELLOWS, I'VE GOT IT.

Terrence McKiernan, the Murderer. Docs Not Try to Escape - CIeary's Companions Say He Was Not to
 Blame-The Murderer Laughs and Does Not Realize His Position-The 7 Coroner Notified.
 The usually quiet little town of Nau-
 gatuck was thrown into state of wild
 excitement at an early hour this morn , ing by the murder of Thomas Cleary, a
 we'll known and popular young man, by
 Terrence McKiernan in the saloon con-
 ducted by the latter on the Foundry 5 road, Union City. The murderer was arrested shortly after the crime was : committed and is confined in the lookup, ] directly under the town court room where the ghastly remains of his victim
 are lying until an investigation can be
 made by Coroner Mix.
 The facts in the case as learned by a DEMOCRAT reporter who was early on the scene go
 to show that there was but little pro-
 vocation for the terrible crime. Thom-
 as Cleary, George Fitzsimmons, Joseph
 Murphy, William Brennan and John
 Brennan are young men known bynearly
 everybody in Naugatuck and Union City
 Cleary was an employe of the G. l. R.
 rubber company and boarded at Mrs A. Keefe's, on Main street, Naugatuck.
 Fitzsimmons is a barber in the employ of
 NJ. O'Briep, Murphy works in one of the
 rubber factories, and the two Brennans,
 who are cousins, work in the Union
 City foundry.
 Last night the five young men spent , the evening in Elmer Wards saloon and
 billiard rooms in Naugatuck. They
 were perfectly sober, having drank dur
 ing the evening only two glasses of beer
 each. At II o'clock Mir Ward closed his
 parlors and the five started for Terry McKiernan's saloon on the foundry road
 in Union City. 1t was after hours when
 they arrived there, but they were admit
 ted by the proprietor and each drank one or two glasses of beer. Just how the
 TOW which resulted in the death of Cleary started is not positively known, but from what can be learned McKiernan was in
 liquor and drew his revolver upon slight , provocation, the bullet entering the front and lower part of ClearyS neck. causing f death in few minutes.
 Fitzgerald tells the best connected sto-
 ry and he lays the whole blame upon , McKiernaD. His story is substantially . as follows:
 After we left Wards saloon we went
 to McKiernan's place and obtained ad- mission without much trouble. After s drinking a round of beer we talked of the recent sparring exhibition in Nauga- | way that he could lick McKiernan, and z turning to one of the Bren. mans said he could lick him too. Cleary started to take off his coat to spar with Brennan, when Mckiernar
 drew a revolver and said he would put q ball through Cleary if he started to fight All the time Cleary was fooling and s at McKiernan's threat he laughed l and said, Terry you would Int shoot any. body" Hardly had he spoken the words !. when the report of the pistol rang out t and the bullet entered Ciearys neck b The wounded man staggered towards I the dcor saying, fellows, I've got it S and after reaching the yard he fell or = his face and died almost immediately.
 Murphy and Fitzsimmons at once V hastened to Naugatuck and notified Dl :, Fitzgerald, not knowing that the mar ,, was dead. On the way back they mel y two Brennans going to Naugatuck fol S an officer. Officer Kiernan of Unior City had been notified but would no1 j. leave his wife who was sick. After some IS delay Constable William Brophy of Nau l. gatuck was found and together witt l. sheriff Sweeney they went to McKier . nan's. The latter at first refused them admittance not knowing they r were officers, but when he learned thei1 - mission he opened the back door and al
 lowed himself to be taken.
 f The house where the murder was com Q mitted is the last one on the row below a the Union City foundry. It is an ordi
 nary two tenement house with from :, and side piazza. The bar is located in , f small room on the south side. Of late f McKiernan has slept most of the time il ! the saloon. The upstairs tenement is oc a cupied by MT and Mrs John Laubinerster V Early this morning when the reporter !, visited the scene of the tragedy the sa a loon was locked and the curtains closely r drawn. The side piazza and steps lead
 ing to 1t had been carefully washed, bu o a large pool of congealed and partl, V frozen gore showed where the life fluiC Q of the unfortunate young man flowed . away. It was ghastly spectacle
 e Mrs Laubinerster said that betweel II eleven and twelve o'clock she saw fou $ or five men enter the yard and try to ee y into the saloon. McKiernan was insid V but had the door locked and refused t, / open saying it was after hours >' The men pleaded so har, D for drink that he finally opened tn V door and allowed them to come in ! After being inside a few minutes sh ~ ~ heard loud words and voice exclaime, n .n ''I'll kill you, followed by the report o
 plSCOl. lmmedlatelV alter the shoot
 ing the men ran away, and Mrs Laubin
 erster did not know that the man ha,
 been shot until the officers returned a couple of hours afterwards. Tn o woman's husband who is lying on a sic] ,o . bed corroborated her statement Bot :: declare that McKiernan is a quiet am i' offensive man unless provoked H
 was not drunk last night neither wer :e the men who came to the saloon.
 ,s Constable William Brophy, who wit Il Sheriff Sweeney arrested McKiernan II says that the latter was not drunk bu $ had evidently been drinking and ha ;a ;a the appearance of man suffering iron ;S a long debauch. They found the bod :, lo of Cleary upon the piazza where he ha ~ ~ been placed by his companions. Ther o 7, was an ugly wound in the front part o lo ', the neck from which large quantities o n blood had flowed. The revolver iron sii which the crime was committed was al ~ ~ ugly looking weapon of 42-calibre Onl ii one chamber was loaded when found, = The body of Cleary was taken in charg sS by Walter Twitchell of F. w. Tolles' un dertaking establishment and placed ii