The Portland daily press., 1898-10-27

Witnesses Tell of Finding Her Uncon-
scious at Foot of Stairs-Husband's Ad-
missi ons to the Offcers-Autopsy Dis
closed Many Bruises and Eleven Frac-
tured Ribs.
Patrick Murphy, the gray-haired.
wrinkled- faced man who has been at the
county Jail ten days, awaiting the action
of the coroner's Jury and the county S
prosecuting officers, was given .prelim-
mary hearing inEthe Portland municipal
court, yesterday forenoon, on the.charge
of causing his wife's death. The warrant
upon which he is held contains two
counts, the latter directly charging him
with murder.
After the usual7 Wednesday morning
lineup of lesser offenders, had.s .been
disposed of by Judge Robinson, Murphy
was brought into court and given a seat
within the bar, near his counsel, John B.
Kehoe. Esq. County Attorney Libby
conducted the case for the government,
the hearing occupying the entire fore
noon.
Murphy paid strict attention to every
thing that was going on in the court room
though be did not seem much impressed
with the gravity of the situation till after
the testimony of the doctors was intro
duced. While DR.. King was describing
in detail the disclosures of the autopsy,
beads of perspiration. began to gather
on the respondents forehead. Up to that
time he had appeared to regard in the
light of humor some Of the testimony in
the case. especially that of his neighbor,
Mrs. Margaret Conroy, who told of a
former embroglio in the Murphy family
in which she had figured in the role of
peacemaker.
At the conclusion of the hearing the re-
pondent seemed prepa red for the decision
mitted to Jail without bail. to await the
finding of the grand jury of the December
term of the Superior court.
The story of the case, as outlined by
County Attorney Libby, is in brief as fol-
lows:
Three years Tago Patrick Murphy, a
widower with two children, married Mrs.
Mary Beattie, a widow who had two
young sons. The children lived with the
parents at the house where the assault
occurred. According to report there had
been much conflict of late in the Murphy
family. On one occasion, two weeks be-
fore her fatal injury was received, neigh
bors were called in to quell disturbance
| there, and they found Murphy standing
over his wife on the floor, with one of his
feet on her stomach.
| Early Sunday morning, October 16,
Mrs. Conroy, neighbor, heard groans
outside and going out to Investigate found
Mrs. Murphy lying unconscious at the
foot of the stairs. her head lower than her
feet and her clothing hanging in shreds
upon her. She notified the police and the
injured woman was taken to the Maine
General and her husband locked up
The county attorney said he would be
able to show that her death was caused by
| injuries inflicted by her husband, and
that he had admitted that he threw her
down stairs.
The first witness was Mrs. Margaret
Conroy, who lives in an upstairs tenement
in the rear of the house where the Muir
phys resided. She said that two weeks
prior to October Is she heard screams is
suing from the Murphy tenement and
going in she found Mrs. Murphy upon the
kicking her with his bare feet. Mrs.
Conroy assisted the prostrate woman to
her fest.
| About q 80 Sunday morning, October
IS, Mrs. Conroy, upon whom a friend
had been making Saturday night call,
heard groans in the yard, and going down
stairs she found Mrs. Murphy at the foot
of the outside stairway, unconscious. The
PROSTATE woman had on nothing but I'M
dergarments and skirt that had been
! nearly torn from her. There was blood
on the side of her head Mrs. Conroy
spoke to her. but receiving no reply, she
started toward Centre street to notify a
policeman. She met officers Fell and
Conlon. to whom she reported what she
had seen, and who took charge of the
case.
Under cross-examination Mrs. Conroy
said she had heard no distur bance during
| the evening, and had heard no sound as
would be made by person falling.
Patrick J. Langhan was able to give
testimony in regard to the previous as
sault which Mrs Conroy had described,
but he knew nothing about the affair OF
October 10, except that about l0.3 that
evening he thought he heard groans com
ing from the Murphy tenement, but olo
not take the trouble to investigate.
Officers Michael r. Fell and John 20 n
lon were examined at considerable lengSh
in regard to what they found at the Mur-
ply home sswhon sthey were summoneo
there early that Sunday morning. MRS.
Murphy's head. as she lay upon the stair,
was considerably lower than her feet
Her clothing was torn and her ear was
torn and bleeding. They borrowed a
comforter. wrapped her IN it and sent her
in the patrol wal on to the hospital.
Then they went up stairs and found
in, bad with bic b,br