The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1855-11-27 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

MURDER OF A CHILD BY HIS FATHER.  YESTBREPAY, a squalid and ruifianly,looking man, named ThomaslCeegan, a tinker, who resided in 17 Court, Addisonsstreet, was brought before Mr. Aikin .at the Policecourt, on a charge of having killed John 'Keegan, his son, a child of about two and a half years of age. From the evideuce' it appeared that the prisoner was arrested on Saturday, by -Police-constable Henry Jones, on .a charge of having cruelly treated and beaten his •dsilt. Theinfant was taken to the 'Vauxhall Dispensary, where, on examination, it was found that he was suffering from a severe,contused wound on the left temple, and a contusion of the right eye. He was :also .in a shocking state of filth, evidently caused by neglect, and was removed to the workhouse. About nine o'clock yesterday (Monday) morning the child died, and in the opinion of Mr. Shaw, the surgeon to the workhouse, who examined the child, there was no doubt that his death had been caused by the treatment to which he had been subjected.—A woman :named Julia _Hollis, who lived in the same house with the :prisoner, stated that the latter was in the habit of ill-treating the child, and:beating him very much. On Thursday and Sriday nights he beat the child very severely, and witness remonstrated with him. On Thursday she saw the prisoner beat the child every heavily on the head and face.—Anne \Walsh, the woman in whose house the prisoner lived, said that ithe had taken the child away from the prisoner and made a bed.for him in the kitchen to save him from the prisoner's violence; and but forler interference she believes the child would,have been killed by the prisoner's violence long ago. On Bridarnight she was ill, and in consequence the prisoner took the child up with him to the garret where he usually slept. 'Shortly after this she heard the prisoner inflicting heavy blows on the child, and on going up to where it was on Saturday bout two o'clock, •she found the child very ill and unable:taeat. She gave an alarm, and the child was taken to the Dispensary, where it was examined., The mother of the child died about seven months ago. The prisoner was remanded till :the result of the inquest on the body should be known. THE iInUEST.  Yesterday, an inquest was held on the body,.by.P. F. Curry Esq., the borough coroner, when the preceding evidence was fully corroborated, and the numerous acts of cruelty more minutely detailed. From this inquiry it turned out that the prisoner was in the habit of severely striking the deceased with his clenched fist, to take him.up in both his .hands and dash him down on the floor, and also to take him,by the hair and dash his head on the ground. The post-mortem examination revealed the fact, that betides the external bruises and injuries above detailed, the deceased had a very slight fracture of the frontal plate of the•right orbital bone. This, .although not the i mmed iate cause of death,svotild, in the surgeon's opinion, without doubt accelerate that event;theim mediate Call Sea death ,was messenteric disease, and tbere.were likewise indications of tubercular disease in thelungs. The fracture referred to .was undoubtedly caused :by violence, and was immediately under the contusion on the right eye. The coroner,..in remarking on the case, said the ,cruelty .of which the prisoner had been proved guilty exceeded anything he had ever.met with. As to the cause of death, he saidthe law was clear.and fixed, that if an individual committed .an unlawful act .by which death was acceleratektbat•act was,beld to be the cause of death; and if commited under circumstances which would render it a case of murder if the death was immediate, it was equally a case of murder where the fatal issue was merely accelerated. After a brief consultation, the jury returned s verdiet.of " wilful murder" against Thomas Keegan ; and he was committed for trial on the coroner's warrant.