Widnes Examiner. — 1892-05-28 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

HORRIBLE CRUELTY TO A WIFE AT  WIDNES. EXEMPLARY SENTENCE. At the Liverpool Assizes on Wednesday, before Mr. Justice Cave, Francis Gaynor (20,1abourer,was indicted for having maliciously wounded his wife, Mary Ann Gaynor, at Widnes, on the 2nd ult., with intent to do her grievous bodily harm. Mr. Squarey prosecuted. The wife of the prisoner, who was called, said she had 'n married about nine months. She resided in lodgin ith the prisoner in Widnes. On the 2nd of April the prisoner came home and asked for his dinner. She replied that she had had no breakfast. He then asked for some tobacco, but she had none to give him. The prisoner then threatened her with violence, and said "If you are here when I come back to night there will be another Rainhill case." The prisoner then went away, and for safety she went into the house of a neighbour. She subsequently with her child went into an outhouse, and the prisoner having ascertained where she was from another child, went to the place, and seizing hold of her dragged her into the house. He then caught hold of her by the hair, knocked her against the wall, and beat her. He next seized hold of her by her ears and bumped her head against the wall. She cried out " Murder," and the prisoner put his hand upon her mouth to stop her cries. He next threatened to murder her. A neighbour burst , the door in, as the prisoner was dragging her by the ' hair across the room, and striking her with his fist. She ultimately got out of the place, and took refuge in a neighbour's house. On the next day the prisoner again I assaulted her, and kicked her with his clogs till she was insensible. He kicked her upon the small of the back, and also struck her with his fists upon the head. She had suffered great pain, and was lying ill for several weeks. Mrs. Oakes, a neighbour, said she went into the house of the last witness on hearing cries of "Murder." she saw the prisoner striking his wife and dragging her :by the hair across the floor. She told him not to murder his wife as she was only a woman. The prisoner then used an obscene expression, and ultimately his wife managed to escape from the house. Another witness proved that on the next day she saw the prisoner assaulting his wife and kicking her with I clogs. The wife of the prisoner had to be removed in an 1 insensible condition. The prisoner, who was undefended, did not ask any questions of the two witnesses. Mr. Squarey called several other witnesses' but as the prisoner said he did not wish to ask them any quest'ons they were not examined.  Dr. Hudson said he had attended to the wife of the prisoner. When he first saw her she appeared to be dying. She was suffering great pain and agony. She was bruised all over. Her spine had been injured, and she would never be a strong woman again. .The prisoner now said he did not know what he was doing. He asked the judge to have mercy upon him this time, and promised that he would never do such a thing again. He had been drinking on the occasion from nine o'clock in the morning.  The jury found the prisoner guilty. His Lordship, in passing sentence, said the prisoner had been convicted of wounding his wife with intent to do her grevious bodily harm. It was a mercy that the prisoner was not standing there to take his trial for murder. If he had been standing there on that charge, he certainly would have been convicted and hanged for what he had done. Fortunately for the prisoner, the woman's constitution had enabled her to pull through. The assault he was found guilty of was that of a savage rather than that of a man. People in the condition of • the prisoner must be taught that they were rict to give vent to their passions upon a woman, and those women their wives, whom they had sworn to cherish and protect. The prisoner must go to penal servitude for 12 years.