The Sun. — 1862-12-18 (London, England)

NORTHERN CIRCUIT—LIVERPOOL, Dec. 17. Neal O'Donnell and James Coyne were indicted before Mr. Justice Blackburn to-day for the wilful murder of a sheriff's officer, named James Morris, on the 15th of September last. Mr. Deighton, who opened the prosecution, said that the prisoner O'Donnell was the brother-in-law of a person named Byrne, and Coyne was the uncle of O'Donnell, and also the uncle of Byrne's wife. Byrne was a furniture broker, occupying two shops, Nos. 3 and 4, Derby-street, Whitechapel. Up to the 19th of August last, and for some time previously, the prisoner O'Donnell had boarded and lodged with James Byrne. He paid nothing for his maintenance, his services in superintending Byrne's shops being taken as an equivalent. On the 19th of August some misunderstanding occurred between Byrne and O'Donnell, which resulted in O'Donnell leaving Byrne's house, and the shop No. 3 being closed, and the key left with Coyne. The shop No. 3 was the one which had been chiefly attended to by the prisoner O'Donnell, having been taken by Byrne in O'Donnell's name, though Byrne paid the rent, and was the actual tenant. The shop was closed until the 23d of August, when Byrne sent in some men to remove some of the furniture, and a dispute took place with O'Donnell on this occasion, but nothing of importance took place. The shop remained again closed, Coyne retaining the key. On the 15th of September Byrne gave instructions to the bailiffs (Brooks and Warden) to go into the shop and remove the goods to the warerooms of a person named Heys. The bailiffs took with them about 16 men, including the deceased James 'Morris. They entered the premises about two or three o'clock in the afternoon, and found the prisoner O'Donnell there and his brother Charles. The prisoner left the shop for a short time, and then returned with Coyne. Some scuffling took place, but the result was that the bailiffs prevailed, and the prisoners and Charles O'Donnell were ejected. O'Donnell then went to a provision shop in Whitechapel, took from the counter a large bacon knife, and with this returned to the shop, which he entered in company with Coyne, who was outside. O'Donnell flourished his knife about, and while James Morris was running back to escape his violence, O'Donnell stabbed him several times, one stab penetrating deeply between the eighth and ninth ribs. The police were called, the knife was wrested from O'Donnell, and Morris was taken to the hospital, where he died in a few minutes afterwards. Witnesses were then called.  For the defence Mr. Pope contended that all the facts showed that O'Donnell had sustained great provocation at the hands of his brother-in-law, Byrne, and that the prisoner's anger at Byrne's conduct had been lashed into ungovernable fury by the last act of injustice which he was about to sustain at his brother-in-law's hands, viz., the forcible removal of the goods from the premises. Byrne was not justified in sending the bailiffs at all, as there was a negotiation pending for a partnership between the prisoner and Byrne. O'Donnell, Mr. Pope urged, had killed Morris in the heat and violence of passion, with no malice prepence, and without any predetermination to kill. The learned counsel, therefore, claimed a verdict of manslaughter in O'Donnell's ease. With regard to Coyne, Mr. Pope scouted the evidence of his knowing that O'Donnell had a knife as slight and inconclusive. After a careful summing up from his lordship the jury retired, and after an absence of forty minutes, returned with a verdict of " Manslaughter" in the case of O'Donnell, and of " Acquittal" in the case of Coyne. His lordship remarked, that though he did not find fault with the verdict of the jury, this was a case so near one of murder that he felt bound to sentence the prisoner to penal servitude for life. Coyne was discharged.