Liverpool Weekly Courier. — 1893-03-25 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

BRUTAL CONDUCT TO A WIFE.  HEAVY SENTINCF.  At the Liverpool Assize..., on Wednesday, John Leonard, 34, coal - heaver, was charged with having attempted to murder Ms wife. Fanny Leonard, at Bootle, on the 3d December. He was further charged with wounding Ilia wife with intent to do her grievoue hodily harm. Mr. Mulholland and Mr. Seger prosecuted, and the prisoner was defended by Dr. Comunins. From the opening statement of council and the evidence aidtvesd by wittonsese for the prosecution it appeared that the woman had died niece the committal of the offence. The patties were in lodgings in IL bowie in Molyneut-storet, Beutle, and at 10 o'clock on the evening of the 3d December a woman named Margaret Lofton, an aunt of Mrs. Leonard, went to visit them. As she wee going upetairs to their room Loftus heard esteems, and on entering Leonard's soart• meet she saw the prisoner's wife lying on the floor on her back. Her hair wee loosened, and nn Loftus asking her what was the matter she opened her them and Bald, " Aunty, look what Johnny has done." The pristoet then asked his wife *hi, had been in his place since he went out, and she replied " Nobody." He asked her again, and the woman said, " Hod forgi 70 you,Jubitu),for saying there was any oue in the room glace you went out." The prisoner was apparently jealous of a man named Montague, but the prosecution were unable to say if there was any ground for his jealoway. The wrangling continued for some time, and ultimately the prisoner told Loftus to clear out. Loftus then went out, leaving the deceased woman sitting on a acts where she had put her. As she wits going downstairs she heard screams again, and finally the prisoner came downstairs, having, as he said, locked the door and locked the woman in. Ile made use of the explussion that he had given his wife "an ugly clout." A little while later a person oame in and raid that Mrs. Leonard had gone out through the window. It was thin found that the Colllatl had either attempted to escape or to put an end to her life by leaping through the window into the street. She sustained injuries from the fall which were the proximate cause of her death. The prisoner's coat and hands were covered with blood, and there was LIDA on the sill of the room window, on the sofa onshione, and on an iron with which the prosecution euggiated the prisoner struck his wife, and which wan found biuken on the bed. Al broken delft ornament was also covered with! blood, while a piece of an ornament wait actually glued to the wall with blood. A jecket and pave of hoots which the woman was wearing had aplaehes of blood up,n them. The prisoner wao. indicted for the wilful mut der of his wife at the; last mittens, but the learned judge who presided thought there was not sufficient connection betweeu the injury inflicted by the prieoner and the woman jumping through the window to juntify his conviction on thal charge. He was accordingly eoquitted of murder, lant watt immediately rearrested in order to be tried on the present charge. Dr. Ulenimey, house surgeon at Bootle Hcapital, deposed to the woman being brought to that trialtutiutt. She must, he said, have received many blows is order to cause the injuries found upon isv_ _ _  Dr. Commins. for the defence. submitted that had the prinuner intended to murder his wife he I had ample opportunity of accomplishing his ohjust, but that be did not kill her was a perfect answer to the first count in the indictment. He did not deny that the prisoner gave her a threshing, Mit he denied that he either used the jockey bar towards her or kicked her. He suggested that, as the prisoner stated before f be magi•trates, he found his wife bleeding from the nose, hawing fallen on the jockey bar, mid he endemdmied to stop it, and it was in that way that the blood gut upon the clothing of both of them. The jury found the prisoner not guilty of the first indictment and guilty af wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. . •  His I.,riship, in passing sentence, said the prisoner had been foiled guilty on the clearest possible evidence of one of the most brutal series of atsaults upon a woman that he had tried in a somewhat long experience. It was rarely he tried a case in whic Ii the brutality had been wore con. tinuous or more crual,and the planner would have to go to penal servitude for twelve years.