The Commonwealth. — 1866-09-15 (London, England)

THE ALLEGED "MURDER IN WHITE CHAPEL. At the Duke of Sussex Tavern, Royal Mint-street, Mr. John Humphreys, Middlesex coroner, on Tuesday morning resumed the inquiry relative to the alleged murder of Thomas Sullivan, aged 41 years. The prisoner, Timothy Murphy, a strongly-built young inan with a harmless expression of countenance, was brought into court by Inspector Dendy, under a warrant from the Home Secretary. The evidence taken cn the previous occasion proved that deceased was a plasterer, living at 31, Royal Mint•street, and that on the afternoon of Saturday, the let September, a man named Timothy Murphy was in his room, and while under the influence of liquor, made imputations on the character of his wife. He ordered Murphy to quit his room, and the latter did so, and went upstairs. Deceased went down to the street-door, and was standing there when he was told that Murphy had returned, and was breaking his furniture. Deceased ran upstairs, his wife lingered for a moment at the door to speak to a policeman about Murphy's violence, and then followed her husband. She saw him on his back on the landing, Murphy being on the top of him and apparently biting him. Deceased looked pale, and asked Murphy not to bite him, but said nothing about being stabbed. The wife dragged Murphy off; deceased partly rose up, mid then without saying a word fell back dead. It was found that a knife had penetrated his heart. When Murphy was arrested shortly after, he had no knife on him, and he said that he knew nothing of what occurred as he was drunk at the time. Next morning Mrs. Sullivan found half the blade of a small pocket knife on the landing while washing up the floor, but no stains of blood were apparent on it. Such being the state of the ascertained facts, the coroner said that the evidence did not seem to be at all conclusive as against the man Murphy so far as the infliction of the fatal wound was concerned, and the inquiry was adjourned for additional witnesses to be if possible procured. Upon the resumption of the proceedings the only evidence of any importance was that of Mr. Loane, who stated that the prisoner came to him to have his head dressed, and that he said, "I will go and knife him," and Mrs. Mary Ann Sullivan, the widow of the deceased, who said that she remembered Murphy's going away to the doctor. Her husband was dead then. The row began at eight o'clock. An hour elapsed after MarphY's going up to his own room before he returned to break the furniture. The prisoner was the man the referred to in her evidence. The blade of a knife produced was exactly similar to that of a knife which she had seen with the prisoner. Timothy Murphy was then cautioned in the usual manner, and asked whether he had any statement to make. He said, "No, sir, I do not remember anything about it." He stated that he was a labourer, 29 years of age. The coroner proceeded to sum up the case. He said that if the prisoner had uttered his threat "to knife him" before deceased's death, Mr. Loane's evidence would certainly go to prove animus on his part against deceased. But the threat being uttered admittedly after the deceased's death, no such animus could be inferrsd. If the prisoner could produce the knife which he was known to have in his possession unbroken, it would be a very strong point in his favour ; but as he failed to produce it the presumption of course would be that the half of a blade produced was part of his knife, and that with it he had stabbed the deceased. But the case did not seem to amount to one of wilful murder. The jury, after a briaf deliberation, returned a verdict of "Manslaughter against Timothy'. Murphy for feloniously killing and slaying Thomas Sullivan."