The Proceedings of the Old Bailey

 

287.   JOHN DALEY (22),   JOHN CAHILL (20), and   DANIEL CURTIS (18) , Feloniously killing and slaying   William Fitzgerald.

MR. POLAND and BESLEY conducted the Prosecution; MR. TAYLOR defended Daley, and MR. W. SLEIGH defended Cahill and Curtis.

  HENRY HANBURY (Police-sergeant, F 1). On Saturday night, 21st January, I visited the deceased constable, William Fitzgerald, 50 F, in Drury-lane—he was in uniform, and was at the corner of Brownlow-street, outside a public house—I saw Daley there drunk, and using very bad language—there were several other persons there—the constable said, Now, Bob, you had better go away"—he said, "Oh, that is you, 50, you b—swine"—I said, "That will do, Bob; you had better get away"—he went down King-street, and I saw no more of him that night

  GEORGE FLOYD (Policeman, F 19). On Sunday morning, January 21st, about forty-five minutes past 12, I was on duty in Drury-lane—I saw the prisoners at the corner of Charles-street, which is on the right side of Drurylane, between Long Acre and Holborn—they were using very bad language, with three or four more men—I went over to them from the corner of Brownlow-street, and sent them away—I went back in about ten minutes, and said that if they did not go I should take them in custody, and they went away—I saw the deceased about half-past 1, with Daley in custody, going along Long Acre, holding him by the collar—the other two prisoners were following with several more, two or three yards behind—Daley said that he would give Fitzgerald a good shaking, and see him b—well f—before he should take him—I followed, and Daley went quietly—I saw them enter Broad-court—about twenty persons followed them—I then heard a scream, and saw the deceased lying on the pavement—he said, "My arm is broken; that Long Bob has done it"—the prisoners were not there then—I and another constable took the deceased to the station—I have known Daley some time as Long Bob.

Cross-examined by MR. W. SLEIGH. Q. Did you keep the crowd back? No; I walked behind the constable and Daley—there were four or five more between me and them—I knew them well—when I got to the corner of Broad-court, I left them—there were no signs of a disturbance, or else I should have followed them—a have heard suggestions in that neighbourhood to prisoners to "Go it," and "cut and run"—the crowd are anxious to see prisoners get away, but in the generality of cases constables are unmolested, and take the prisoners to the station.

  JOHN NICHOLLS . I am a bootmaker, of 6, Bedford-street, Bedford-row—on the morning of 21st January, I was in Drurylane, and saw the prisoners—Fitzgerald had Daley in custody—they were coming towards King-street, and I followed them from King-street to Broad-street—I saw them turn into Broad-court, and went in after them—I had noticed Cahill and Curtis all along, sometimes behind, and sometimes at the side—they both said, "Go it, Bob," and Daley seized the constable by the throat—they both fell, and Cahill and Curtis closed in with them—Curtis was on the ground with Daley and Fitzgerald, and Cahill was pulling Daley away—I saw the constable raise his arm—they then all ran away—I ran after them—Cahill turned to strike me, and I let them go by—there were several people in the court who went in about the same time as me—I then went back, and saw Fitzgerald lying on the ground, and went to pick him up—he said, "Do not touch me; my arm is broken; go down to the station"—I did so, and they sent me back with a reserve man, and we met Fitzgerald and two other constables in Bow-street.

Cross-examined by MR. TAYLOR. Q. When they were on the ground were any Mows struck? A. I did not see any—you can hardly call it a struggle before they fell—there is sure if a Mau catches another by the throat to be a little bit of a struggle before they fall—the constable had hold of Daley, by the collar, and Daley backed himself against the wall, and seized him by the throat—I did not hear Daley complain that the constable hurt his neck.

Cross-examined by MR. W. SLEIGH. Q. Have you ever been a witness before? A. No; I followed the constable and Daley from King-street to Broad-court, which may be 100 yards—they were very quiet and orderly as they went along—there was no attempt at a disturbance, and no cries—as soon as they turned into Broad-court, I heard somebody say something, immediately under the archway, and immediately after that the struggle took place—there were thirty or forty people in the court, which is two and a half or three yards wide—I am quite sure I heard them say, "Go it, Bob" I did not observe the lights in the court—it is not very low—there is an archway about the length of the Jury-box—that is where the struggle took place—there is a lamp-post right opposite the archway, and another lamp at the end at a public-house, but whether it was alight I did not notice—the public-house was shut—the thirty or forty people were between the constable and the light—I have never seen any of the prisoners before—no policeman was between the crowd and Fitzgerald—one policeman went away a little before you get to Broad-court—I went to the police-station a little while afterwards, and picked out Cahill and Curtis from a lot more men standing in the yard—some of whom were just the same as themselves, and some were detectives who I did not know—they said afterwards, "Did you see me among them?" and I said, "No"—I have never been in a reformatory, or anything of the kind—I think you are insulting me.

COURT. Q. You saw Daley with the policeman by the throat and they went down almost immediately; did you see any blows struck? A. No—I saw nothing done by Daley to the man when he was on the ground, I only saw the policeman's arm up—Curtis was on the ground between me and Daley—there might have been blows which I could not see—Fitzgerald's arm was broken when the two prisoners were on the ground with him, but I did not see it done—I did not see what Curtis was doing on the ground—Cahill was pulling Daley away, but I cannot say whether it was as if he was rescuing him from the policeman's grasp, or as if he was preventing him hurting the policeman who was trying to hold him, but Cahill made at me to hit me when I was running after Daley—I think he was trying to rescue Daley, because he said, "Go it, Bob."

  JOHN FLOWERS (Policeman, F 67). I was on duty in King-street, Drurylane, and saw Daley there, who I knew as Long Bob—I saw Fitzgerald running down King-street, calling out, "Stop him!"—I stopped Daley—Fitzgerald came up and took him in charge, down Long Acre towards Broad-court—some time afterwards I heard a scream from Broad-court—I went there and found Fitzgerald on the ground—I had seen the two other prisoners with Daley some time before, but not at that time—I and Floyd took Fitzgerald to the station—I did not see the other prisoners in the court—I then went back and met Daley at the bottom of Charles-street, Drurylane—it was then half-past 1 o'clock—I said, "I want you, you must go to the station with me"—he said, "I shall not go," and ran away—I followed him into King-street, and saw him go into No. 16—I got another constable, Thomas, to assist me—we went up stairs, and Daley said, "Oh, there are two of you, if there was only one, you would have to fight for it"

—I took him in custody—he pointed to the spot where I found Fitzgerald, and said, "That is where I fell on the b—r, then got on him and kicked him, and ran away; and I wish I had done a b—y sight more"—I took him to the station, and charged him with violently assaulting Fitzgerald, and breaking his arm—he said that if he had known he should have been taken for it, he would have served him a b—y sight worse—he was drunk.

Cross-examined by MR. TAYLOR. Q. You have been examined before; is not what he said, "This is where I threw the b—r and fell on him, and ran away?" A. Yes—he also said he had kicked him—I swear that—I was examined at the police-court, and my deposition was read over to me—I have been in the police about seven months—I do not remember whether he said it there or not—I did not hear anything about a kick at the station—it is not in consequence of what I have heard since about a kick that I spoke about a kick being mentioned in the court.

  CORNELIUS THOMAS (Policeman, F 149). On the morning of 21st January I was on duty in Parker-street, Drury-lane, and heard the noise of men running up King-street—I waited there, and the father of Bob Daley came up, followed by Cahill, and by Flowers the policeman—I followed them to 16, King-street, where Daley went in—I went up to the second floor, but it being dark I did not get too close—the other constable turned on his light, and Daley said, "Oh, there are two of you, are there; if there was only one, I would take the twist out of him, but I suppose I must go quietly—Cahill was standing behind him—I caught him by the cuff, and took him down stairs—he asked me at the front door to leave go of his cuff and take him by the collar, which I did—when we got to Broad-court, he said, "That is where I threw the b—r and ran away, and if I had known I was going to be taken for it, I would have served him a b—y sight worse"—He was charged by the inspector with violently assaulting Policeman 50, and breaking his arm—he said, "I threw him down and fell on him, and got up and kicked him on the arm, and ran away; and if I had known I was going to be looked up for it, I would have given the b—r more; I would have kicked his b—y brains in," or "I would have kicked the b——r's brains in."

Cross-examined by MR. TAYLOR. Q. Were you with Flowers in taking him to the station? A. Yes, after Daley was charged, he mentioned kicking the policeman's arm—the inspector sent for information about the man's arm, but it was when he was charged that that was said—it was after the inspector had sent to make inquiries—I do not know whether he said ho might have kicked him on the arm.

Cross-examined by MR. SLEIGH. Q. Did Cahill make any disturbance on the stairs? A. No—Curtis was not there.

MR. POLAND. Q. You did not take Cahill? A. No, I did not know at that time that he was present.

MR. TAYLOR to JOHN FLOWERS. Q. You were examined before the Coroner, on 2d February, and before the Magistrate on 6th January; did you say anything before the Coroner about his kicking on the arm? A. I do not recollect—I do not recollect saying simply, "I threw the b—r up, and fell on him, and ran away"—I will not undertake to say whether I said or not before the Coroner that Daley said he kicked him on the arm.

  JAMES BRANNAN (Police-inspector, F). I was at Bow-street station when Fitzgerald was brought there, and also when Daley was brought in in custody

—I said to Daley, "The constable," meaning the deceased, "says you have broken his arm, are you aware you have broken his arm?"—he said "I did throw him down, fall on him, kicked him, and ran away; so I would again; I told him to let go of my collar, but he would not"—I am reading from a note I took at the time, and which I produced before the Coroner and Magistrate—he was detained a quarter of an hour, till I went to the hospital to ascertain the extent of the constable's injuries—I then charged him with being drunk and disorderly in Drury-lane, and violently assaulting F 50, by breaking his arm in Broad-court, in the parish of St. Martin's—while I was taking the charge, he said, "If I thought I was going to be locked up, I would have done more, I am b—d if I would not, although this b—d arm is broken"—he was then removed to the cell—I was at the station on Tuesday, when Cahill and Curtis were brought there—Cahill was brought in first—he said he would prove an alibi—he was apprehended on a warrant signed by Sir Thomas Henry, with aiding and assisting John Daley in assaulting Fitzgerald—Curtis was brought in on the same day—he made a statement, which I directed Sergeant Hill to take down in writing.

Cross-examined by MR. TAYLOR. Q. Was Daley drunk when he was brought to the station. A. Yes—he was excited, but not greatly so.

Cross-examined by MR. W. SLEIGH. Q. Have you ever mentioned before that Cahill said he could prove an alibi.? A. Yes—I said so before the Magistrate—my deposition was read over to me before I signed it as correct, but I said a good deal before the Magistrate that he did not consider ought to be taken down, and perhaps that is, one of the things omitted.

  JOHN DOWDELL (Policeman, F 173). On 21st January, I was at the station when Daley was brought in in custody—before the charge was taken he said that if he knew he was going to be locked up he would have given the b—r—more—he said, "I threw him on the pavement, fell on him, and kicked him on the arm, and then ran away"—he said that in the dock—about a quarter of an hour after that, and after the charge was taken, I conveyed him to the cell, where he said, "I kicked him on the arm to get away from him; I am sorry I did not do more."

Cross-examined by MR. TAYLOR. Q. Did you ever mention that before, that he said he kicked him on the arm to get away A. Yes.

  THOMAS HILL (Police-sergeant, F 5), I was at Bow-street on 25th January, when Curtis and Cahill were brought in custody—the warrant was read, and Curtis made this statement, which I took down—"I did not know John Daley by any other name than Long Bob, and he was not near him when he done it, but he saw him going to the station; the way we first came to know it, me and Mike Donovan was standing at the corner of our place Ashley-place, Drury-lane, by the Marquis of Granby, and a young. man called Paddy Burk, who lives in the coal yard—he came up to us, and said, "I have seen Long Bob in a row with 50 F—he came and told me, and Mike Donovan ran to the corner of King-street with two policeman—as we was going, this Mike Donovan asked what was the matter, and Long Bob said, 'Only a bit of a row,' Long Bob said to Mike Donovan, 'Have you got a bit of tobacco?' with that, Mike Donovan ran round in Iong Acre and bought an ounce of tobacco, and gave him the tobacco and a pipe and two lucifers in Long Acre, then we followed to the corner of Broad-court; we then left them alone by themselves, me and Mike Donovan went home, as he lives up our court; I did not see Mr. Fitzgerald at all; this was after he came away from Mr. Fitzgerald; I did not see him until after

he committed the assault on Mr. Fitzgerald, that is all I know"—Cahill said nothing.

  WILLIAM KETTLE (Policeman, E 42). On 25th January, about half-past 9 o'clock I was on duty at the corner of Ashley-court, Drury-lane—one of the prisoners came up to me and said, "Kettle, do you know how that policeman has got on today?"—I said, "What policeman?"—he said, "About the inquest"—I said, "I believe there has been no inquest to-day, but if you come with me to Bow-street, I will tell you"—I then took him into custody—he said, "It is not like that, is it?"—I said, "It is"—he made a statement at the station—I had charged him with resisting Fitzgerald with Long Daley, which caused his death, and after that, he said, "It is not like that, is it."

  BARTHOLOMEW SULLIVAN (Police-sergeant, F 3). I took Cahill in Drurylane, on the Thursday, and told him the charge was assisting John Daley to resist the late constable Fitzgerald in the execution of his duty—he said, "All right"—at the station he said he could prove that he was not there.

  THOMAS HOWELL . I am house-surgeon at King's College-hospital, and was so on the morning 21st January—I examined Fitzgerald when he was brought in—his left arm was very much swollen about the elbow—he was evidently suffering a great deal of pain, and there was a mark and a bruise on the near side of the elbow—I suspected the artery was ruptured—I sent for Mr. Moore, the assistant-surgeon, who secured the artery, which was found broken slighty above the elbow—the rupture corresponded with the bruise—everything was done to make him comfortable—I saw him again at 4 o'clock in the morning, and again at half past 11—he died about 4 o'clock on Tuesday morning—mortification of the arm set in on the Monday—he became delirious, and I was obliged to take him down to the refractory ward—I was present at the postmortem examination—both bones of the arm were dislocated at the elbow, backwards and outwards, and the main artery was ruptured clean across, the veins and muscles were torn, and the nerves were stretched, but were not torn—the ligaments were all torn—the inner ligament inside the elbow was whole, but all the rest were torn—I thought it was done by a violent twist, the force being given in a direction backwards and outwards—it was a most curious injury, but that would account for it, and I think that would account for the bruises from the rupture of any superficial vessel—the cause of death was the injury he received to the arm; but the reason he died then was failure of the heart's action—I think he had the commencement of fatty degeneration of the heart—I suppose that the failure of the heart's action to be brought about by the injury—he had an enlarged liver—the bruises inside the elbow might be caused by a kick.

COURT. Q. Could a kick have caused the other symptoms you saw? A. I should think not; the injury was too severe, and there was no wound on the skin.

Cross-examined by MR. TAYLOR. Q. Was not the bruise of so slight a nature, that you did not mention it before the Coroner? A. I do not know whether I did or not—it was a discolouration of an inch and a half in diameter—I do not think I mentioned any distinct bruises before the Coroner—I do not think the rupture of the artery and dislocation of the bones of the arm could have been caused by a kick—I consider it must have been a wrench outwards and backwards, twisting the arm up, and at the same time forcing it upwards—I think the weight of two men falling, and he being thrown on the left arm would have caused it.

  CONWAY EVANS , M.D. I am senior assistant-physician to King's College-hospital, and pathological lecturer—I made the postmortem examination of the deceased—his arm was dislocated, and the main artery torn, but no bone was broken—he died from tormatic delirium and failure of the action of the heart, which was dependent upon the injuries he received.

Cross-examined by MR. TAYLOR. Q. Would that sometimes be described as a shock to the nervous system? A. I think I have explained it correctly—he died of delirium through the injuries he received, and failure of the action of the heart, which usually accompanies such delirium, and may be to some extent the cause of it—you may call that a shock, but that is not so correct as the way I have put it—he was a very fat man.

COURT. Q. What do you call those injuries? A. The elbow was dislocated, and all the ligaments and muscles, except one, were torn completely across, but the skin was uninjured—it must have been a twist outwards and backwards at the same time—I do not think any kick could have done it, and I am doubtful if a fall could have done it—if the arm was being twisted outward at the same time that the weight of his body in falling came on the upper arm, it is just possible that it might be done in that way.

DALEY.— GUILTY .**†— five Years' Penal Servitude .

CAHILL and CURTIS.— GUILTY .†— Confined Twelve Months each .