THE CASTLETOWN ROCHE MURDERS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1231, 2 October 1885, Page 3

THE CASTLETOWN ROCHE MURDERS.

Thedooosi ion of a witness to the r»stletow i Roc :o murderaispu lished in some of the Irish papers. The witness is John Duane, father of the young man 1 Hi-me, who has de to the making away of the ho lies. Divine in his first examination denied altogether that he knew anythin;;of ihe murder flis st te ment now is as follows : —“ 1 )n the day of the murder, William Sh ehan said tome ‘ Johnnv, you won’t tell what I am going to do to-day,’ He did not say whit 'hat was, nor did I know what lie meant. This was about an hour hef re anything took place I was siand ug in the yard just outside the stable do r Ihomas Sh ehan fir A went into the stable, William

then followed him in. William got a griffiud that was inside the door David Browne was then inside the door. William strnck lom Sheehan on thejjhead with (the griffaun. He struck him two hlow.s. Hu was killed dead William Sheehan and David Browne then crossed over and went in to the house, I followed them over to the do >r. Mrs Sheehan and her daughter were in the little room below the kitchen. William >heehan and David Br-wne went into that little room. William Sh-ehan struck his mother with the griffaun, and then he threw away the gritfiun and caught her bv the throat and chokei her. David Browne took up the griffaun and struck Hannah with it and knocked her down, and her by the throat and gave a couple of screeches. They then asked me to assist them and take the bodies over to thestable, and t did assist them. There was no one in the yard then, as the little girljwas watering the cows. 1 went down to the stable to see what they were going to do. The stable door was locked that evening by William Sheehan, I went home that evening to my own house. On that day he sent me away on business for a'couple of hours As I was going home that evening about 6 o’clock William Sheehan lad a horse and oar—it was a Scotch car—ready to go for Spillana i heard the tittle girl talking about it. I did nob see them that night again. 1 did not see spillana at ab. I came to work next mornin* as usual. He told me in the evening that when I was going home he wanted me to tackle the horse and to come over again. When I came b ick I tackled the horse. This was after a o’clock I heard a concertina playing that night before I went with the car to the stable door to take out the liodias. There were candles lighted in the Ik use. 1 saw the Misses Browne there that night, and David Browne and Wi Ham She°nan came out and b-ft the gills inside. The girls did not c >me to the door to look out, or I wjiuld have seen them. They went across to the stable, and >heehan and David Browne brought out the bodies and put them into the butt. The old woman was brought out first, then the girl Hannah, and Tom last. Tom’s boots were taken off the night of the murder, and Willi im gave them to me. I led the horse by the head, and they followed. Wh-*n we got to the well it was about M or 12 o’clock They threw the bodies in'o the well Tom was the first carried Up and thrown in, the s : ster then, and then the old woman. 1 don’t recollect what kind of e’othea they wore. There was some blood on the cart. After the bodies were thrown into the well, they covered tip the well with the whitethorn bush which covered it before. When wi' came back to the yard the girls were in the hou*e playing the conc-rc'iii. I saw th- m tinough the window 1 then unUckied the horse from the car. Browne went into the house where the girls were. William Sheehan stopped outside and w itched the car. William told me not to tell anything.”