Atrocious Murder

Feilding Star, Volume X, Issue 87, 29 January 1889, Page 3

Atrocious Murder

ONE PRISONER KILLS ANOTHER.

[PEE UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

Chkistchubch, Junuary 26.

A convict uamed Cody was, at 10 alt),., attacked -by another named McM&nus with a heavy hammer at Bipa Island. It appears that a batch of five or six men were working on the lower part of the Island, breaking stones. McManus and Cody had a quarrel, whereupon the former struck Cody several severe blows on the left side of his head, with a heavy hammer he was using to break stones. Cody was knocked senseless in an instant. The officers were at once acquainted with the facts and McManus was arrested and placed in irons, while the injured man was sent to Lyttelton. Upon arrival at the gaol, Dr Fitshenry, gaol surgeon, was sent for, but the man died this after* noon. MeManuß has been in gaol three months for vagrancy and would have been released on Monday. At one time he was in the lunatio asylum { and is occasionally very peculiar in his behaviour. Cody was only sentenced at Chrißtchurch yesterday to an additional imprisonment for larceny of a hand cart, but bad been previously sentenced on several charges of larceny. The police report says that five prisoners named John McManus, William Cody, George Dankin, James Jones, and Peter Saverton were employed stonebreaking together. Moorhouae, A.C., was guard, bat he did not se6 the actual assault committed. The other three prieoners gave the alarm, and the principal warder, Beaton, came up and found Cody unconscious, with his skull f raetured. Tbe other prisoners pointed out McManus to Beston and *aid he did it. Boston asked McManus why he did it, and be replied " Because he threw atones at me." The three prison* ers state that MeManus struck Cody with the hammer four times. The first blow Cody warded off.