THE CASTLETOWN-ROCHE MURDERS.

Kumara Times, Issue 2922, 11 March 1886, Page 2

THE CASTLETOWN-ROCHE MURDERS.

THE SENTENCE OF DEATH ON WILLIAM SHEEHAN. The second trial of William Sheehan, which took place in Cork in December l»st, for the murder of his mother, brother,-and sister, terminated in his conviction. The prisoner sin wed won. ilerful self-possession throughout, and awaited the sentence with remarkable composure. His Lordship Jndgo O'Brien, in sentencing the prisoner, said William Sheehan, Hft,.r a trial in which every effort that couid h<> ui ■■]■■ l,y ability on your behalf, youjiavc beeu found guilty

by the jury of the terrible dime of takiug away the life of your own mother, your own brother, and your own sister; and I owe it to that jury and to the justice of the community, to declare my most entire and absolute concurrence in that Verdict. Without a violation of the duty imposed upon them by law, it was simply impossible for a jury of the City of Cork, consisting of men of high position, integrity, and intelligence, to have arrived at any other conclusion. If young Duane had never been examined, if his father had not been'examined, I would have myself concluded that the evidence against j you demonstrated your guilt beyond all j possibility of doubt. If the remains of your mother, brother, and sister had never been found I would have concluded from your own conduct and language that yon were the author of this crime. I have but, as the Minister of the law, to announce to you your doom. It is not I that condemn you ; it is not the jury that condemn you ; it is not even the law condemns you ; it is your own crime that has condemned you. I have no power to dispense mercy, and I cannot hold out to yon any hope of mercy. I would be disposed to give you the mercy of my silence about your crime, and to say not one word that would 'aggravate your teivihle and painful position ; but I owe it to the position I hold to say that you, William Sheehan, having been brought from the ends of the world by the arm of avenging justice to stand your trial hern in this country, and to meet a charge depending upon evidence long supposed to. he buried in obscurity as profound as the grave, but which has risen out of the depths of the earth and the night of time to bear witness against you, who are an awful example of the terrible consequences of a man being led by temptation or by passion—the passion of greed or other passion—to commit such an awful crime as that which you have committed agaiust your own mother, brother, and sister, in taking away their lives when they suspected no harm—sending them before their God with all their sius upon them by your cruel, wicked, and treacherous deed. Your shattered roof-tree in your native home, your own approaching doom, and the death of your mother, your brother, and your sister are the end of your great crime. Your own end now approaches. Time for you, William Sheehan, is all but over, and you have now to prepare for eternity; and during the short interval of time that will be given to you to make your peace with God, I exhort you to turn from the vain appeal to human mercy that cannot be awarded to you, to the Throne of Mercy before which we must all appear, and by which it is promised even that the deep scarlet of your awful crime may be made whiter than snow." Mr Justice O'Brien then assumed the black cap, and continued : "The sentence of the Court is, and I do adjudge and order, that you, William Sheehan, be taken from the bar of this Court to the prison in which you were last confined, and that on the 20th of January which will be in the year 1886, you will be taken to the common place of execution within the walls of that prison, and that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead, and may God Almighty in his mercy have mercy on your soul." The Prisoner: "Brown is an innocent man." He then turned round with a faint smile on his lips, and was led away to the cell bolow. CONFESSION OF SHEEHAN. Sheehan afterwards made a confession of his guilt. He prepared a narrative of how the tragedy was carried out, which he was anxious to have placed in the Attorney-General's hands before his brother-in-law, David Brown, was put upon his trial for the same murder. Sheehan protested that Brown was innocent. Sheehan confessed that on the 22nd October, 1877, Mrs Sheehan had intimated her intention of goin" to Fer moy, and he (Sheehan) seized this as a favourable opportunity of carrying out his terrible design, as their disappearance would be readily accounted for by the projected visit, the fact of which was known about the place. His brother Thomas was occupied at some work in the haggard on tin's afternoon, and according to the condemn'd man's statement he engaged him in a quarrel. not of unfrequent occurrence, which terminated by his murdering him with a blow of a griffaun. William then Bought his sister who was in the house, and in view of the intended trip with her mother to Fermoy, told her to go to the stable for a sack and fill it with hay, for the purpose of providing a seat on the cart in which ibey were to make the journey. She readily complied. He followed her to fli<- stable, and when she was iiiiiny the sack

he cut h-T tlnoa!. uilii a i.z>r. Having seen lint she was qui'e dc-vl, ho then proceeded to the house, where his mother was getting ready to leave, and despatched her in a similar manner. He subsequently got the three into the stable, where be locked them up until night-time, when he removed them in the cart and deposited them in the well. TRIAL OF DAVID BROWN. David Brown was put on his trial at Cork Assizes on Thursday, January 7th, charged with having murdered Hannah Sheehan. The trial was deferred from the previous Saturday owing to the health of one of the witnesses, Mary Eeilly, who had made an attempt at self-destruction. The prisoner, it was alleged, aided the man Sheehan, who is now (the Belfast Weekly News of January 9 reports) under sentence of death for the crime, in the murder of his mother, brother, and sister, at Castletownroche, over seven years ago. The bodies of the three persons were found in a. well about t.velve months ago, and the cornmission of the ciime, as proved at Sheehan's dial, was due to the fact that his (Sheehan's) family objected to hia marriage. The Attorney-Geheral made no reference to the confession of William Sheehan. He stated that the case for the Crown would mainly depend upon the testimony of old Duane, the accomplice, and his son, and he found it hard to believe any other theory o e how the tragedy occurred, except that pointed oul in their narratives, which corroborated each other in so singular a manner. The prisoner con'd, if it was within his power, produce independent testimony. His two sisters were in Sheehan's house when the bodies were being removed, and William Sheehan, the convict, was still living, and could be examined. John Duane proved that Brown was was present :it the murder, and actually killed Hannah Sheehan. Young Duane, the couvict, stated that Brown assisted in the removal of the bodies to the well. Dnane's wife admitted in crossexamination that she had some of Mrs Sheehan's and Hannah's garments after their disappearance. Dr. Curtis stated she told him that she had washed blood stained garments for Sheehan. Brown was acquitted, and the verdict was received with loud applause Court.