THE STORY OF THE CRIME.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 82, 27 December 1884, Page 6

THE STORY OF THE CRIME.

Mow Hie Murder was Discovered. Various particulars concerning the crime hiwc appeared horn time to time in our English ncv,>) and tho letter of our London corie>})ondent. From various sources decollate tho folkmi.ig nanativc :— About se\cn years ago, a ilr» Sheehan, of Lisnagoureeu, ncai Glamvoith (about (5 mile^ from Lermoy), together Mith her son and daughter, mysteiiously disappeaied, and not until the beginning of September last More a^ain heaul of. There had for some time previously been a dispute about tho faun which Mrs Sheehan then held, and it \\as supposed that she secretly left it through fear of her life. From m hat has tecently transpired, thcie can be little doubt that they -wore cruelly murdered. In the immediate neighbourhood of this unfortunate woman's residence there Mas an old pump well, 'which had been dry ior some time. Since then no attempt lvid been undo to put it into MOiking order until a few cloys ago, when a couple of men sofc about cleaning it, and making other necessity icyaira. On descending they found at tlio bottom a vcA-y lirgo fetonc, «lnch could not bo lemovcd without bi caking it v.ith a sledge hammer. On the btono being removed, a honiblc sight was disclosed. The remains of three human beings Mere disco\erod, together A\itli some clothing, in a very decayed state. It would, of com\->e, be impossible to recognise the feature^, but on examining the clothes, the cloak, Mhieh mo 4 - led, wut» found to be similar to that ■which Mas generally Morn by Mr.i .Sheehan, and from the facts already stated there can be but little doubt as to uhom the poisons Mere mlio wero foully mu dcrod. At \ao inquest, held on Wednesday, tho jury found that the remains were those of Mib Sheehan, her daughter and sou, but there wa-4 no evidence to show how they came by their death.

Dispute Over the Prisoner's Marriage. Mis She eh an held two farms com^i.-ting of 70 acrop, at Cams? Downing, f-ituatcd between Feimoy and A [allow. There lived with her a daughtei, a son named Thomas, anil an elder son named William. She had also a son named John, who was married, and resided in a public-hou«c some distance law ay. This man still lives near Ca*t!ctownrocho, and is the only member of the family residing in the locality. About the time of the di&appcaianrc of Airs Sheehan (-ho was- negotiating for tho marriage of her son William with the daughter of a farmer named Brown. Bhe stipulated for a fortune of U3UO, but Brown was not prepared io give such a dowry. William disputed his mother's objections, and arranged to marry MU-s Brown on a fortune of i'l 70; but in iho meantime the mother dKappeaicd, and William stated as a cause for her sudden departure that ho had given her C3OO oufc of hi^ marriage portion, and that hit) mother, daughter, and son Thomas had gone away. It was treely rumoured at tho time that Mrs Sheehan intended with her daughter to seek another place, and work for themselves, and their departure came in no way as a surprise. John, however, alleges that his suspicions were aroused by tho very sudden departure ot tho members of his family, and that he communicated with the police. The latter have no recollection and no record of such a report. After the disappearance of Mrs Sheehan, tho son John took possession of the farm, and held it until a year ago, when he was evicted for non-payment of i-ent, and he loft with his wife for Australia. The farm has since been boycotted. William Sheehan left for New Zealand. The crime was evidently committed at or near Mrs Sheehan's residence, and the murderers must have required some assistance to remove tho bodies to the well— a distance by road of ovor a mile. That the victims should have suddenly left without friends or relatives making inquiries is rcgaided as a suspicious circumstance in itself.

William Sheehans Statement. When inquiries were made about the disappearance of his mother, brother, and sisters, William Shoehan made various statements to his brother John, who was married and living away from homo, and also to others. Ho first seems to havo said that if she were not home in a few days she might be absent for a month ; and subsoquently he said she had gone to do for herself, and that ho had given her £300. This statement was made on the occasion of a payment made to John Sheehan on account of some money transaction. To others he said they had gone to America. The explanations appear to have been received by John with implicit credulity, and without a single further inquiry as to where his mother had gone. William Sheehan and his wife held the principal portion of the land after she and her son Thomas and daughter were out of the way. The other portion of land and the public-house were

mado over to John Sheehan. The latter rapidly got into good circumstances, but misfortune overtook his brother, who was evicted for non-paymont of rent a year ago, and emigrated to New Zealand. Down to the point of his emigration, or, in fact, not at all until a few days ago, had any suspicion intervoncd concerning poor Mrs fcSheehan and her children.

Statement by a Servant. A servant girl named Margaret Roilly, who lived at the house, on being examined by the police, said that on tho 27th of October, 1877, about noon, she saw William Shoohan loave tho houso in company with tho younger brother Thomas. She was sent away to Lring a horse that was grazing in a field some distanco from tho hoube. When she lotumed with tho hor&o, William Sheehan ran out of tho house in an excited state, without his hat, mid with his hair disordered, and told hor to take back the horsoh and drivo up the cows. When she was loaving tho house, Mrs Shcohan and her daughter woro there*, but when she returned they were gono, and they did not afterwards appear. Tho brothor Thomas also disappeared, and Sheehan's explanation was that they had gono in a car to Formoy to visit his aunt. He afterwards informed hor that his mothor was so displeased with tiie conduct of her married son, who lived on an adjoining farm, that she had decided to leave lor America. Sho heard nothing afterwards about them, and was at the time convinced they had gone away. The disappearance was tho subject of convocation, and it was hinted that ioul play had boon resorted to ; but William Sheehan had many frionds in the locality, and they accepted his explanation that the mother and her children had grono to Amciica with monoy ho had given thorn out ot his mariiago portion.

Arrest of a Labourer Named Duanc. Tho first step taken by tho police after the inquest was to arrest an old man named Duanu, A\ho had been a labourer on the faun. This man made a statement to the cilect that ho was at "work in tho yard when William Sheehan pent the girl Keilly for the hoi'sjO, and that shortly afterwards he e;uv a man (suppos-ed to be an accomplice), whose name ho has given ro the police, rush into tho dwelling-house from where he ?;iw the gill return with the horse, and William Shcohan come out without hat and sond her back for tho cattle. Previous to this ho had seen Mrs Sheohan and her daughter, but he did not know w hat became of them. Aften\ arris ho got fi om William Sheehan his brother Thomas* boots, and hi* wifo got Mrs Sheehau's clothes. \\ illiam Shoehcn told him not to say w hero he got them. His statement at the inquest that he saw Mrs Sheehan diivo oil in a car with her children ho now avei s vi'iH fal-'o, and that he was told to say that by \\ illiam Sheehan if he should be asked where they were. A repoiter who visited the scene of the occurrence states that tho well in which the bodies were found is about SO feet deep. It was originally constructed by Mr George Bond Lowe for the accommodation of his tenants, but it ran dry, and for some time before the disanpeaiwncc of Mrs Shcohan and her two children it had not been used. The uell is not situated upon tho lands which Mrs Sheehan hold, but in a straight line acicss the iiclds, Jt would be about 900 yauls distant from the farmhouse she occupied.

Theory of tho Murder. The theory of the police as to the murder is i luit William Shcchai decoyed his brother Thomas in an out-house and strangled him thoro with the a^istanco of a second man, and that both icturning quickly to the dwelling, MiquL-od the mother and daughter and strangled them or despatched them by some other expeditious means. Neither Duano nor tho servant gill heard any noi-e. The third witne^b w ho has turned up v ill give evidence as to the removal of the bodies at night, and he, it is bcliexed, will be able to identify tho pei sons engaged in the ghastly work. Of the second man littlo is known at present.