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TURCAULT |
| History |
John Turcotte
Monday, July 1, 1867, Page 2 MURDER A Man Stabbed on Saturday Morning -- Inquest. On Saturday morning the city was startled from its usual quiet by the report of an occurrence, which fortunately does not often disturb society in Kingston. A steamboat waiter named Campbell got into an altercation, about half-past twelve in the morning, at McGuiness� Chicago House, Ontario street, with a ship-carpenter named Turcotte, over a game of cards. From words they came to blows, and Campbell received a stab in the neck, which resulted fatally in a few minutes. Turcotte also was badly bruised about the face in the affray, it is supposed from blows of Campbell�s fist. After the tragic affair, Turcotte, who acted most strangely throughout, went to the Police Station and laid an information against Campbell for striking him, and on the police going to the house to arrest deceased, they received the first intimation of the murder. Turcotte, while the life of his victim was ebbing away, remained in constant attendance on him, like the rest of those present, and acted quite coolly when arrested. Evidently he was not aware when he went for the police that he had stabbed Campbell, though he plied his knife freely during the tussle. Campbell, when stabbed, showed no signs of distress, and walked slowly to a seat. Presently he fell faint from the loss of blood, which flowed internally, and called for a doctor, by which time Turcotte had left for the police. Even when dying he screened his companion, for Turcotte was a most intimate friend of his, and when asked who it was stabbed him, he answered, as if with a determined effort, �No one� The deceased was head waiter on the steamer �Passport,� but owing to a neglect of duty was discharged about two weeks ago. He is about twenty years of age, and has relatives in Toronto, it is supposed. He had no friends in this city but those connected with the steamers. The murderer, Turcotte, belongs to Kingston, and his relatives reside here. On Saturday morning Coroner Shaw held an inquest in the �Police Court,� before a highly intelligent Jury. The body was viewed as McGuiness�. The prisoner was brought into Court, and appeared to feel his position deeply. He employed as Counsel Mr. Frank C. Draper, and Mr. Macarow also watched the case. The County Attorney appeared for the Crown. The prisoner was black and blue about the face being the effect of blows from Campbell. The following is the evidence -- Policeman John Cooke deposed that at a quarter past twelve on Saturday morning the prisoner Turcotte came to the Police Station and complained that a young man at McGuiness� had beaten him with steel knuckles; witness proceeded with Policeman McLoughlin to McGuiness� to make an arrest, and found the deceased lying on the floor in the bar-room, his head supported in the hands of a young woman; prisoner said �that is the man that struck me;� witness saw the deceased had been stabbed, and was in a dying state; he was perfectly quiet, and almost unconscious; he died in an hour and a half; the Police arrested all in the house, and brought them in the Police Station; on the prisoner was found a jack knife (produced), but it had no blood on it; in answer to Dr. Sullivan the deceased, a short time before his death, said �no one had struck him;� Campbell had a small knife in his pocket. Police Sergeant Bell deposed also to Turcotte�s information that Campbell had struck him with steel knuckles; arrested Turcotte at McGuiness� on hearing from Mr. McGuiness that he had been in a row; prisoner had been drinking from his appearance; his face was badly bruised. Policeman Wm. Hoyle sworn -- Was on duty on Johnson street when the murder was discovered at McGuiness�; went into McGuiness�; found everything the same as stated by previous witnesses; saw the prisoner arrested, and the knife (closed) taken from ; the prisoner and one person in the house were intoxicated; the police searched all the persons in the house, but found no steel knuckles. Owen McGuiness sworn -- Is keeper of the Chicago House, Ontario street; there were there on Friday night, the deceased, the prisoner, T. Nugent, Dooney and J. Rice -- about 12 o�clock, witness thinks Campbell and Turcotte quarrelled; had some hard words, followed by blows, delivered in a sparring way; witness drew off Turcotte, and heard Campbell say he had been struck, and to send for a doctor; he afterwards went towards a seat, but fell and witness saw blood about his breast; the deceased was able to speak; witness saw neither a knife or steel knuckles; witness saw prisoner and deceased playing cards previously. [This statement was not elicited without a deal of cross-examination.] The quarrel did not arise over the cards; Turcotte took liquor and Campbell a cigar; witness keeps his house open regularly all night; it is not possible that the stab was made by any one but Turcotte; Campbell was quite sober. In the lengthy cross-examination witness admitted that Turcotte had been bruised in the row with Campbell. John Rice swore that he was one of the at McGuiness�; entered the room behind the bar on hearing the row; saw Campbell and Turcotte in altercation; the latter said Campbell was a mean man, and he could lick him; Campbell said he could punch the liver out of Turcotte; Turcotte did not want to fight there; entering the bar-room, more words were used; Campbell then struck Turcotte with his fist; both men then put their hands in their pockets and drew them out again; saw no knife; about four blows were exchanged; heard Campbell call for the doctor; saw no blood, but saw Campbell�s trousers cut; went for Dr. Sullivan in a cab and saw no more. Mrs. Ann McGuiness was examined, but nothing new was elicited. Campbell was a constant boarder at the house. Thomas Nugent swore -- Was present at McGuiness� on Friday night; came in company with Turcotte; Campbell came in afterwards and played a game of euchre with Turcotte; they appeared very intimate and were quite friendly; but after about an hour�s play they quarrelled over the playing of a card; they had several hard words; Campbell was very abusive; witness corrobrates the testimony of last witness in regard to the words used; did not see the row, being in the inner room; but before they entered the bar from this room; saw Turcotte take a knife out of his pocket; the bruises on Turcotte�s face were inflicted during the row; Turcotte left immediately after the row. Rose McGuiness deposed that she supported Campbell after he had been stabbed; he asked to be turned over on his right side, and said to Dr. Sullivan that nobody had stabbed him; Campbell never drank any liquor. Dr. Sullivan sworn � Was called into McGuiness� to attend Campbell; Turcotte was there exacting to resuscitate the deceased; examined the wound on Campbell�s neck; it was a clean cut inflicted above the collar bone on the right side by some sharp instrument; found only a slight issuing of blood from the wound; the pulse was beating on the left arm, but not on the right; the deceased dies in a few minutes; made a post mortem examination of the body; found that the knife had cut a large artery, which supplied blood in the upper extremities, nearly in two, entered the top of the chest and making a small incision in the lung of about an eighth of an inch; the cut in the artery was sufficient to cause death independent of the deeper incision; the wound altogether was two inches in length; the cause of the blood not having flowed externally, no bod appeared in the evidence, was owing to the rush of blood internally to the chest, where it was found at the post mortem; the knife found on Turcotte would be likely to inflict such a wound, but not the small pocket instrument found on Campbell; Turcotte�s knife, which did not have any blood on it, might have been cleaned by its passage through the clothes. [A discrepancy has occurred in the evidence. Owen McGuiness deposed that a traveller slept in the house that night, and left at four o�clock in the morning for Cape Vincent, while his wife and daughter, who were examined separately, deposed that no stranger of that description slept in the house.] The Inquest was here adjourned until three o�clock. The Court room was crowded, and all available space was taken up. The prisoner�s knife is a common jack-knife, used for cutting tobacco. The inquest was resumed at three o�clock, when three or four new witnesses were examined, but not a single new fact was elicited.
Wednesday, July 3, 1867, Page 3 The Recent Murder On Saturday evening, after an hour�s deliberation, in considering the evidence, the Coroner�s jury returned a verdict �That the deceased, Robert Campbell, came to his death by a wound inflicted in the neck by a knife in the hand of John Turcotte.� The prisoner was then committed to gaol, on the Coroner�s warrant, to stand his trial at the Fall Assizes in October next. The mystery in regard to the stabbing still remains unsolved. The body of the murdered man was buried on Sunday in the R. C. cemetery, being attended by a clergyman of that church during his dying moments. No clue has been obtained as to the whereabouts of his relatives, but through the agency of a letter from a lady friend found in his pocket, some information will be procured. The deceased was, it is now said, a member of the Queen�s Own Battalion and the Prentice Boys of Toronto. An Orange Regalia was found among his clothing. LATER. -- It appears that Campbell resided in Toronto, and was the only support of an aged and widowed grandmother and two sisters. Both his father and mother are dead. Deceased bore an irreproachable character in that city, where he was well known, and his death is deeply regretted, not only by his relatives, but by a large circle of acquaintances.
Thursday, July 4, 1867, Page 4 MURDER A Man Stabbed on Saturday Morning -- Inquest. On Saturday morning the city was startled from its usual quiet by the report of an occurrence, which fortunately does not often disturb society in Kingston. A steamboat waiter named Campbell got into an altercation, about half-past twelve in the morning, at McGuiness� Chicago House, Ontario street, with a ship-carpenter named Turcotte, over a game of cards. From words they came to blows, and Campbell received a stab in the neck, which resulted fatally in a few minutes. Turcotte also was badly bruised about the face in the affray, it is supposed from blows of Campbell�s fist. After the tragic affair, Turcotte, who acted most strangely throughout, went to the Police Station and laid an information against Campbell for striking him, and on the police going to the house to arrest deceased, they received the first intimation of the murder. Turcotte, while the life of his victim was ebbing away, remained in constant attendance on him, like the rest of those present, and acted quite coolly when arrested. Evidently he was not aware when he went for the police that he had stabbed Campbell, though he plied his knife freely during the tussle. Campbell, when stabbed, showed no signs of distress, and walked slowly to a seat. Presently he fell faint from the loss of blood, which flowed internally, and called for a doctor, by which time Turcotte had left for the police. Even when dying he screened his companion, for Turcotte was a most intimate friend of his, and when asked who it was stabbed him, he answered, as if with a determined effort, �No one� The deceased was head waiter on the steamer �Passport,� but owing to a neglect of duty was discharged about two weeks ago. He is about twenty years of age, and has relatives in Toronto, it is supposed. He had no friends in this city but those connected with the steamers. The murderer, Turcotte, belongs to Kingston, and his relatives reside here. On Saturday morning Coroner Shaw held an inquest in the �Police Court,� before a highly intelligent Jury. The body was viewed as McGuiness�. The prisoner was brought into Court, and appeared to feel his position deeply. He employed as Counsel Mr. Frank C. Draper, and Mr. Macarow also watched the case. The County Attorney appeared for the Crown. The prisoner was black and blue about the face being the effect of blows from Campbell. The following is the evidence -- Policeman John Cooke deposed that at a quarter past twelve on Saturday morning the prisoner Turcotte came to the Police Station and complained that a young man at McGuiness� had beaten him with steel knuckles; witness proceeded with Policeman McLoughlin to McGuiness� to make an arrest, and found the deceased lying on the floor in the bar-room, his head supported in the hands of a young woman; prisoner said �that is the man that struck me;� witness saw the deceased had been stabbed, and was in a dying state; he was perfectly quiet, and almost unconscious; he died in an hour and a half; the Police arrested all in the house, and brought them in the Police Station; on the prisoner was found a jack knife (produced), but it had no blood on it; in answer to Dr. Sullivan the deceased, a short time before his death, said �no one had struck him;� Campbell had a small knife in his pocket. Police Sergeant Bell deposed also to Turcotte�s information that Campbell had struck him with steel knuckles; arrested Turcotte at McGuiness� on hearing from Mr. McGuiness that he had been in a row; prisoner had been drinking from his appearance; his face was badly bruised. Policeman Wm. Hoyle sworn -- Was on duty on Johnson street when the murder was discovered at McGuiness�; went into McGuiness�; found everything the same as stated by previous witnesses; saw the prisoner arrested, and the knife (closed) taken from ; the prisoner and one person in the house were intoxicated; the police searched all the persons in the house, but found no steel knuckles. Owen McGuiness sworn -- Is keeper of the Chicago House, Ontario street; there were there on Friday night, the deceased, the prisoner, T. Nugent, Dooney and J. Rice -- about 12 o�clock, witness thinks Campbell and Turcotte quarrelled; had some hard words, followed by blows, delivered in a sparring way; witness drew off Turcotte, and heard Campbell say he had been struck, and to send for a doctor; he afterwards went towards a seat, but fell and witness saw blood about his breast; the deceased was able to speak; witness saw neither a knife or steel knuckles; witness saw prisoner and deceased playing cards previously. [This statement was not elicited without a deal of cross-examination.] The quarrel did not arise over the cards; Turcotte took liquor and Campbell a cigar; witness keeps his house open regularly all night; it is not possible that the stab was made by any one but Turcotte; Campbell was quite sober. In the lengthy cross-examination witness admitted that Turcotte had been bruised in the row with Campbell. John Rice swore that he was one of the at McGuiness�; entered the room behind the bar on hearing the row; saw Campbell and Turcotte in altercation; the latter said Campbell was a mean man, and he could lick him; Campbell said he could punch the liver out of Turcotte; Turcotte did not want to fight there; entering the bar-room, more words were used; Campbell then struck Turcotte with his fist; both men then put their hands in their pockets and drew them out again; saw no knife; about four blows were exchanged; heard Campbell call for the doctor; saw no blood, but saw Campbell�s trousers cut; went for Dr. Sullivan in a cab and saw no more. Mrs. Ann McGuiness was examined, but nothing new was elicited. Campbell was a constant boarder at the house. Thomas Nugent swore -- Was present at McGuiness� on Friday night; came in company with Turcotte; Campbell came in afterwards and played a game of euchre with Turcotte; they appeared very intimate and were quite friendly; but after about an hour�s play they quarrelled over the playing of a card; they had several hard words; Campbell was very abusive; witness corrobrates the testimony of last witness in regard to the words used; did not see the row, being in the inner room; but before they entered the bar from this room; saw Turcotte take a knife out of his pocket; the bruises on Turcotte�s face were inflicted during the row; Turcotte left immediately after the row. Rose McGuiness deposed that she supported Campbell after he had been stabbed; he asked to be turned over on his right side, and said to Dr. Sullivan that nobody had stabbed him; Campbell never drank any liquor. Dr. Sullivan sworn � Was called into McGuiness� to attend Campbell; Turcotte was there exacting to resuscitate the deceased; examined the wound on Campbell�s neck; it was a clean cut inflicted above the collar bone on the right side by some sharp instrument; found only a slight issuing of blood from the wound; the pulse was beating on the left arm, but not on the right; the deceased dies in a few minutes; made a post mortem examination of the body; found that the knife had cut a large artery, which supplied blood in the upper extremities, nearly in two, entered the top of the chest and making a small incision in the lung of about an eighth of an inch; the cut in the artery was sufficient to cause death independent of the deeper incision; the wound altogether was two inches in length; the cause of the blood not having flowed externally, no bod appeared in the evidence, was owing to the rush of blood internally to the chest, where it was found at the post mortem; the knife found on Turcotte would be likely to inflict such a wound, but not the small pocket instrument found on Campbell; Turcotte�s knife, which did not have any blood on it, might have been cleaned by its passage through the clothes. [A discrepancy has occurred in the evidence. Owen McGuiness deposed that a traveller slept in the house that night, and left at four o�clock in the morning for Cape Vincent, while his wife and daughter, who were examined separately, deposed that no stranger of that description slept in the house.] The Inquest was here adjourned until three o�clock. The Court room was crowded, and all available space was taken up. The prisoner�s knife is a common jack-knife, used for cutting tobacco. The inquest was resumed at three o�clock, when three or four new witnesses were examined, but not a single new fact was elicited.
Friday, July 12, 1867, Page 2 The Late Murder -- It appears that the murdered man Campbell was not a Roman Catholic, of which we expressed doubt, but as many supposed him to be. The statements of his comrades that he always pretensed himself a Catholic, and his asking for a Priest during his last moments, confirmed the prevailing idea and the deceased was buried in St. Mary�s Cemetery. The presence of the Orange regalia in his traveling bag was accounted for, it having been taken, it was said, from a boy in the Orange precession in Toronto last year. But the letter which the police sent to the fiancée of the deceased, has received a reply, disclosing the fact that Campbell really was a member of the Young Briton�s (Prentice Boys) Lodge of Toronto, and that the regalia was his own. There are two strange statements of the murdered man: his announcing himself a Catholic, although an Orangeman, and his denying, when dying, that any body had stabbed him, which makes his case mysterious.
Thursday, October 3, 1867, Page 3 NEWS OF THE DAY THURSDAY MORNING, OCT. 3, 1867. The Assizes -- The Fall Assizes open at the Court House on Wednesday, 23rd instant, before the Hon. Mr. Justice Hagarty. The Session promises to be of unusual interest, as the cases of the four distillery murderers, and of Turcotte, charged with the murder of the young man Campbell in McGinnis� tavern, as well as the Dockyard manslaughter case, will then all be tried.
Monday, October 28, 1867, Page 2 Court of Queen�s Bench. Saturday, Oct. 26th. The Court opened at 9 a.m., before the Hon. Mr. Justice Hagarty. The Grand Jury brought in a true bill against Joseph Turcotte for the wilful murder of James Campbell in June last.
Wednesday, October 30, 1867, Page 2 Court of Queen�s Bench. Tuesday, Oct. 29th. The Court opened this morning at nine o�clock, His Lordship Mr. Justice Hagarty presiding. The Court room was crowded with spectators long before the trials commenced; the importance of the trials and the interest manifested in them being almost unprecedented in the county. The space allotted to outsiders, as well as the passages and the interior of the bar, were crowded with eager listeners. THE QUEEN VS. TURCOTTE. The prisoner, John Turcotte, was placed in the dock, charged with the murder of Robert James Campbell at McGinniss� saloon on the 28th of June last. The Crown Officer, Hon. A. N. Richards, Q.C., prosecuted, and Mr. James O�Reilly, Q.C., defended the prisoner. A Jury were selected after a number of challenges were made, and sworn in. The Clerk of the Court then read the indictment against the prisoner for feloniously, wilfully and with malice killing Campbell. A second count charged the crime as manslaughter. Mr. Richards opened the case in a short address, detailing the circumstances of the murder as elicited at the Coroner�s Inquest. He had no doubt that the prisoner inflicted the wound on the deceased, but he would not say that any malice or aforethought existed against the young man. The first witness called was Owen McGinniss, sworn -- Witness deposed that he kept a tavern on Ontario street; Campbell (deceased) boarded with him in June last; on the 28th of June he got out of his bed at ten o�clock, and came down to the bar to take charge of it; Campbell, Turcotte and Thos. Nugent were there, and played cards in the bar; witness stopped the play, and afterwards gave Campbell a cigar, the others took a drink; the three then went to another room and played cards again; came out and had another drink; heard deceased and Turcotte say they did care a d--n for each other; they then made attitudes towards each other, and blows followed; I took hold of Turcotte to separate them; Campbell immediately said he was struck; I asked where; he said in the breast; saw blood on Turcotte�s cheek; Campbell stood a minute, and afterwards went towards a settee, where I sat him down; I have sent for a doctor; Campbell was fainting and I had to support him; saw blood on his breast; I soon left the bar room, and when I returned witness was dead; (witness afterwards contradicted himself, and said the deceased was then alive) deceased died before morning; saw no blow struck between prisoner and deceased; witness here again detailed the circumstances. To Mr. O�Reilly -- Kept my house open at night to accommodate people arriving from the trains; had two travelers in the house the night of the murder -- a man and a woman; don�t know when the man left the house; only Nugent, deceased and prisoner played cards; Turcotte was slightly intoxicated; next day Turcotte�s face was cut and swelled badly, as if he had been beaten; Thomas Nugent was between drunk and sober that night. Thos. Nugent, sworn, deposed that he went to McGinniss� at 9 o�clock on 28th June; Turcotte came in afterwards and witness went down with him to the wharf and fished; returned to McGinniss�; one of his daughters attended the bar; Doney and Campbell came in soon, and Doney fell off in a stupor on the settee; Campbell and Turcotte shook hands as old friends, and then had a game of cards; Campbell drank pop; we drank beer; McGinniss stopped the playing of cards in the bar, and sent us into another room, where we all played; Campbell and Turcotte had a dispute and some words over the cards; liquor was the stake; Campbell fell out first; Turcotte said he was a liar; Campbell said Turcotte was a son of a --, and could kick the guts out of him; they then went into the bar; saw a knife (not opened) in Turcotte�s hand in the room with which he cut tobacco; before Turcotte passed out of the room, saw it in his hand (knife produced); this is very like it; I fancied there would be a row and did not follow the two others in the bar; I heard �murder� exclaimed, and �I�m stuck;� I think from Campbell; McGinniss called out, �Nugent, where are you; there�s murder here;� I went to the bar; they were holding him up; I opened his clothes and saw a wound near his neck; I went after a doctor; came back in about twenty minutes, and found Drs. Sullivan and Oliver examing the wound. To Mr. O�Reilly -- I may have taken 4 or 5 glasses of beer that day, but I was sober; Turcotte took some liquor; prisoner and Campbell were astonishing good friends when they met that evening; Turcotte is usually a quiet man; it was about eight minutes after the deceased and Turcotte left the room before I heard the cries; when I went into the bar I did not see Turcotte there; Turcotte�s face had a bad appearance next day, as if he had been beaten. John Rice, sworn -- deposed that he went to McGinnis� that night at ten o�clock with his cab; Campbell came out of the back room, went to the door, and tore off his paper collar; he looked angry, and showed signs of fight; he went up to the bar and had a drink; saw deceased and Turcotte strike about two blows each, and Turcotte went out; Campbell then went and leaned on the counter; heard Campbell say he was stabbed; when the game of cards was going on in the little room I heard a row, which first attracted my attention; I heard Campbell call Turcotte a liar; was at the door of the room when Campbell said he was stabbed; I told him I would take him to a doctor�s in my cab; he answered that he was not able to go; I then went for a doctor myself. To Mr. O�Reilly -- I did not see Campbell with steel or brass knuckles; when he tore his collar off I did not see him do anything but walk to the counter and take a drink of pop; a number of travellers usually stop at McGinniss� home; before Turcotte was arrested I saw blood on his face; he appeared to be badly beaten; the police arrested Turcotte some time after the stabbing of Campbell; he was sitting in the bar-room with the others. Thos. Doney was called, but did not answer. Policeman John Cooke, sworn -- Remember the night Campbell was killed; Turcotte came to the station house and complained that he had been beaten; I went to McGinniss� and found Campbell on the floor with a girl (McGinniss� daughter) supporting him; Campbell died soon after; when Turcotte was brought to the police station I searched him and found a knife (identified); there was no blood on it. To Mr. O�Reilly -- When Turcotte came to the police station first he had blood on his face, and appeared badly beaten, as he reported he had been by steel knuckles; he said the man who struck him was at McGinniss�; he was hardly recognizable next day; I have known him for years. To Mr. Richards -- Searched McGinniss� house, but found no steel knuckles; also a part of the street. Owen McGinniss, Thos. Nugent and John Rice, re-called -- Saw no steel knuckles in the house that night, nor on Campbell. Sergt. Bell, police, sworn -- I went to McGinniss� that night; saw no steel knuckles. Policeman Hoyle, sworn -- Search McGinniss� that night and found no steel knuckles. To Mr. O�Reilly -- When I saw Turcotte after the murder his face was badly cut up. Mary Ann McGinniss -- I am daughter of Owen McGinniss; I was at the bar when Turcotte and Nugent came in, and also when Campbell and Nugent came in; deceased and prisoner played cards in the bar, but had no quarrelling; I went to bed at eleven o�clock, and know nothing of the murder. Rose Ann McGinniss, being dangerously ill, did not appear as a witness. Michael Sullivan, M.D., sworn. -- Was called at twelve o�clock to go to McGinniss�; I was told the man Campbell was dying, and I ran down as fast as I could; I found Campbell on the floor with his head supported by one of McGinniss� daughters; I had his head laid down; found the pulsation on the right side gone, and that on the leftside nearly so; he was dying fast; I asked him who struck him; he said �no one.� I tore his shirt open and found an oblique wound near the collar bone, about half and inch wide; had deceased removed to another room, but he soon died; the same morning I made a post mortem examination; found the cut quite deep; the right subclavian was cut nearly in two, and the lung was penetrated; the blood flowed internally; the wound might have been inflicted by Campbell himself. To Mr. O�Reilly -- It would not have required great force to inflict the wound after it passed the clothing and the skin; if the artery had been avoided the deceased might have lived; there was no doubt the wound was caused by the stab; deceased said a second time that no one had struck him. This closed the case for the prosecution. Mr O�Reilly, addressing the Jury, said he had no material evidence to offer for the defence, and the case must rely on the testimony of the prosecution. He drew the wide difference between wilful murder, manslaughter and justifiable homicide. He said there were cases where, for money or reward, a man had forsaken his lawful business to follow the work of plunder and murder, deliberately washing his hands in a fellow being�s blood. But the present case was one of a different nature. The prisoner was in bad company, drinking and playing cards, and in the height of passion, without any forethought, and while in the act of defending his own life from the severe beating he was receiving, he is charged with striking a blow of which he states that he was and is still unconscious. He was up to that hour in the best of terms with Campbell, and could possibly bear no malice towards one whom he greeted so warmly when they met that evening. It was an awful thing for a young man of good character like Turcotte, who quietly pursued his honest employment, to support himself and his dependant widowed mother, to be placed on his trial for the highest crime known to the laws of the country. Before O�Reilly proceeded to review the evidence of the case, and expose the doubtful points in the evidence, he asked was the character of the murderer borne out at the trial. It was shown that instead of fleeing from the spot, as the guilty murderer does as if he felt the pursuing hands of justice after him, Turcotte returned to McGinniss� and showing the strongest trait of human character, assists and comforts the dying man in his last moments, and when the police came after him, he handed himself up as one who was unconscious of guilt. As to the infliction of the wound, Mr. O�Reilly laid stress on the doubtful presence of so many persons in the bar room, and the heavy blow inflicted on Turcotte, and endeavored to show that the force of a heavy blow from a strong and muscular person like Turcotte would have driven the blade of the knife to the full length, while it only entered the flesh about two inches. The inference then was that a cut was accidentally made during the scuffle which took place. There was no evidence that Turcotte had a knife in his hand to one to say he saw a blow struck with one. And further to show Turcotte�s innocence the knife found on Turcotte had no traces of blood on it, or the least indication that it had been used. It might be fairly assumed that Turcotte�s was not the instrument which inflicted the wound. He asked the Jury to entertain a reasonable doubt, to which the prisoner is entitled, as to the circumstantial evidence of the guilt of Turcotte. The question which naturally might trouble the Jury, would be, shall the verdict be for murder or manslaughter. Murder, he felt sure, was out of the question, and therefore the want of indirect evidence would also clearly act in the thought of manslaughter. For the want of evidence of the guilt of the prisoner, they must return a verdict of not guilty, and he asked them confidently to return such. Mr. O�Reilly ended a most powerful appeal to the Jury of over an hour in length, by asking their sympathy on behalf of the prisoner�s widowed mother. Mr. O�Reilly�s pleading had an apparent great effort on the prisoner�s case. His Lordship, in charging the Jury, first read the evidence. He said there were three questions for the Jury to ask themselves. 1st. Was a murder committed? But there was no doubt of that, and he would proceed to the second question. Did the prisoner do the act, and 3rd, if he did it, under what circumstances? It was clear that either the prisoner or deceased inflicted the wound, and then can there be a reasonable supposition that the deceased stabbed himself? If they might believe Owen McGinniss� evidence, there would be no trouble in finding against the prisoner for either murder or manslaughter, but his evidence was not carried out by the other witnesses. If two men were quarrelling with fists the law will not permit one to draw a knife even in defence, and the Jury should look into the character of the weapon, though there was nothing peculiar in carrying an ordinary knife like that produced. A man may in hot blood, without premeditation, seize the first weapon he can get and kill another, and the law sometimes terms that deed manslaughter. Therefore the jury should consider whether the present act is murder or manslaughter, though they must not overlook the serious nature of the case. The jury here retired, and his Lordship directed Mr. O�Reilly�s attention to the character of McGinniss� house and hoped the proper authorities would use greater caution, if possible, in issuing tavern licenses. The Jury retired at a quarter to 2 o�clock. At a quarter to four they returned to Court, and rendered a verdict of �Not Guilty.� This announcement was received in Court with loud clapping, which the officers of the Court speedly suppressed. His Lordship expressed his disapprobation of such conduct in a Court of Justice, and called on the constables to bring forward any person guilty of the offence of applauding any proceedings of the Court. The prisoner who was not very firm throughout the trial, and who showed great trembling before the verdict was received, now seemed to have gained strength and courage and stood manfully in the dock. Mr. O�Reilly moved for the discharge of the prisoner. The Crown Officer stating that no charges remained against the prisoner, his Lordship addressed the prisoner in a very few words. A very merciful jury had taken a lenient view of the case and pronounced him not guilty. His conscience would tell him whether he was or not. He should be very thankful. He was discharged. The prisoner said, with emotion, that he was thankful to the Court and Jury for the fair trial they had given him. The prisoner now stepped from the dock, and was instantly surrounded and escorted out of Court by nearly all the spectators in the gallery. turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau turcault turcot turcotte turreau |
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