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2 corrections, most recently by docaartsen - Show corrections

THURSDAY, APRIL 18.

MURDER.

Robert Cleghorn was charged with the murder of Edward Fielder, at Broken Hill, on October 7.    

Prisoner pleaded not guilty.

Mr. Wise in opening the case for the Crown, pointed out that the prisoner was   charged with murder, but not with intent

to kill.

Edward Hammen stated : Am a laborer living at Broken Hill ; remember Sunday, October 7; was in Argent-street between 12 and 1 that night ; heard a cry of "Stop thief" and "Murder;" saw a man run-       ning ; I ran over and caught him ; ano- ther man came up from the direction of Block 14 ; this man was the prisoner ; he had a knife in his hand ; he put the   knife to the man Fielder's throat; I was telling Fielder to go when prisoner gave a round-arm hit at him, with the knife;

the blow would have struck him on the left side ; did not see the knife enter, but saw the blow struck ; saw the knife in the prisoner's hand; sound(sic) that there was blood on the blade ; gave the knife to Constable Hearne at the Police Station ; helped to take prisoner to the lock-up ;

on the way he said, "You may as well leave me go;" I said "No;" he said Fielder had stolen his (prisoner's) wife's brooch; and that if I knew all I would let   him go ; prisoner seemed to have been drinking a little. To Mr. Edwards: Cleghorn was very much excited, and was trembling with rage.    

Sergeant Saunders testified to Fielder's depositions as read. In them Fielder admitted having been intimate with Cleg-

horn's wife.                

Constable Hearne remembered October   7 ; on that day, prisoner was brought to    

the police station by two men ; the knife produced was handed to witness ; there was blood on the blade; took possession   of Fielder's clothes at Durrant's Hotel on

the following day ; there were marks of         blood on them ; the cut in them all corresponds with the wound in the body. Dr. Bennett deposed: was called in     about 12.45 on Sunday night, October 7   to attend Fielder at Durrant's Hotel; he was in a state of collapse and had a wound in his left side ; this wound could have   been inflicted by the knife produced ; his death was caused by failure of the heart's action, following on his weak state caused by the wound ; found a wound on the left side, the lungs were punctured. To Mr. Edwards: Dr. Smith and I had a little difference of opinion as to the posi- tion of the wound ; I said it was under

the ninth rib, Dr. Smith said under the

seventh; Fielder died on October 12 ;    

should think Fielder's' constitution was

strong ; heard that Fielder had got up and walked about ; he had been ordered not to do so, but to keep quiet. To a juror : Prisoner did not drink much while ill ; he was ordered to take some spirits.

Dr. Smith said he attended Fielder and

found him suffering from a wound on the left side between the sixth and seventh ribs ; probed the wound, and found it a little over an inch deep ; the knife pro- duced could have caused the wound ; made a post-mortem examination. The internal organs were injured ; was not with him when he died; attended him all the week and thought him improving ; the cause of death was the wound ; he was well when I left him at 2.45 on Friday afternoon ; he died about 3.45 the same afternoon. To Mr. Edwards—Do not think it was necessarily a fatal wound ; Fielder's con- stitution was good; warned Fielder against moving at all ; told him what the consequences might be if he got up; heard that he got up and went into the yard, and fainted in consequence ; believe he would have recovered had he followed the directions given ; he was quite rational  

all the time ; the wound could have been   inflicted by a man falling on the knife.  

Sergeant Saunders recalled: Have made    

inquiries as to the character of accused ; and have received the best of accounts of him from people who knew him for 10

years.

John Henry Durrant gave unimportant  

evidence.

Prisoner made a statement detailing his acquaintance with Fielder. He said Fielder was always spreeing, and had been kept by him (prisoner) for some  

time. He then gave an account of the way in which the wound was inflicted, asserting that Fielder had fallen on the knife accidentally, he (prisoner) having had it in his hand when Fielder first attacked him.

Edward Hammen recalled said: Saw the blood on Fielder's trousers : saw the knife in prisoner's hand when he struck the blow.            

J. H. Durrant recalled, deposed : It was a dark night ; Hammer could not have seen a knife in a man's hand that night.            

A number of certificates of the good   character of prisoner were handed in.

Mr. Edwards then addressed the jury   in a very able speech, reviewing the evi-

dence and the certificates of character.

Mr. Wise followed, contending that a verdict of manslaughter must be returned, if, during a quarrel, they believed that the wound was inflicted by prisoner, even though the deceased by his acts afterwards

hastened his own death.

The judge then summed up, and the jury then retired to consult. They returned into court at 1 o'clock, with a   verdict of guilty of manslaughter. They,   however, recommended prisoner to mercy on the ground that the prisoner was not aware that he had the knife in his hand at the time the wound was inflicted on  

deceased.

Cleghorn was then sentenced to be imprisoned for 60 seconds.  

CRIMINAL LIBEL.

W. E. Hammond, charged with having   published in the Broken Hill Argus a criminal libel upon John J. Williams, was next presented. The evidence as recently given in the Police Court was for the greater part repeated. The jury returned a verdict of guilty; and Hammond was ordered to pay a fine of £100, he to be detained until such fine is paid.

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