Preston labourer avoids murder rap

Historian Keith Johnson looks back at the tragic death of a mother of six...
Gradwell Street, the scene of the tragedyGradwell Street, the scene of the tragedy
Gradwell Street, the scene of the tragedy

On the first Monday of July 1876 an inquest was held at the Earl Street police station in Preston before the coroner Mr Gilbertson following the death of Margaret McKearney, aged 31.

The court heard from various witnesses who indicated that her husband Andrew McKearney, aged 26, was responsible for killing the mother of six.

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It was alleged that in the mid-afternoon on the previous Saturday Mrs McKearney had been busy frying some meat on the fire in her little terraced home in Gradwell Street, off Marsh Lane, when her husband returned home.

Words had been exchanged between the pair over money and in the row that followed it was claimed he had grabbed a knife off her and threatened her with it. This leading to a struggle during which she had fallen over a stool and whilst on the ground he had kicked her in the abdomen. The blow being so severe that it led to her death within the hour.

Neighbours alerted by her 10-year-old daughter, Margaret Ann, went to the house immediately to discover her laying in a pool of blood, her husband having fled and her distraught children standing there horrified by what they had seen.

The medical officers who arrived quickly could do nothing to save the woman and the police immediately began a search for the missing husband.

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Local constable P.C. Farady discovering him an hour later hiding in a stable in fields near Penwortham Bridge. He informed him of his wife’s death and in reply McKearney stated: “I only punched her a bit”.

But his clogs and stockings were saturated in blood and he was immediately taken to the lock-up.

General opinion seemed to be that McKearney was a notorious fellow and it was stated that he had made previous appearances before the magistrates for ill-treating his wife. The inquest jury took little time in delivering a verdict of wilful murder.

The following day McKearney was brought before the Mayor J B Hallmark and the magistrates, with his relatives and a couple of his children appearing in court in a depressed state. After carefully considering the evidence the magistrates decided he would be committed for trial on a charge of manslaughter.

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This latest decision was greeted with suppressed murmers of approval from the rear of the court and McKearney appeared considerably relieved, being in sharp contrast to the previous day when he had left the dock in tears under the threat of a ‘Wilful Murder’ charge.

The prisoner was immediately taken to the railway station and conveyed to Kirkdale Gaol, Liverpool, to await his trial. The Summer Assizes took place just a few days later and when McKearney appeared in the dock, he pleaded guilty to Manslaughter and not to Murder.

The prosecution agreed to accept the plea. It had been thought that the woman’s death may have been caused by wounds other than the kick in the abdomen, but this theory was dismissed by the medical experts. Whilst accepting that he kicked his wife, his counsel urged the court to believe that he had no intention of trying to kill her.

When His Lordship Mr. Justice Lindley summed up, he remarked that he was quite satisfied from the depositions that no knife was used and he expressed the belief that when the kick took place McKearney did not have his boots on.

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Bringing proceedings to a close His Lordship then announced that he was sentencing the prisoner to 15 months hard labour. The powerfully built labourer, who had held his head down throughout the proceedings, seemed immediately relieved when he heard the sentence imposed.

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