Report of the trial of Daniel M’Naughton at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey (on Friday, the 3rd, and Saturday, the 4th of March, 1843) for the wilful murder of Edward Drummond, Esq / by Richard M. Bousfield and Richard Merrett.

Date:
1843
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the trial of Daniel M’Naughton at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey (on Friday, the 3rd, and Saturday, the 4th of March, 1843) for the wilful murder of Edward Drummond, Esq / by Richard M. Bousfield and Richard Merrett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    Witness—I also produce a pistol ball which I received from Colonel Drummond, the brother of the deceased gentleman. Cross-examined by Mr. Cockburn.— A few seconds only elapsed between the firing of the first pistol and my seizing the arm of the prisoner. When I seized him his right hand was elevated. Benjamin Weston, examined by Mr. Gurney.—I am an office-porter. On the afternoon of the 20th of January, shortly before four o’clock, I was in the neighbourhood of Charing- cross, when I heard the report of a pistol ; on turning round I saw a gentleman pointing to the prisoner, who was standing about three paces behind him. I then observed the pri- soner draw back a pace or two and draw a pistol from his breast; he then placed the barrel of his pistol in his left hand and cocked it; I then observed that the gentleman was reeling, and the prisoner was pointing the pistol at him. At that moment the witness Silver ran up and sprung upon him, seizing him by the arms. A scuffle then took place, and in the scuffle the second pistol was discharged. Cross-examined by Mr. Clarkson.—The prisoner drew the pistol very deliberately, but at the same time very quickly. As far as I can judge, it was a very cool deliberate act. I was about eight paces distant, and did not hear the cocking of the pistol, but from his mo- tion I could distinctly discern what he was doing. There was no one between the gentle- man and the prisoner. Mr. Richard Jackson, examined by the Solicitor-General.—lam an apothecary, residing in Charles-street, St. James’, Westminster. I knew the deceased, Mr. Drummond, from his infancy. I was intimate with him. On the afternoon of the 20th of January I was sent for to attend him at the banking-house, Charing-cross. I satisfied myself that be had been wounded, but did not examine the wound. I recommended his immediate removal to his own resi- dence, and accompanied him there in his carriage. Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Bransby Cooper, and other medical gentlemen, were soon in attendance upon him, and the ball was extracted the same day, within an hour after the injury was received, and I was present at the time. Mr. Drummond lingered till the following Wednesday, when he died. Mr. George James Guthrie, examined by the Solicitor-General.—I was called in to see Mr. Drummond about five o'clock on the evening of the 20th of January. Miss Drum- mond came in a carriage to my door, where I happened to be standing, and took me to his residence. I found Mr. Bransby Cooper there, who had examined the wound before my arrival; but as he had not found the bullet, we at once proceeded to make a further exami- nation. We then turned Mr. Drummond upon his back, and found the ball in the front, about half an inch below the skin, which was taken out by a lancet, not at the time having other instruments at hand. I continued in attendance upon the deceased to the time of his death, and was subsequently present at a postmortem examination of the body. I have no hesitation whatever in saying that his death was occasioned by the wound. In my opinion it is quite impossible that any person could have survived such a wound; the ball passed through the body directly, but not in a straight line. It wounded the diaphragm, and that is a wound which never heals under such circumstances. It is certainly a mortal wound. I never knew a person to recover from such a wound made by a ball ; but when occasioned by a lance, sword, or spear, 1 have seen it healed. I marked the ball at the time it was taken from the wound. Mr. Bransby Blake Cooper,examined by Mr. Waddington.—I attended Mr. Drummond, in conjunction with Mr. Guthrie and other medical gentlemen. I was present when the ball was extracted. I believe I took the ball from the incision made by Mr. Guthrie. (The ball was here produced.) I perfectly agree with Mr. Guthrie with respect to the nature of the wound, and have no doubt whatever that that was the cause of death. Mr. Guthrie examined the ball produced, and declared it to be the same which was extracted. George Walter Shew, examined by Mr. Gurney.—I am a policeman of the A division, No. 10. On the evening of the 20th of January I searched the prisoner’s lodgings, at No. 7, Poplar-row, Kent-road, and in the drawer of a table in his room, J found the powder flask, the percussion caps, the five leaden bullets, and the pistol key which I now produce. The bullets fitted the pistols used by the prisoner. By Mr. Bodkin.—The articles I produce were found in the drawer of a table which was pointed out by his landlady as being used by the prisoner. John Massey Tierney, examined by the Solicitor-General,—I am an inspector of the A division of police. On the evening of the 20th of January I went to the station-house in Gardener’s-lane, where I found the prisoner in custody. I did not then have any conversa- tion with him. Between the hours of five and eleven o’clock I visited the prisoner in his cell several times, and conversed with him. When I first went to him I gave him a caution that, in any conversation we might have together, he should say nothing to criminate him- self, as it might be used in evidence against him, I cautioned him in the same manner on