knife on himself. He also slew his employer’s land manager that same night, or maybe it was earlier in the day. I really don’t remember anything beyond that, though; I think Ma and Pa kept the stories from us. They probably felt we were too young to hear of such a thing.”
Matilda pointed to a stack of newspapers to her left, all editions of the Saunders’s News-Letter. “I gathered together every issue mentioning the case.”
“What would prompt you to do that?”
She reached for the stack and dropped three of them in front of me, reading each headline aloud. “These are the three we saw: ‘Family Murdered in Malahide,’ ‘Land Manager Killed in Altercation at Farm in Santry House,’ and ‘Mass Killing in Malahide Father Suspected of Santry Estate Murder.’ The last one was dated 10 October 1854.”
Matilda pulled a second stack forward and tapped them with her finger. “These four came later. Go ahead and read them; the stories are not very long.”
“To what end?”
“Just read them, Bram.”
I sighed and pulled the first paper towards me. As with the others, the O’Cuiv story dominated the front page:
CROWN AUTHORITIES PUTTING TOGETHER PIECES OF THESE LOCAL DEATHS SUSPECT THAT THEY ARE ALL CONNECTED
Patrick O’Cuiv of Malahide will be charged for the murder of Cornelius Healy, land manager of the Santry Estate. In addition, once thought of as a victim, Mr. O’Cuiv will also be charged with the willful murder of his wife and two children. The grisly account of the at-home murder will likely be corroborated by the one surviving daughter, Maggie O’Cuiv. The authorities have determined that in spite of her tender age, she is fit and capable and will be best served by having her testimony taken by deposition which shall be admissible as evidence.
I looked up at Matilda after reading the first story; she retrieved the next paper and placed it in front of me before I could say a word.
MURDER TRIAL
Crown authorities have issued a statement about the recent murders in Santry and Malahide.
Mr. Patrick O’Cuiv will be charged with unwillful murder of Santry land manager Cornelius Healy. Public defender Simon Stephens, acting as agent for the defense of Mr. O’Cuiv, has entered a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds of reasonable rationale for self-defense. Mr. Brian Callahan has further stated that the three murders of O’Cuiv’s wife and family members were committed under duress of extreme hardship and drunkenness and will be tried as willful murders. Mr. Stephens claims that Mr. O’Cuiv was rendered hopeless by the prospect of being unable to provide food for his young, starving family. After being denied the purchase of grain at his place of work, he tried to steal an amount of grain. He was brutally punished by caning at the hands of Mr. Healy, which caused him to act irrationally and engage in fisticuffs with Mr. Healy. “Sadly,” stated Stephens, “Mr. O’Cuiv felt justified in the slaying of his own family as a reasonable method to reduce their suffering.” Stephens followed up by asking Judge Dermot McGillycuddy to dismiss charges on the basis that Mr. O’Cuiv was rendered insane by placing his family in such a sad predicament.
“My Lord, this is horrible,” I muttered.
Matilda slid the third paper over to me.
O’CUIV CHARGED WITH ASSAULT, NOT MURDER
The coroner has found that the death of Cornelius Healy was accidental, the result, according to witness accounts, of Mr. Healy’s slipping during a fair fistfight and hitting his head on a rock. The judge took advantage of the finding to add that denying Mr. O’Cuiv the opportunity to purchase grain for his starving family while such grain was being shipped out of Ireland is not justification for killing a man but certainly may be grounds for driving a man to desperate lengths to provide for his family. Mr. O’Cuiv was sentenced to five years of penal servitude.
Matilda handed me the final newspaper. Patrick O’Cuiv was again the headline.
O’CUIV SUICIDE
While the Crown Solicitor was pondering on the first day of deliberations the case against Mr. O’Cuiv for the killing of his wife and two