James CUSACK [5591]

  General Notes:

James,
Age Fiche Month Origin Page Port Ship Year Name
23 155 DEC SCOT 2 B METEOR 1858 CUSACK, JAMES

Peter and Margaret Cusack may have arrived in Melbourne on 8 December 1857 on the Ship the Ebba Brahe. However there is also a James Cusack onboard who is the correct age. The newspaper articles state that James arrived on the Meteor.

These distressing stories were found in Newspapers of the time.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THESE STORIES CONTAIN GRAPHIC DETAILS OF DEATH AND CAUSE OF DEATH

Freeman's Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1932) Sat 23 Jul 1870 Page 7
ANOTHER WIFE MURDER IN VICTORIA.
From the Alexandra Times.)
One of the most brutal murders that has ever been committed took place at Gooley's Creek, on Tuesday night last. On Wednesday morning the news spread like wildfire that James Cusack of Gooley's Creek, had murdered his wife, and that he had been arrested by the police. Cusack had been at Wood's Point on Tuesday, attending the Police Court on the charge of having an unregistered dog, and for which he was fined, 15s. He left the Point for his home in the evening, and on the way had some liquor to drink.

About 7 o'clock he got to Gooley's ; in a short time after screams were heard from Mrs. Cusack ; but as the parties were in the habit of continually quarrelling, little notice was taken, of them. At about 9 o'clock Mrs. Cusack was seen running with her hair down over her face and shoulders into the house of a neighbour named Elliott. On Mrs. Cusack entering the house she was asked what was up ; she replied that Cusack was beating her, and she was afraid he would kill her. She then sat down on an empty case ; in a few moments her husband, was heard calling her. She went to the door and seeing Cusack, went under the counter of Elliot's store to hide. She remained there some time and then went home. Cusack soon after went into Elliott's store and asked for a bottle of gin, and was told by the storeman that there was none. He then went elsewhere and procured the gin, which he took home. Shortly before midnight more screams were heard from. the direction of Cusack's house, and shortly after Mrs. Cusack went into the house of Patrick. Malone with very little clothes on and bare footed. Malone advised her to go home, as her child was crying. She said that, she had been an hour in a waterhole hiding from her husband, and that if he caught her he would be sure to kill her. In a little time. Cusack went into Malone's, and accused him of harbouring his (Cusack's) wife. He also accused him of being the cause of the row whereupon Cusack struck Malone. While that row was going on Mrs. Cusack went home, and this was the last time she was seen till Wednesday morning. On visiting the premises about midday on Wednesday the house presented an awful sight ; on the verandah were pools of human blood, together with hair. In the inside of the house the scene of the murder was still more horrible, In a small room off the front of the building was the murdered woman. The corpse did not look like that of a white woman in any way. The face was black. The whole of the body was one mass of bruises. There were plainly discernible the marks of a boot on the face. The constable on searching the house found several articles of clothing besmeared with blood, and an old shovel and a carving knife, both of which, bore, marks of blood. James Cusack was brought up at the Police Court on a charge of wilful murder.

After a patient hearing, which lasted all day, he was committed to take his trial at the next Criminal Session, to be held at Melbourne on the 15th of August next. During the trial the prisoner was very cool, and evidently but little moved at the awful position he was placed in, till two of his children came into Court to make a statement. Upon seeing them the prisoner was deeply affected. Cusack is a native Clare, Ireland, is about thirty five years of age.
He has previously held a good character, and was known as a hard working man. The murdered woman's maiden name was Anne Tynan ; she was a native of Tipperary, and was about, thirty years of age. She was considered a steady, tidy woman, and a good housekeeper. She leaves four children. The mayor, while at Gooley's Creek, succeeded in getting two of the ladies of that place to take charge of the children till such time as provision could be made to send them to some benevolent institution.

The Yass Courier (NSW : 1857 - 1929) Fri 26 Aug 1870 Page 4
THE GOOLEY'S CREEK MURDER.
Prom. the Melbourne Telegraph. )
Another sentence of death for murder has been recorded, making three within the short period of a month. The first was against the fisherman Patrick Smith, for the murder of his wife ; the next against Vair, for killing Thomas Cheale, the mining manager ; and now James Cusack is to be executed for having slain his wife, Ann Cusack, on the morning of the 29th June last, unless the Executive commute the sentence. Cusack's trial took place on Tuesday, at the Criminal Sessions, and lasted from ten o'clock in the morning until six o'clock in the evening. The court was crowded. The circumstances connected with Cusack's crime, and those connected with that of Smith, who is now in eternity, are almost exactly similar. Seldom do cases resemble each other as do these two.

In both instances the demon Drink caused the wilful destruction of human life. In each case it was shown that the murderer had been in the habit of beating his wife. Smith passed through the ordeal of his trial as if unconscious of his fearful position, and he went to the scaffold in apparently the same state of mind. Cusack's demeanour yesterday was identical with that of Smith. There was a look upon his countenance that cannot be described in words. Sorrow for what he had done was plainly depicted, but there was some thing beyond that. It was not fear, it was not anxiety. He listened to everything that was said, but the same expression was upon his face when his counsel used his powerful eloquence and learning in his favour, as when some damning piece of evidence was brought forward against him. He only betrayed emotion when his son, a little fellow six years old, was put into the witness-box to give testimony. Then the tears sprang into his eyes, and he was greatly affected. A strange anomaly was displayed in respect to this boy. As he was too young to be put upon his oath, the Crown Prosecutor asked that he might be examined under the statute provided for such cases, and his Honor Judge Barry proceeded to question the lad as to his understanding, when it was elicited that he knew what the truth was, but did not know the nature of a lie. He had never been to school, but he had been taught to say his prayers by his father. His honor said he could not dispense with the knowledge of the difference between truth and falsehood, and declined to allow the child to give evidence. The particulars of this gloomy tragedy may be thus narrated. On the evening of the 28th June the prisoner, who kept a kind of shanty at Gooley's Creek, induced a minor named Patrick Malone to accompany him to his house. They went together, and Cusack asked his wife for the bottle, which she refused to give him, upon which he knocked her down with his fist. Seeing the state of mind the prisoner was in, Malone said to Mrs. Cusack, "You had better give him the bottle, to save yourself ' from a beating." To which she replied that she had nothing but port wine in the place ; and she then gave her husband a bottle, and he went away to procure some liquor. Presently he returned with the bottle full of gin, and he and Malone had each a drink, the prisoner taking his liquor " neat." They had two or three " nips " together, and during this time Cusack became very quarrel some, and continually found fault with his wife. He taxed her with having received his mates, and laughed with glee at the fact that the bridge over the Goulburn having been washed away by the floods she could not see any of them that night. He would not' be contradicted, and several times when his wife said anything that did not please him he knocked her down, and, while she was on the ground, kicked her.

Malone remonstrated with him, but he said that he had made up his mind what to do, and it was no use talking to him. This state of things continuing, Malone refused to stay in his company any longer, and went home to bed. After he had been in bed a short time, Mrs. Cusack came and tapped at his window, asking, as she had frequently done before when her husband beat her, for protection.

He got up, and went to the door, where he saw the prisoner. The latter asked him if his wife was there, and receiving a negative answer, struck him in the face. Malone retaliated by striking him back, whereupon Cusack went away, only, however, to return in a very short time. Malone then, to satisfy him, got up and searched the house with him, to see if Mrs. Cusack was there. She was not there, and the prisoner went away, and Malone returned to his bed. Presently he was aroused by Mrs. Cusack knocking at the door, and he admitted her. She was then in a lamentable condition. Her hair was all down about her face, one of her eyes was closed and swollen, and her dress was wet and dirty, as if she had been dragged through the mud.

She was sitting by the fire to dry herself, when the prisoner came in, and at once made a blow at her. Malone stepped between them, and a fight ensued between him and the prisoner, which resulted in the latter's defeat, and he agreed to go peaceably away if the other would not punish him any more. Malone agreed, and on regaining his feet when the bargain was made - seeing some of his wife's clothes before the fire, threw them into the burning material, but on compulsion took them out again and went away, carrying the things with him. In the mean time Mrs. Cusack had left the place, and gone to a store some quarter of a mile distant, where, on finding that her husband had followed her, she hid beneath the counter until he had departed. Previous to her having gone to Malone's, Cusack was seen by a miner named Thomas Moore to beat her. After leaving the store, about 10 o'clock, the deceased (Mrs. Cusack) must have gone to her house, for a next door neighbour named Kenny heard screams about this time, which lasted for about fifteen minutes. As the prisoner and the deceased were so in the habit of quarrelling, Kenny did not trouble himself about the affair. About midnight, Kenny was awoke by Mrs. Cusack calling out to him at his bedroom window, " Charlie, Charlie," in a voice of supplication. Not caring to interfere in what he thought was a matrimonial squabble, he remained in bed, and Cusack and his wife went to their own house. Shortly after this, Kenny heard Mrs. Cusack screaming again, and also noises as of stamping on the floor, running about the room, and thumps or kicks, in the prisoner's house. It should here be stated that Malone's dwelling is only twenty yards from that of Cusack, and that Kelly occupied a house between the two. The noises mentioned lasted for about fifteen minutes, and then all became quiet. About 8 o'clock in the morning, Malone went to the prisoner's house and saw blood about the verandah, and also mud. He saw the prisoner sitting by the fire, with his four children getting their breakfast, and he told the prisoner that he intended to summons him that day for his behaviour on the previous night-. Cusack to this replied, "For God's sake, don't speak about summonses now, for I have got enough trouble ; the story is bad enough now." Malone returned home, but shortly afterwards again went to the prisoner's house, which he found locked. He demanded admittance, and the door was opened by a son of the prisoner. He went into the bedroom, and there he saw Mrs. Cusack lying upon the bed in a horrible state, which we shall here after describe in the words of Dr. Nash, who made the post mortem examination. When Malone saw her at the time she was lying in the bed, quite naked, with only a small portion of the bedclothes over her body. She in a weak voice called for a drink, and after having given her some tea, he went to his own house, where he was soon joined by Cusack, who said " The old woman is dead ; she died in my arms while I was washing her." He asked Malone what was best to be done, and was told that he had better report the matter to the police, because there would have to be a coroner's inquest. They then went towards the prisoner's house, and on their way were joined by Kenny and others. Before communicating the intelligence of his wife's death to Malone, the prisoner had washed her, and put a clean chemise upon her, and decently covered her over with the bedclothes, and in this condition she was found by all who saw her - dead.

Subsequently the prisoner gave himself, up to the police, and this is the statement he made to mounted-constable Gilfedder on being arrested, and after having been cautioned in the usual manner : - " I did not murder her.

She died in my arms while I was washing her. Paddy Malone is the cause of it. Malone is the ruin of me and my family. She was drinking yesterday and was drunk last night. She left the house between two and eight o'clock, and between eight and nine I went to look for, but couldn't get her. I then went home, but went out again at ten o'clock to look for her, and saw her staggering drunk at Malone's door, and asked her to come home, but she ran away. I went to Malone's place again at a quarter past ten, and accused him of harbouring her, and we had a fight.

I went again for her between twelve and one o'clock, and caught her outside Malone's door. I brought her home. I was in a temper, and I gave her a good deal of knocking about ; on the way, and might have given her the black eyes. After I got home I saw some blood on her face. She laid about on the floor all night in her wet clothes, and I found her lying so when I got up in the morning. I then saw that she had two black eyes and a cut under the chin. I did not ask her who did it, nor did she tell me. She has neglected me and the children) especially, since her brother was sent to gaol for larceny. She had been drinking constantly since, and I have had to cook my own and the children's meals. She used to go away drinking, and taking the advice of Paddy Malone." The prisoner was then locked up.

Here is the scene that presented itself at the house of the prisoner The verandah was covered with mud and gouts of blood. On one of the posts was a quantity of hair from the head of the deceased, and marks as if she had been holding on to it with bloody hands. On the floor of the verandah opposite the window was a pool of blood. In the front room of the house there was about a pint of blood in a pool, and the whole of the floor and the walls were bespattered with blood. In the bedroom the sofa was saturated with blood. And now for the unfortunate victim of the prisoner - his wife. Here is the evidence of Dr. Nash, who made the post mortem examination upon the body : - The face of the deceased was like that of a black person. It was completely black.

The eyes wore entirely shut and swollen, and the hair was matted with blood. There were longitudinal scratches on the cheeks, and the nose was broken flat ; and on the left side of the chin was a wound half an inch long, which penetrated to the bone, and was apparently caused by a blunt instrument. The arms were all scratched, and there were abrasions about the wrists. The whole of the body, from the neck to the toes, was more or less marked with bruises, scratches, and small wounds. On the thighs three or four patches of skin, varying in size from a shilling to half a crown, were removed. The skin on the shins was so contused as to give the appearance of having been scorched to a large extent. There was an extensive tear about the anus, measuring 3 1/2 in. long. The scalp was saturated with clotted and semi-fluid blood, and the brain was swimming in extravasated blood. The cause of death was extravasation of blood on the brain, caused by violence. In disproof of the prisoner's statement that his wife had been drinking, the doctor said that all her organs were healthy, and that in the stomach he only found 8 oz. of fluid, which he considered to be either tea or coffee. As these hideous details came out the court was convulsed with horror.

The counsel for the prisoner, Mr. Ireland and Mr. Duigan, did not attempt to deny the committal of the crime by the prisoner ; but the learned Queen's Counsel delivered an impressive address, in which he tried to exonerate his client to' a certain extent, on the ground that the deceased woman was improperly familiar with Malone, and in which he urged that a verdict of manslaughter would be quite sufficient to meet the ends of justice. Their was not the slightest evidence to prove infidelity on the part of deceased ; but the jury, in returning a verdict of " guilty of wilful murder," recommended the prisoner to mercy, on account of his suspicion of an improper intimacy between his wife and Malone." His honor then addressed a few preliminary remarks before passing sentence. He dwelt on the enormity of the crime, and explained that the law was not revengeful, but was made to punish one in order to deter others committing themselves. He further expressed his hope that the present case would carry its weight in domestic circles, and be a warning to wife-beaters. It could not but prove that the practice of wife-beating tendered to lower a man to the condition of a brute and make him reckless of consequences. He would as in duty bound, forward the recommendation of the jury to the Executive, but he could hold out no hope of mercy to the prisoner. His honor then in a most impressive manner passed the sentence of death according to the usual formula, and the prisoner was removed to the condemned cell in Melbourne gaol.

The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) Tue 30 Aug 1870 Page 3
EXECUTION OF JAMES CUSACK.
This morning, within the precincts of the Melbourne Gaol, the condemned prisoner.
James Cusack, paid the penalty for the commission of a cruel murder, in the presence of the Acting Sheriff, the Chief Medical Officer, members of the Press, a staff of gaol officials, and about thirty visitors. The time for the execution having been fixed for 10 o'clock, with terrible punctuality Mr. Ellis, the Acting Sheriff, approached the condemned cell and demanded the body of the doomed man.

With little or no delay the attendant of the Rev. father Lord en stopped from the cell, carrying a crucifix, and was followed by Cuaack and the Rev. Father, who read in distinct tones the burial service for the dead, the prisoner giving the responses. He walked from his cell to the fatal drop with a firm step being perfectly calm and collected, and not a shadow of fear could be observed on his features. During the operation of pinioning he maintained perfect silence. The Cap having been placed over his head, with startling suddenness the bolt was drawn, and Cusack hung from the beam, the last act in that terrible tragedy - The rope had been so clumsily adjusted that for full three minutes violent muscular action of the arms and legs took place. It is stated that Cusack was of so strong and muscular a build that had the fall been one foot more, in all probability the rope would have snapped. This may account for the hardness of his death. It was observed that he retained possession of a handkerchief he held in his left hand during the whole of the execution. We are informed that the previous night he ate heartily and slept well. At an early hour he was visited by the Rev. Mr. Lorden, who remained with him to the close. Cusack had a last interview with his children and sisters yesterday. He was also visited by a brother whom he had not seen for three years, and who had travelled from Kyneton for that purpose. This brother was outside the walls of the gaol during the time of the execution. A brother of Cusack's victim, who is under going a sentence of two years on the hulks, visited the prisoner yesterday, and a most painful meeting took place between Cusack and himself. We are not aware if any confession has been made by the condemned man. At any rate, whilst preparing for death, he made no sign of acknowledging the justness of his fate. An inquest was hold on his body at half-past 12, and a verdict usual in such cases given.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957) Wed 31 Aug 1870 Page 7
EXECUTION OF CUSACK.
The sentence of death passed upon James Cusack for the barbarous murder of his wife at Gooley's Creek, was carried out in the Melbourne Gaol yesterday morning, at 10 o'clock. It will be remembered that the jury who convicted the prisoner of the murder of his wife strongly recommended him to mercy on account of the suspicion he had that his wife was on terms of improper intercourse with Patrick Malone, a neighbour; but the Executive Council, after considering the case, in conjunction with Mr. Justice Barry, decided that the sentence of death already passed upon the prisoner must be carried out. There can be no doubt that the great and continued cruelty that the prisoner used towards his wife on the night when he murdered her, together with the manner in which he had brutally treated her on previous occasions, prevented the Executive Council from attending to the recommendation of the jury and commuting the sentence, as, no matter what his suspicions of his wife might have been, they did not justify his conduct towards her. The deceased is the second man who has been executed within the present month for the murder of his wife, and, like the former man, he said he was so much under the influence of liquor at the time that he could not afterwards remember what had taken place.

Whether such was the fact was a matter best known to the men themselves; but such a statement, especially in Cusack's case, where the atrocities must have extended over some time, appears rather improbable.

At 10 o'clock yesterday morning, Mr. Ellis, the acting-sheriff, attended in the gaol and demanded the prisoner, who was given up to him by Mr. Castieau, the governor of the gaol. The prisoner, preceded by the Rev. Mr. Lordan, the Roman Catholic chaplain, and an assistant, came out of the cell about a minute afterwards. He was immediately pinioned by the hangman, and appeared to be trembling rather violently during the operation, but when it was completed he walked steadily on to the drop, which was little more than a yard distant, and reverently kissed the crucifix held by the chaplain's assistant. The hangman then completed his preparations, the prisoner paying great attention to the chaplain, who was reading prayers during the whole time. Before the drop fell he told Mr. Castieau, in a voice which was not audible to such of the public as were in attendance, to give the clothes he had on him to Bill, the turnkey's man. The rope having been adjusted, the prisoner again kissed the crucifix, after which the bolt was drawn, and the prisoner dropped; but it seemed as though he did not die for nearly five minutes after he fell, there being during all that time strong twitchings of the limbs and chest. It was thought by the spectators, of whom there were about 30, that the vertebræ of the neck had not been broken, and that the prisoner died merely by hanging, his strong muscular frame enabling the life to remain in him so long. So apparent did it seem that the prisoner was not dead, that twice while he was hanging the chaplain recommenced reading prayers for him. When the body was taken down, however, it was ascertained that the neck had been broken by the fall.

The deceased, who was a native of county Clare, Ireland, and was 33 years old at the time of his death, arrived in this colony in the ship Meteor. When the murder was committed he was a working miner and keeper of a grog shanty at Gooley's Creek.

He has left four children, who are now in the Industrial Schools, and besides these relatives he had several brothers and sisters in the colony, who are understood to be very respectable working people.

Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954) Sat 3 Sep 1870 Page 7
EXECUTION OF JAMES CUSACK.
James Cusack, who so brutally murdered his wife at Gooley's Creek lately, was executed in the Melbourne Gaol on Tuesday. Precisely at 10 o'clock he was called forth from the condemned cell by the sheriff, according, to the usual formula. Though he had hitherto been resigned to his fate, he was evidently agitated as he found death so near approaching. When he came out from his cell he was pale as a corpse, and he trembled perceptibly while the hangman performed the duty of pininiong him and placing the cap over his head and when the rope was being adjusted around his neck, a shudder ran through his frame, and he nearly sank upon his knees. He only made one remark to the governor of the gaol while on the scaffold, which was, " Please sir, give these things I have on me to Bill, the turnkey's man." He several times kissed a crucifix he held in his hand, while the Rev. D. Lordon read the prayers suitable to the 'occasion. Everything being in readiness the signal was given, and the drop fell. The neck was broken at once but the man being of very strong build, the muscular contractions were prolonged for nearly five minutes. After having hung the customary time the body was cut down, and after an inquest had been held was buried within the precincts of the gaol. Cusack was thirty-three years old , and a native of county Clare, Ireland. He came to this colony in the ship Meteor in the year 1858, and has followed the occupation of a miner. At the time he committed the crime for which he has paid the - fearful, penalty of the law, he was the keeper, of a grog shanty at Gooley's Creek. Several of his relations - brothers and sisters - who are in the colony, are very respectable working people. He leaves four young children, who are in the Industrial Schools.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. LifeSketch: James, Peter and Margaret Cusack appear to have arrived in Melbourne on 8 December 1857 on the Ship the Ebba Brahe. ⁵¹⁴³

James married Anne TYNAN [9954] [MRIN: 3259], daughter of Denis TYNAN [12429] and Honorah [12430], in 1863 in , Victoria, Australia ⁵¹⁴³.^,5144 (Anne TYNAN [9954] was born in 1841 in , County Tipperary, Ireland,⁵¹⁴³ died on 29 Jun 1870 in Gooleys Creek, Victoria, Australia ^{5143,5148,5149} and was buried on 1 Jul 1870 in Woods Point, Vic, Australia ⁵¹⁴⁹.)