William Randall Newspaper Report. 24/1/1879. Yass ???? William Randall (on bail) was charged that he did at Binalong on the 23 November last ----- with intent to do grievous bodily harm, one Elizabeth Randall. Prisoner: Pleaded not guilty. Mr. Healy prosecuted for the Crown. The Crown Prosecutor stated the case, and called: Elizabeth Randall, who deposed: I am the wife of prisoner and live at Binalong; I remember 23rd November last; I sent for some rum at 9 O'clock pm. we drank the rum; my husband was stupid from drink that evening; he was swearing, and I told him to stop, he said he would not; I told him if he did not stop I would hit him with a brick; I did not hit him; he struck me with his open hand on the side of the head; he was standing up; I don't know whether he hit me with ----- ---- ----- ---, when I came to myself I saw blood; I may have hurt myself in falling I can't say; I was stunned and fell down; the liquor I had drank and the blow knocked me over; I was sitting by the fireplace; there was no fender; the floor is brick; when I came to myself I was bleeding at the side of my head; there was a small cut; I was weak from the loss of blood; I sent for my daughter Mrs. Gibson. Mrs. Gibson came over immediately; I was lying on the bed; I don't know if Mrs. Gibson came over a second! time; I was in bed two days; I did not feel much pain. I am telling the truth; I don't wish to prosecute. - no wife does. Jane Ryan deposed: Prisoner is my grandfather; I remember my grandfather and grandmother quarrelling on the night of 23rd November last; prisoner picked up a boot and threw it at grandmother, but I did not see her hit with it; I saw her bleeding; that was after prisoner picked up the boot; I saw the prisoner beat grandmother with his hand; I made a mistake when I said at the Police court that the prisoner was beating my grandmother with a boot; he beat her with a closed fist; I went over to Mr. Gibson's prisoner sent me; I have not been talking to my grandmother about this case; my grandfather sent me sent me the second time to Mr. Gibson's; I gave the boot to the constable. James Gibson deposed: I am a laborer, residing at Binalong; I remember Jane Ryan coming to my place on 23rd November; I went over to the prisoners place in consequence; the old women was lying on the floor bleeding from the head; I got the girl to put her to bed; the prisoner was very drunk; he said nothing to me except to ask who I was; nothing was said about a row or quarrel; I found a gun-barrel on the floor. I saw spots of blood on it afterwards; it was lying near the old women; she was lying the door, and afterwards moved to the fireplace; the gun-barrel was kept in the fireplace; it was outside the fireplace when I saw it; I gave it to the constable; I saw it; I gave it to the constable; I saw the spots of blood towards morning; I went home and came back again, the little girl saying the old women was bleeding to death; the prisoner was where I had left him; the old women was very weak, and still bleeding; I did not speak to the prisoner he was still drunk; This time I! noticed the blood on the gun-barrel; I communicated with the police in the morning; I have had know conversation with the prisoner. To His Honor: The blood was near the bottom of the gun-barrel, near the breech; I did not notice if the blood was wet or dry; it was in the constable's hands; I did not take it to the police ; I showed it to the constable; I tried to stop the blood and then brought the police to the house; I don't know whether the gun-barrel was handed by me to the constable or not. To Crown prosecutor: The gun-barrel produced is the barrel I saw; it then as it now is; I swear I don't know whether the blood spots were wet or dry; when the girl came to me she did not say by whom she was sent. To a juror: The wound I saw in the women's head was a small one; it could not be caused by the nipple of a gun; the wound might have been caused by a fall; I have seen the gun-barrel before; the stock was then broken. To His Honor: I mean half a pint when I say a good quantity of blood; the wound was clean cut. Julian Madden deposed: I am a constable of Police stationed at Binalong; I remember Gibson coming to the station on the morning of the 24th about 1 O'clock from a statement he made. I went to the prisoner's house shortly afterwards; Gibson returned with me; on my arrival I went into the bedroom; I saw Elizabeth Randall lying on the bed; she was suffering from injuries to her head; her face and a large portion of her body was covered in blood, there was also a great quantity of blood on the bedclothes and floor, and also on the floor in the sitting-room; it was about 7 feet from the fireplace; the sitting-room has a smooth floor, it is either a brick or earthen floor; there was nothing about the floor to account for the wound. I examined the wound, it was on the right side of her head; towards the back the wound had jagged edges and was caused by a blunt instrument; it was a deep wound for a scalp wound. I probed it with my finger and it penetrated to the bone; she was bleed! ing but not much then; efforts had been made to stop the bleeding; it was a small wound, not more than a ¼ of an inch long; there were two other bruises on the head, and around the body; a blunt instrument could have caused them; the bruises on where on the ----- side -----; it was --- a gun-barrel (----) with a portion of the stock attached; Gibson handed it to me; the prisoner was present; prisoner said nothing to me then Gibson handed me the gun-barrel, I noticed the spots of blood on different parts of the barrel, and also on the hammer; the spots were also on one side of the barrel, and near the nipple, and on top of the hammer' the blood was quiet recent; I mentioned the blood to Gibson; the blood stained my hand; subsequently a boot was shown to me; Jane Ryan showed it; the boot produced had blood stains on the soul and heel, as if a person wearing it had walked through the blood; I got it the following morning at ten O'clock; prisoner had no boots on when I was there; I arrested prisoner next morning; I told him the charge and cautioned him; he made no statement then, but afterwards said that he new nothing about it, he was drunk,----- was very weak; s! he did not appear to be under the influence of drink. To prisoner: I observed the blood on the gun-barrel when I took it from your house; I have not wiped it; witness examined the gun-barrel to see if spots remained. To his Honor: The blood is not on the barrel now. Jane Ryan recalled. By a Juryman: Grandmother had a cap on when prisoner hit her; I saw the cap afterwards; I saw that the cap was torn; I didn't know how it was torn. Julian Madden recalled. To the crown prosecutor; The old women had no cap on when I saw her; she had a cap on the next day, evidently a clean one. Prisoner said he had no witnesses to call and hoped the jury would look into the case and do him justice. His Honor summed up and the jury retired at a quarter past 11 O'clock, and returned at half past 11 O'clock with a verdict of guilty of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and recommended the prisoner to mercy as they believed when he caused the injury he had no intention of inflicting it. His Honor did not see how he could receive the verdict, and asked the Jury if they were of the opinion that grievous bodily harm was unlawfully inflicted. Several of the jury said: Yes your Honor, that is what we mean. Julian Madden recalled and examined by his Honor: I have known the prisoner for about 7 months; he is from 63 to 65 years old; he bears the reputation of being a brutal man, and I am informed by members of his family that he has been in the habit of ill-treating his family; prisoner was convicted about nine years ago on a charge of larceny. Sub-Inspector Brauman corroborated Constable Madden's evidence, but did not know whether he had ever been convicted of a similar offence before. Prisoner had nothing to say why sentence should not be passed upon him. His Honor sentenced prisoner to imprisonment with hard labor in Yass gaol for two years. Was he guilty or not guilty.