Thomas Dolan

Thomas Dolan was shot twice on 31 December 1907 at a house on George Street.

He had been shot several times by a man at the house and after gone to the hospital where he later died on 2 January 1908 in the afternoon.

He had two bullet wounds, one over the tip of his left shoulder and the other over the crest of his left hip bone. They were both about the size of a threepenny piece and sharply defined.

The wound to his hip had passed upwards and inwards and through his intestines having pierced five coils of the bowels making ten internal wounds. The coils themselves were congested and matted and covered with blood of which a considerable amount was found in the abdominal cavity.

The wound over his shoulder continued along the outer part of his upper arm bone and ended two inches above his elbow joint where the lead bullet was found embedded in the muscle.

The cause of death was given as being peritonitis and haemorrhage into the abdominal cavity by perforation of the bowel.

It was thought that at the time the shot into the hip was fired the shooter had been sitting or kneeling and that Thomas Dolan had been standing.

Thomas Dolan said in his dying declaration:

I went home on Wednesday morning about half-past twelve. There was a strange man there. The woman I lived with told him to get out. I went inside and told him to get outside. He said, 'It's all right, I'm going in a bit'. He then stepped back about a yard, put his hand in his hip pocket, pulled a revolver out, and fired three times. He fired four times and hit me three. I fell on the floor. He ran out. Another man came in and the man said that he would do for him. He was about 5ft. 6in. in height, weighed about 11 stone, and wore a dark mixed suit, dark complexion, slight moustache. He left a cap in our house. I thought he was German or French, but he spoke English very well. He appeared to be 32 or 33 years of age.'.

The woman that Thomas Dolan lived with said that she had lived with him for the last 12 months and in December they had gone to live at 9 George Court. She said that they both lived off of the earnings that she made on the streets.

She said that they went out on the evening of 31 December 1907 at about 8pm and went to a pub where she had a glass of beer and stayed for about half an hour before leaving Thomas Dolan there and going to another pub in Westgate where she had three bottles of stout before going back to the first pub where she met Thomas Dolan again. She said that she stayed for about 10 minutes and had two glasses of beer and then went off to a third pub where she had another glass of beer. She said that she then went back to the first pub where Thomas Dolan was and stayed there with him until 11pm.

She said that she could not remember if she had had anything else to drink as she was 'fresh' but said that after 11pm they went off to get some fish and chips. After she said that she left Thomas Dolan and went into Market Street where she met a man at about 11.45pm. She said that they bumped into each other and that he asked her if he could take her home and that she said yes and they went off together up along Wakefield Road to 9 George Court.

The woman said that when they got to 9 George Court the man sat down by a table and they talked and she asked him how much he was going to give her and she said that she thought that the man said he was going to give her 13 shillings and that he put his hand into his pocket and pulled out three shillings which he gave her. The woman said that she said, 'What's this?' and asked for the other ten shillings and that the man replied, 'Give me the three shillings back and I will give you the ten.

She said that while they were talking, but before he had given her any money another woman came in but that she left after ten minutes.

The woman said that the man talked about stopping all night but that she refused to give him back the three shillings until he gave her the ten shillings and that they began arguing over it. She said that he pushed her against a table and then put his right hand into his pocket and pulled out a revolver and said, 'This is what I'll give you'. She said that he pointed it at her and she screamed and ran around the table to get out but that the man followed her, at which point Thomas Dolan came in.

She said that Thomas Dolan got hold of the man and there was a struggle during which they both fell onto the floor in the corner. She said that Thomas Dolan then got up and then the man shot him. She said that she could not then see clearly for the smoke but said that the man fired the shots off right sharp and then rushed past her into the street and away.

She said then that Thomas Dolan said, 'He's shot me'. Later the woman called for a cab and they went off together to the infirmary.

However, whilst the Coroner's jury agreed that a man had been to 9 George Court for an immoral purpose, they said that he might have committed the act in self-defence and an open verdict was returned.