Mary Mulligan

Mary Mulligan died at her home at 17 Dock Street, Huddersfield after receiving injuries on 18 February 1900.

Her husband was tried for her murder but acquitted.

Her married life was said to have been an unhappy one.

It was heard that she was addicted to drink and her husband said that she had over-balanced herself and fallen to the bottom of a flight of stairs. He said that he had been trying to carry her upstairs at the time and that they had both fallen down the stairs together.

However, the medical evidence found that Mary Mulligan had injuries to both sides of her head and fractured ribs that could not have been inflicted in the way described.

Mary Mulligan was last seen alive at about 11.30pm on 17 February 1900 by her neighbour. The neighbour said that she left Mary Mulligan and her husband in their house at 17 Dock Street drinking whisky punch.

The next morning Mary Mulligan's husband went to see a man and said that it was:

And asked him to go and see her.

The man said that he then went to his house and found that Mary Mulligan was dead. He said that Mary Mulligan's husband then told him that he had been carrying Mary Mulligan up the stairs and that she had put her arm out against the wall and caused them both to fall to the bottom of the stairs.

However, the doctor that examined Mary Mulligan said that he found 50 marks of ill-usage on her body, five or six of which were separately capable of having caused her death.

When the police went to her house they found blood marks about the living room.

However, at the trial, the defence said that the case was one of suspicion based on assumption and told the jury that they had to find Mary Mulligan's husband either guilty of murder or to acquit him altogether.

After two hours of deliberation the jury found him not guilty and the judge, without comment, discharged him.

Dock Street has since been redeveloped and was approximately just north of Watergate.