Denis Hynes

Denis Hynes died from a head injury following a fight on 5 August 1911.

A 36-year-old collier was charged with his murder but acquitted at the Liverpool Assizes on Friday 10 November 1911.

The collier said that Denis Hynes had fallen and hit his head on the ground.

The police had said that the collier had kicked Denis Hynes.

The man was charged with murder but when the case came up for trial it was said that although the collier was charged with having kicked Denis Hynes, that the medical evidence indicated that Denis Hynes had died from a fall and he was tried for manslaughter.

Denis Hynes was also a collier. On the evening of 4 August 1911 he was at 3 Anderton Street with several other people having got there at 11pm. They had been drinking as it was pay day. They supped together and at about 11.30pm the collier, who also lived in Anderton Street, came into the house drunk and uninvited and started to quarrel with Denis Hynes.

The collier accused Denis Hynes of telling tales to the landlord of his house. The owners of the house at 3 Anderton Street asked the collier to leave and he quarrelled with them too and then left. As he was leaving he used a nasty expression to the owners of the house and said to Denis Hynes, 'I'll have it in for thee for telling the landlord tales'.

A few minutes after the collier left Denis Hynes went out to use the water closet. Later a man that had been at 3 Anderton Street when the quarrel occurred left the house to go to Denis Hynes's house but found that he was not home. On his way back he went past the collier's house and saw him cowering there in his entry. As he then continued his way back to 3 Anderton Street he passed 11 Anderton Street and saw Denis Hynes lying on the ground.

The man said that there was no one else around when he had seen the collier cowering at his entry. It was said that when the collier had been seen in his entry that he had been waiting for Denis Hynes to pass who he had previously threatened.

A neighbour then called to the man, 'The collier has kicked Denis'. He said that he had seen Denis Hynes and the collier struggling in the street.

Denis Hynes was carried into 3 Anderton Street and the police were called. However, he was by that time dead.

At the trial the collier said that he had seen Denis Hynes coming down the street in a very drunk state and had offered to take him home and that Denis Hynes had told him to let go of his arm and that when he did Denis Hynes fell to the ground and hit the back of his head on the pavement.

The collier was found not guilty of manslaughter and discharged.