Monday 2 February 2015

Unsolved Sectarian Killing

In the early 1840s a woman was kicked to death in an apparent Sectarian attack but nobody was ever caught in relation to the crime.

At 5am on morning of 15th July 1842 Catherine Carney, a 34 year old who had come to Liverpool from Donegal, was set upon outside St James Church in Toxteth. The two men put their hands on her shoulders and called her an 'Irish bitch' before running away.


A few moments later the two men returned and beat her to the ground then kicked out violently as she was on the floor. One of them was shouting 'We'll finish you you Orange bitch.' As they made off she shouted loudly for a police officer but when one arrived, she was unable to give any description of the men, or even say if they had English or Irish accents.


Catherine was taken to the Infirmary where she was found to be very weak through loss of blood and remained in an insensitive state. A two inch long wound was discovered by a surgeon in what was described as a delicate part of her person' by the Northern Star newspaper


On 30th July a police superintendent was sent to see her but she was unable to provide any further information, saying that she felt she was near death. She died on 5th August and the jury at the inquest returned  a verdict of wilful murder by persons unknown. Her killers were never brought to justice.


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