Chapter 8

James Mooney

1867

Ann Mooney had been married to her husband for some six years and they had one son, John, who was now five years old. The marital relationship, however, was a tempestuous one, James regularly assaulting his wife.

During the evening of Saturday, 29 December 1866, Ann was having a quiet, and totally innocuous conversation with a young man, who had been a friend of the family for a number of years. Suddenly, her husband strode up behind her, struck her on her back and demanded that she should return immediately to their home, at 9 Pembroke Place, Earl Street, Kensington. Anxious to avoid a scene in the street, Ann did as he had demanded.

Once inside the house, James’s temper did not improve. He immediately stripped his wife naked, hit her on the side of her face and threw most of her clothing onto the fire. Even now James had not finished with Ann. He beat her again and, by the time he had finished with her, she was barely able to stand. So bad did the assault become, that even their child shouted, ‘Mother, hide under the bed, father will kill you.’

As James ended his attack upon his wife, she managed to pull on a single, flimsy undergarment and run out into the yard at the back of the house. There she was seen by a neighbour, Hannah Penton, who took Ann inside and gave her some of her own clothes. Ann decided that it would be best if she stayed with Hannah, at least for the time being.

The next day, Sunday, 30 December, Ann Hayes, who lived at 8 Pembroke Place, decided to call on Ann Mooney during the morning. She did not know that Ann was staying, temporarily, with Hannah Penton, so obviously did not find Ann at home. Five-year-old John Mooney was at home, however, and Ann Hayes found him lying in his bed, apparently in some distress. Ann asked the boy where his parents were and John replied, ‘Poor mother ran away, and naughty father burnt me.’

At first, Ann did not really grasp the severity of what John had just said. Eventually she realised that this might well be a most serious matter and took her information to the police. That in turn led to a visit from Inspector Cross who visited the Mooney’s home later that same Sunday. He found that the bed quilt covering John showed signs of burning. Of John himself there was now no sign, but later Cross discovered that James Mooney had taken him to the hospital for treatment. That effort had proved to be rather too late and John Mooney had since died. Later, Inspector Cross traced James Mooney and arrested him on a charge of assaulting his wife, Ann, and of killing his child, by burning him.

James Mooney appeared before the magistrates on Monday, 31 December. After Ann Mooney, Hannah Penton and Ann Hayes had given their testimony, Inspector Cross stepped forward to detail his evidence.

Cross stated that when he had visited the house at Pembroke Place, he had seen ashes in the fire-grate which were consistent with the burning of some clothing. He had then examined the quilt on John Mooney’s bed and found that it was burnt at one end. Turning the quilt over, he found three small circular burn holes and evidence that water had been thrown over the bed.

Once James Mooney had been arrested and taken to the police station, he made a full statement giving his version of what had happened to his son. James said that he had left his son alone in the house when he went out to look for his wife. At the time, there was a single candle burning in the room, close to his son’s bed. When James returned home, the bedroom was in darkness so he asked John what had happened to the candle. John replied that it was in bed and when James lit a match, he saw that his son’s quilt was smouldering. It was James who ran for some water and threw it over his son’s bed. The next morning, John had complained that he had been burned and James then took him to the hospital.

Dr FH Sims was the house surgeon at St George’s Hospital. He confirmed that John had been brought in by his father on the Sunday morning. The child was quite badly burned on the back part of his thighs, his groin and also around his heels. He died within a few hours.

Matters were then adjourned to 4 January and on that date, no further evidence was offered against James Mooney, chiefly because, in the meantime, the inquest on John had returned a verdict of accidental death. There remain, however, a number of unanswered questions.

John Mooney had originally told Ann Hayes that it had been his father who had burned him. James, then said that the fire had been accidental, when either the candle had fallen into the bed or, more likely perhaps, John had been playing with it when his quilt caught fire.

If the first of those scenarios was the truth then James Mooney should have faced a charge of either murder or manslaughter. If, however, the second is true, and this was a tragic accident, why did the child not complain of the pain on the night that it happened? It is possible, though, that having seen what had happened to his mother, John had been afraid to tell his father the extent of the damage done to the quilt, so could not mention the damage to himself. It is still, at the very least, most unusual behaviour for a five-year-old.

It may well be that John Mooney was killed by his father, who then escaped the consequences of his cruel action.