Melbourne Daily Telegraph (5)
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Witness heard Dan Kelly say, “Send the woman in” and Byrne asked if he would send Weekes in too. Kelly replied, “No don’t send him in.” Byrne then left witness without saying anything, and he did not cave the place for a quarter or half an hour. He could not say when the outlaws left the place.He reached his house at half past 9?. He left Sherritt’s residence at a quarter past 9? Byrne asked him if his horse was at home and told him to give no information of the occurrence.
An adjournment for an hour here took place.
Antoine Weekes continued: He said he identified the body seen by him at the Vine hotel as that of Aaron Sherritt.
Ellen Sherritt , wife of Aaron Sherritt, deposed she and her husband were at their residence in the company of her mother and four constables on Saturday last.A knock came to the door of the house and she heard a voice which she knew and said to her husband it was Weekes.Her husband asked Weekes what he wanted, and he said he was lost and wanted him (her husband) to show him the way. When her husband went out he said, “Who’s there?” Byrne said something which she did not catch, as he fired immediately. When the shot was fired her husband made his way back to the house, and Byrne stepped in side the door, and shot him again. Deceased then staggered a little and fell without a groan.She and her mother were in the room with her husband.At the time when the second shot was fired she ran into the bedroom, and when she returned she asked of Byrne.“Why did you shoot Aaron?”Byrne replied, “ If I didn’t he would have shot me if he got a chance.”He also told her to bring out a man whom she said was stopping with them that night, and was looking for work.Byrne asked her mother to open the front door, and as she did so, witness saw Dan Kelly, who pointed a revolver at her.Byrne who was standing behind Weekes called her and her mother out of the house and asked her why she did not bring the men out.She replied that they would not come out. Byrne then stood behind her, and fired two shots into the bedroom wall and told Dan Kelly that there were windows in the front of the house.Byrne sent her into the house several times to fetch the men out, and whistled and beckoned up the bush, but nobody came.When she went into the house for the third time, the policemen would not allow her to go out again. Dan Kelly then went to fetch bushes to burn the house down, in order to bring her out. Her mother shortly afterwards came into the house.About two hours after the first shot was fired, two of the constables shut the doors, but she heard voices outside for two or three hours afterwards.She also heard the dog barking. She was in the house at about 8 o’clock on Sunday morning, when Mr O’Donohue received a letter to take to Beechworth, but returned with it shortly afterwards. One of the policemen afterwards took the message at about 9 o’clock. The police would have separated earlier, but they considered that there were few enough of them to reulse an attack.
To the Coroner: No shots were fired by the police, but two of them stood at either side of the door with their weapons ready. When in the bedroom it was impossible for the police to cover either of the outlaws. If the police had rushed out they would have been shot down, and if they fired at the outlaws they would have struck her and her mother. Five or six shots were fired into the house. About half or three quarters of an hour elapsed from the time that the first shot was fired until her mother returned to the house. She could not say whether the confederates of Byrne and Kelly were present at the house.
To a Juryman: The police walked around the house when it became daylight, but could not see the outlaws. The police could be seen although they could not see the outlaws.
To the Coroner: Shots were fired at the house, but witness did not know whether they went throught or not.
Constable Armstrong deposed: He was in charge of the watch party of four on duty at Sebastopol.The party stopped in a hut at Sebastopol during the day, and at night they were engaged watching Mrs Byrne’s house.They generally left the hut at 8 o’clock in the evening, not returning till half past 3 or 5 in the morning.
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