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"O'Brien, Lauder Get Five Years," Niagara Falls Review. October 16, 1933. Page 1 & 2. ---- SENTENCES ARE IMPOSED FOR MANSLAUGHTER AND RAPE AT ASSIZES TODAY ---- O'Brien and Lauder must serve five years in pen. ---- COURT CROWDED ---- Killing of Hay and his daughter related by witnesses. ---- John J. O'Brien, of Niagara Falls, N.Y., was sentenced to serve five years for manslaughter arising out of the death five and a half years ago of William Hay in Stamford township. Hay was struck down and killed by a car driven by O'Brien, he disappeared the day following Hay's death and was not located until Hull, Quebec police arrested him recently on another charge.

5 Years For Lauder Martin Lauder, former Buffalo hockey star, was sentenced to five years imprisonment to-day for rape. He was found guilty Friday. Lauder wept as he was led away to the cells.

The courtroom was crowded for the sentencing of the two men. Lauder's offence involved a 17-year-old girl.

Mother Breaks Down O'Brien's mother was in court in a state of collapse when the verdict was announced. His Lordship, in accepting the guilty verdict, stated the jury had reached a proper conclusion on the evidence presented.

The charge against the accused dated back to the night of March 11 1928, when William Hay of Stamford and his 3-year-old daughter, Joan, were returning from a church service, the child being in his arms, when he was knocked down by a car driven by O'Brien, both being fatally injured, the child having her arm completely torn off. The drive er of the car did not stop, but continued on his way, and the next day left the country. Early in July of this year O'Brien was arrested in Hull, and investigation by the Niagara Falls police established the arrested man as the one wanted by them.

The defense case centred mainly on the evidence of the accused, which admitted that O'Brien drove the car that knocked down Hay, but maintained that he had struck a parked car, and not any human being.

Law's Long Memory "The law has a long memory and a long arm." Thus spoke L. M. Frost of Lindsay, crown prosecutor at the Welland fall assizes Saturday afternoon, when he related to the jury the story of the case of John J. O'- Brien, Montreal, charged with man- slaughter at the present sessions in connection with the death of William Hay of Stamford township. which occurred five and one-half years ago on the evening of March 11, 1928.

Dr. Arthur Whytock of this city, who was called to the Hay home immediately following the accident, said Hay was dead on his arrival. Witness conducted post-mortem examination and found that Hay's Injuries consisted of fractures to the jaw, spine, both bones of the right lower leg, and that the deceased had suffered hemorrhages of the nose and ears. Death had been instantaneous. Witness also saw the body of deceased's daughter, Jean. Her arm had been torn off and death had resulted almost instantly from a resulting hemorrhage.

Identifies Plates W. J. Loney, said he was a member of the Niagara Falls city police in 1928 and was on duty at the corner of Lundy's Lane and Main street on the evening of March 11, 1938. He paid particular attention to a car that made a sharp turn at the corner. It bore N.Y. license number 8E5487 and the right front fender of the machine was bent upwards as though the car had been In an accident. Witness identified two license plates produced by Crown Prosecutor Frost as bearing identical numbers as the machine he observed on the night in question.

Provincial Constable Thomas Wilkinson, who investigated the accident, said there was windshield glass and a headlight lens smashed on the road, also three pools of blood. Witness also saw the arm of a child on the road. Parts of the glass were picked up and hand- ed to Inspector C. F. Airey by witness, and the following morning, in company with Provincial Constable Priest, witness investigated further and found part of a steel bracket on the Thorold stone road, west of the scene of the accident It was the part of the sun visor bracket of a car.

On the morning of March, 13, 1928, witness, accompanied by Constable Priest and Inspector Airie proceeded to the old hydro dump at Montrose in response to a call. The officers found a Chevrolet coupe, without license plates. The right front fender was bent up- wards, the right headlight bent backward, there was a dent in the hood and the sun visor had been removed. The windshield was smashed and part of the front work on the front door was missing. Witness fitted the steel bracket, found on the Thorold road, on to the sun visor equipment of the car Glass in the car was of the same thickness as that found on the road near the scene of the accident.

Find License Plates The officers later proceeded to the old hydro yards in Stanley street and there found a set of N. Y. state license plates, a sun visor and an iron frame. Witness identified the markers, which were entered as an exhibit. The parts fitted the car found at the Montrose dump.

Provincial Constable T. W. Old- field said he drove the car, found in the dump to a garage for storage. The brakes on the car seemed to be very weak, he stated, but no definite tests were made.

Inspector C. F. Airey of the Provincial police, corroborated the evidence of Constable Wilkinson. Witness identified a paper slip found in the car. a carbon copy of a repair bill from a Niagara Falls, N.Y., garage. It was made out to the name "O'Brien."

Francis Farrell Francis Farrell, 625 Second Ave.. Niagara Falls, testified that on the afternoon of March 11, 1928, he had been with John O'Brien. They played cards and had some drinks and in the evening witness started for St. Catharines, with O'Brien driving his own car, Witness said he went to sleep but awakened on the Thorold stone road on hearing a crash. He felt blood running down his face from a cut artery back of the right eye. "What happened?" witness asked O'Brien. "I think I hit a car," O'Brien replied, according to witness, O'Brien kept on going and drove to Lundy's Lane vis the racetrack road and eventually to Farrell's garage on Maple Street, Niagara Falls, where the car was paced, O'Brien and witness then proceeded to the home of Farrella cousin, Mrs. Ann Mulligan on Maple Street. There O'Brien told Mrs. Mulligan that he had been driving the car. A doctor was summoned to attend to witnesses injuries after which witness went home, O'Brien re- maining. Next night witness and his brother took the car to the hydro yards in Stanley Street and left it there. This was done after a conversation with accused's brother, Ed. O'Brien, since deceased.

Allege Car Stripped Later that evening, witness, in the company of a Mr. Hill and a Mr. Goodman, proceeded to the hydro yards, stripped the car, concealed the parts in a pile of lumber and removed the car to the hydro dump at Montrose. Witness didn't see accused again until July of this year.

Dr. Mundell testified to attending Farrell on the evening of the accident. The wound on the side of Farrell's face was apparently caused by something sharp.

Mrs. Mulligan told of Farrell and O'Brien coming to her house on the night of the accident, Both said they had been in an automobile accident and O'Brien remark- ed that he had been driving, witness testified. Farrell went home after being treated and O'Brien asked if he could stay all night. Witness said he could and O'Brien went to bed. O'Brien appeared to be under the influence of drink but not as much so as Farrell, Mrs. Mulligan stated. Cross-examined by A. L. Brooks, Mrs. Mulligan said O'Brien did not appear to be excited when he entered her home.

Fred Goodwin, of Niagara Falls, who was a taxi cab driver in March, 1928, said O'Trien called him by phone on the day of March 12, and as a result, witness drove accused to Niagara Falls, N.Y.

M. T. Few of the Kellogg Motor Sales, Niagara Falls, N.Y., identifled a carbon copy of a sales slip issued by his firm. It was the slip police claimed was found in the abandoned car. It was for repair work, witness stated.

Lindsay Roy, service manager for the Kellogg Company, said his firm had a lien on a car, operated by accused in 1928. Witness secured the car in a private garage in a damaged condition in Niagara Falls, Ont. O'Brien had had work done on the car, witness stated.

Accused Testifies The accused, John J. O'Brien, was the chief witness called this morning by defense counsel Allan Brooks, He gave his age as 37 and said he was an electrician, having followed that occupation since the war, in which he served with the U.S. naval forces.

Tracing his activities on the day of the accident, witness described meeting Francis Farrell in the afternoon at Niagara Falls, Ont. They proceeded to a Mr. Hills' to inspect a speedbox for a motor- boat, and about 6 o'clock, witness and Farrell proceeded to another house. About 8 o'clock they started to drive to St. Catharines, along the Thorold Stone Road, Witness estimated that the car was travelling at a speed of about 35 miles an hour. "I was driving along the centre of the road and near the Dorchester Road, I pulled to the right to avoid a collision with a car coming in the opposite direction. As I pulled over I heard a crash. I knew I had hit something and I thought it was another car. Farrell, who had been sleeping beside me, awakened and asked 'what happened? He was bleeding badly from the face and when I noticed his condition, I stopped slowing up, deciding to hurry Farrell to a doctor. I stated to take him to Thor- old, but he asked me to take him back to Niagara Falls to his own doctor and I did so." witness stated. Denies Under Influence of Liquor

O'Brien denied that he had been under the influence of liquor on the evening of the accident, saying he had only about three glasses of beer during the afternoon, He did not see any pedestrians on the Thorold Stone Road prior to the crash.

"When did you first know the - exact details of the accident?" I asked Mr. Brooks.

"I discovered what had happened when I read a newspaper in Nia- gara Falls, N.Y. the next day," witness replied. "I then felt sorry that I hadn't stopped, but I felt that the people would be prejudiced against me, so I got away," he added.

Under cross-examination by Mr. Frost, O'Brien admitted that he was sure now that the car he was driving struck Mr. Hay, although at the time of the crash he thought he had struck another automobile, he stated.

"Why would Mrs. Mulligan say you were drunk, if you were not sunder the influence?" Mr. Frost asked witness.

"I don't know, unless it was possibly to aid Farrell in the belief that I might say he had been driving," was the reply.

"Why didn't you report the accident?" Mr. Frost asked. "I had enough to look after," witness replied.

"Why did you have the car stripped and abandoned," the a crown asked. Witness replied that she knew nothing about the disposition of the car.

[O'Brien, alias Curran, was 37, single, from Manchester N.Y., and was trained as an electrician. He was convict #3240 at Kingston Penitentiary and worked in a machine shop at the prison. Reported a few times, he was deported April 1937 to the U.S. Lauder was 26, married, was a well-known professional hockey player, and was convict #3215 at Kingston Penitentiary. He was paroled December 1935.]

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