'Blast the grog': the triple murder case that left a community 'horrified'

Believed to have taken place between 9 and 10pm, three people were "barbarously and brutally murdered" in the early days of 1871 on the night of Wednesday, January 4.

Allegedly "heard to threaten the whole family" in the past, evidence led Orange police to arrest Patrick Martin for shooting and killing his wife, Margaret Martin.

All living together, the other two deaths were Mrs Martin's parents and the man's in-laws, Thomas and Bridget Kane.

Mr Martin claimed he'd not been home the night of the killings, alerting authorities to the morning's findings around 8am the following day.

While two friends close to the man confirmed he was at their house that evening, both revealed Mr Martin had also left during the night for some time before returning "groggy" later on.

The alleged shooter was not able to accurately account his actions during the hours in between.

Testifying in court, the only known witness who was in the home at the time of the murders was the wife's six-year-old niece, Annie Macnamara.

Miss Macnamara told police her grandfather was shot "outside the hut" after going to inspect a noise during the night.

She said the latch on the main door was kicked in by the killer shortly after.

Asleep next to her grandmother at the time, the little girl recalled her grandparent being shot while laying in bed, which was after her aunty scurried to hide underneath it.

Mrs Martin supposedly met her death some moments later.

"When the man came in, aunt sung out 'Oh Pat, Pat, dear loving Pat' and granny sang out for mercy," Miss Macnamara deposed in court.

"The man came close to the bed and shot granny [while] aunt was still under the bed, and the shot that killed granny hit me on the ear [because] I was lying between granny and the wall."

"The man then took me from the bed and threw me on the ground as hard as he could, then he fired a shot at me when I was on the ground. I do not know whether the man pulled aunt out or she came out ... but it was not long after granny was shot that aunt was shot."

The man left the premises, and her aunty lay wounded on the ground.

Miss Macnamara said the woman asked for a drink and noted a baby in the room at the time - the first child of Mr and Mrs Martin.

"I brought the dish of milk [to my aunty] and her baby was on the bed grandfather was lying on," Miss Macnamara said.

"She told me if she did not live, that I was to take care of Molly [the baby]."

Performed by Dr Warren, a postmortem examination revealed the man's wife was roughly 26 years old, with the elderly couple aged somewhere between their 70s and 80s.

The doctor noted bullet wounds in all three victims, with Mrs Martin's abdomen "full of blood" at the time of review.

"The deceased was far advanced in pregnancy," Dr Warren deposed in court, "[and] the wound was such that the deceased could not have lived any length of time."

The little girl said her aunty's clothes were burning, which police said was likely triggered by gunpowder.

Going to sleep next to her deceased relatives with the baby nearby, Miss Macnamara said her niece was collected by Mr Martin after sunrise.

"When I woke at daylight, Pat [Martin] came in and he was crying," she said.

"He did not lift aunt or touch her, and he did not go into any of the bedrooms, or go outside the back door.

"All he said was, "poor Molly, you have no mammy now'."

The girl said Mr Martin then took baby Molly in his arms, exiting out the front door and heading to his father's house.

Following her uncle, Miss Macnamara said the man continued talking to the smallest child.

"On the way up, he said [to the baby], 'Molly has no mammy now'," she said.

"Blast the grog."

All witnesses said the prisoner in remand wore no coat when they saw him, which the court said "raised a difficulty" when it came to lacking evidence.

The girl, however, had sworn she saw the tail of Mr Martin's coat.

After a brief deliberation, the jury returned a "not guilty" verdict.