Case Study: Analysis of Leighton v. Mary Dean (1880) Murder Trial

This document presents a comprehensive case study analysis of Leighton v. Mary Dean (1880), a historical murder trial. The case revolves around Mary Dean, a married woman, and her alleged paramour, Leighton. The analysis details the events leading up to the murder, including Leighton's visits to Dean's residence and a reported quarrel. It examines the testimonies of key witnesses, such as Mrs. Louisa Hill and Maggie Howard, providing insights into the sequence of events and the evidence presented. The document further explores the legal arguments and defense strategies employed by Leighton's counsel, including the claim that the fatal cut did not sever the carotid artery. Ultimately, the analysis focuses on the verdict, highlighting the court's decision to find Leighton guilty of the murder based on the presented evidence and witness statements. This case study offers a deep dive into the legal proceedings, evidence, and arguments of the Leighton v. Mary Dean case.

leighton v. mary dean (1880)
Academic Writing

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Mary Dean was reported to be married women who got married at the age of 17. But she had left
her husband, and after leaving him, she was supposed to be living an evil course of life. She used
to live in a house in West Twenty-sixth-street. It was alleged that Leighton was her paramour. He
had also mentioned it in his letter that he used to visit the Twenty-sixth-street on a daily basis.
Mrs. Louisa Hill was an elderly colored lady who used to live in the basement of the house in
west twenty-sixth-street. She knew both Mary Dean and Leighton as he used to visit there
regularly.
It was reported that later on, he had occupied a room which was just adjoining her room on the
first floor of a house in West Twenty-sixth-street. But prior to June 13, one day Leighton had left
the house. It was told that he and Mary Dean has a fight and due to which he decided to leave the
house. It was told by the witness of the case, Mrs. Louisa Hill, that on the same night when he
had left the house, he had attempted to get through the basement door. But Mrs. Louisa stopped
him from entering and asked him to get in through the main front door of the house. She then
went to Mary, and she told her that Leighton was outside and wants to enter. He then attempted
to enter into Mary’s room. But she had refused to allow him to enter. He said that he wanted to
have his coat which he had left there. Mary refused to give any coat and asked him to go away.
But he kept on insisting to enter. But she finally refuses to say that she will call the policeman
and just walked out on the sidewalk. Mrs. Louisa Hill observed that while she went on a
sidewalk, she again had a quarrel with Leighton. And she saw that at the end of the quarrel,
Leighton got angry and had cut the left side of her neck with a razor. She told the court that after
Leighton had cut her neck, Mary Dean came to Mrs. Louisa's room where she sat on the bed. A
man in the room at that time rushed and got a tureen which was filled with water. Mary then

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dipped her hand in that thrice and applied that water on her neck in order to stop the blood flow.
And soon after that, she fell on the floor and was dead.
There was one more witness Maggie Howard, who was Mary Dean's aunt. She told the court that
she was called upon by Mary Dean, her niece, just before she had left the house on a sidewalk.
She had gone to Mary's room as she was called by her, but on not finding her in the room, she
went to the front balcony and there she saw Leighton and Mary fighting with each other. She told
the court that there she saw Leighton had raised his arm and stricken her niece. Mary came to the
basement, and by the time Maggie could reach there running down the stairs, she saw Mary was
lying dead on the floor in Mrs. Louisa's room.
Leighton got scared and ran away, but he surrendered himself to the police the very next day. He
has already mentioned in his letter that he could have escaped the situation and could possibly
hide the weapon which was used to cut the neck of Mary Dean, but he still surrendered himself
to the police.
The prosecution was conducted against Leighton in the murder case of Mary Dean by Assistant
District Attorney Bell. Col. Charles S. Spencer. The only colored man in New York who had
appeared for Leighton was Mr. John F. Quarles. Although Leighton kept on insisting that he was
not guilty of the murder, as he claimed that it was testified by the Deputy coroner, that the cut
was a transverse one and it had severed the jugular vein and not the carotid artery. And thus he
claimed that it cannot be the reason for the death of Mary.
Finally, Leighton was held guilty of the cruel murder of the lady named Mary Dean and it was
alleged based on the statements of witnesses, that he had a fight with her and at the end of which
he got furious and in anger had cut the neck of Mary with the help of a razor and this cut by the

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razor was supposed to have damaged the jugular vein, and it was allegedly the main reason
leading to her death within a few minutes.