Mary Maloney: Voluntary Manslaughter

Mary Maloney is not guilty of first-degree murder. The homicide is believed to not be premeditated or deliberate. However, Mary Maloney is guilty of voluntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter is a killing that is strongly provoked (Homicide: Murder and Manslaughter). In the police report that was provided, Patrick Maloney was found dead in the living room of his home that is located on Lowell Street (Dahl). The cause of death was a strike of strong force to the back of his head (Dahl). The victim was only hit once with a blunt object such as a steel bar. The possible murder weapons that were found in the home were tested, but none of them fit the case appropriately. Mrs. Maloney is a stay at home wife and she is expecting a child. According to her statement, she was at the store purchasing groceries to prepare a lamb leg at the time of Patrick’s death (Dahl). Mary claimed that the only time she left the premises of the home was when …show more content…
The time of death was determined by the amount of livor mortis that was present throughout the body. Livor mortis is the settling of blood that can be seen as early as thirty minutes before death, and becomes more visible over time (Bevel 185). This indicates that Mary was home during the time Patrick was murdered. The examination of Patrick’s head concluded that he was hit in the head with a large object that resulted in minimal external bleeding, but massive internal bleeding. The entire skull was fractured and broken into small pieces. Contusions and lacerations were present throughout Patrick’s head. Contusions are the hemorrhage into the skin or tissues that tears blood vessels (Bevel 196). Lacerations are when the skin is torn when hit with sufficient force (Bevel 206). Surprisingly, there were no defense wounds found on the body. This means that Patrick was attacked by