On Friday, 10 July 1931, a 65-year-old woman named Elizabeth Reck was beaten to death near her home in Castlebridge, County Wexford. She was unmarried and lived with her brother Francis Reck on their 40-acre farm in Crory, a few kilometres northwest of Castlebridge village.
For several years, the Recks had employed a former soldier named Henry Carty as a general labourer on their farm.
On the morning of 10 July 1931, Carty arrived at the farm at around 8:15am, 15 minutes later than usual. After helping Francis load a grubber onto a cart, he went inside and had breakfast, as was his daily routine. Francis later called for Carty to hurry up, as he wanted to travel to Crossabeg to weigh his pigs.
As Francis headed towards the public road, Carty caught up with him and remained silent. To break the silence, Francis asked Carty to guess the weight of the pigs.
Suddenly, Carty struck Francis in the face with a heavy object, knocking him to the ground. He then kicked Francis in the face and struck him on the head. When Francis regained his composure and stumbled to his feet, Carty began throwing stones at him.
Over the next 20 minutes, the two men continued to struggle as Francis attempted to retreat to his house. During the fight, Carty attempted to bite Francis several times. He continued his assault until Francis struck him on the head with an ashplant walking stick.
When Carty ceased his attack and walked away, Francis returned to his house. He asked his sister Elizabeth to walk to their neighbour William Shiggins’ house and ask him to contact the Gardaí.
At 9:30am, Elizabeth set off for Shiggins’ house, roughly a quarter of a mile away. When she informed Shiggins about the assault on her brother, he grabbed his bicycle and headed towards the garda barracks in Castlebridge. She started walking back home to tend to her injured brother.
Later that day, when Elizabeth had failed to return home, Francis set out to search for her, heading in the direction of Shiggins’ house. Along the way, he met William Shiggins’ wife, who told him that his sister’s body had been discovered on Crory Lane.
Elizabeth’s body was discovered about 200 metres from the entrance to the farm by postman Michael Neville and local man Martin Breen. When the two men first came across a woman lying on the side of the road, they called out and asked if she was well. They received no reply.
Although both men personally knew Elizabeth, they were unable to identify her because of the extent of her injuries. The injuries indicated she had been badly beaten. Mrs Shiggins did not identify her until later.
Meanwhile, William Shiggins was in Castlebridge reporting the initial assault on Francis to the garda barracks. Sergeant Keating, who was in the barracks at the time, agreed to return with him to the Reck farm.
As Shiggins and Sgt Keating cycled back towards Crory, they came across a local man named John Murphy. He told them that Elizabeth Reck had been found dying on the side of the road and that he was going to fetch a priest for her.
Shiggins and Sgt Keating continued towards the scene. Five minutes down the road, they spotted Henry Carty walking in the direction of Castlebridge. His face, hands, and clothes were covered in blood.
When Sgt Keating asked him where he was going, Carty responded: “I am going to Castlebridge to give myself up at the barrack. I have done the job.”
The sergeant then asked him if he had killed Elizabeth Reck. Carty admitted that he had, saying: “She’s as dead as stone in Crory Lane.”
Francis later reported that he had discovered his sister’s room ransacked and that it appeared someone was searching for money. According to Francis, he and Carty had previously spoken about Carty’s wages. He also noted that Carty had taken longer than usual to finish his breakfast that morning.
While in custody, Carty told his interrogators that he did not kill Elizabeth Reck wilfully. Moments later, he added: “You are going to hang me.”
In November 1931, a judge found Carty unfit to plead. Because so little is known about his fate following the hearing, historians presume authorities detained him in a psychiatric hospital. Being found unfit to plead in those days meant the person was detained at the pleasure of the Governor-General of the Irish Free State until officials considered them no longer a threat to society.