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Birchall’s Revolver
When Detective John Murray searched
Birchall’s lodgings after his arrest, he found a
revolver which had been thrown away. When
confronted about the revolver Birchall
admitted it was his and that he disposed of it
after he learned that he was considered the
prime suspect in the murder case. When
asked why he would do such a thing Birchall
explained that he knew Benwell had been
shot and was afraid that if he had been found
to own a firearm he would be blamed.
Upon further investigation it was found that
the calibre of the bullets that killed Benwell
were not a match to Birchall’s revolver. This
concluded that it could not have been the
murder weapon.