For the bulk of their marriage, Andrew and Mary Kosowan had got on well together. By 1934, the Ukrainian couple had lived in the Strong Pine district of Saskatchewan, about 35 miles northeast of Prince Albert, for eight years, but had been in Canada for much longer, over 30 years. They had ten children, six sons and four daughters, all of whom were married and moved out except for George, their youngest son, and Lena, who was 23.
It was at this time that the couple’s marriage grew strained. According to Lena, all had been well until her father had transferred the deed for 80 acres of land to her. Her brother, Kost, had objected to this and her father had started going to see Kost frequently. Following these visits, he’d be cross with their mother and yell at her. Then, as time passed, he proceeded to give Kost equipment from their farm, including teams of work horses, sets of harness, wagons and other items. At one point, he even gave Kost a horse that belonged to Mary, which Kost was made to return.
Apparently, Andrew Kosowan had it in his head that he was going to go and live with Kost. Mary objected to this practice of taking their belongings over to Kost’s from time to time but things finally came to a head on July 5, 1934.
On that day, Lena said her father had come home from another visit to Kost’s and asked for his supper. Mary fed him and afterwards he went to the granary and took from a trunk a beautiful woolen, hand-woven Ukrainian blanket as well as another blanket and said he was going back to Kost’s.
Now, this was no ordinary blanket. Mary had made it herself and it was precious to her. She’d previously been offered quite a large sum of money for it and refused. It was clearly a prized possession and moreover, it was her’s.
Andrew obviously must have had some awareness of this, because he took a stick (possibly a broomstick or club, it was never clear) and told Lena and her mother not to come near him. Mary still tried to prevent him from taking the blankets, so he struck her, knocking her down. He caught her by the neck and ground her face into the dirt. Lena ran to their neighbour, Mrs. Kapustin, for help, telling them that her father was killing her mother.
When Mrs. Kapustin, her son, and Lena ran back to the house, they found both Andrew and Mary on the ground outside, Andrew bleeding and beaten. As they helped him up and took him to bed, he pronounced that Mary had beaten him, saying “Mother beat me, I am going to die, I want a candle.”
The police were called and Andrew was taken to the hospital in Prince Albert either the following day or two days later, depending on the article. He died on July 10th, at which point the police arrested Mary and charged her with murder.
The Coroner’s Inquest was held on July 17th and Mary Kosowan was named as the person responsible for Andrew’s death. He was about 77-years-old and she was 67. A preliminary hearing was held shortly after and on July 19th her charge of murder was reduced to manslaughter. Bail was fixed at $2000 and despite the fact that family feeling and sympathy was divided, three of her sons and Lena signed the bond to get her released.
The trial began on October 2, 1934 in Prince Albert before Justice W. E. Knowles. Representing the crown was G. M. Salter and for the defense was G. W. Elder and C. S. Davis.
Lena, as the only witness to the events, testified. As did Dr. J. Angus McDonald, the doctor who treated Andrew at the hospital. He told the court that when Andrew arrived, he had bruises about his eyes, a gaping wound in his right arm that was still bleeding and a splintered arm bone. His left leg was badly swollen and he was experiencing difficulty breathing. None of the individual injuries were sufficient to cause death, but the combination, as well as his advanced age, were enough of a shock to his heart that he was unable to recover.
Several neighbours testified, as well as their son, Kost, who was described by the newspapers as an “aggressive little man.” He’d been the one to bring his father to the hospital. He testified that his father had told him his mother had beaten him and that he still had the bloodstained clothes they’d removed from his father at the hospital.
Kost’s wife told the court that she, Kost and a friend named Nick Kowaliuk had gone to the Kosowan home the day after the fight. Andrew told them that his wife had beaten him with a club. At this point, Kost had said, “I told you not to beat mother.” And Andrew had responded, “I never laid hands on her. She beat me with a club 40 times.” According to Kost and his wife, Andrew was going to get an old age pension and live with them.
The main question for the jury was whether or not this was a case of self defense. According to Lena, Andrew had been the attacker. It was also possible Mary didn’t realize the extent of the injuries she was giving Andrew when she managed to get the stick and strike back. He’d been a sturdy and remarkably strong man, but he was ten years older than her, elderly, and she was strong herself. Not to mention the fury she must have felt at having her husband rob her of something he knew was precious to her, and then attack her when she tried to stop him.
The jury was clearly moved to sympathy for Mary Kosowan, who’d spent much of the trial sobbing, because on October 4, 1934, she was acquitted. They believed that when she struck Andrew Kosowan, she’d been in fear of her life. How her family felt about the news, we can only guess.
And that is the story of the beating of Andrew Kosowan.
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Information for this post came from the following editions of the Saskatoon Star Phoenix and the Regina Leader-Post: July 10, 1934, July 11, 1934, July 12, 1934, July 17, 1934, July 19, 1934, Oct 3, 1934, Oct 4, 1934, Oct 5, 1934
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Melanie Cole 
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