THE DUNEDIN TRAGEDY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 990, 9 July 1883, Page 2

THE DUNEDIN TRAGEDY.

The Inquest. An inquest touching the death of Geo. Timothy Stephenson and Mary Stephenson, his wife, was held on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Henry Blythe Stenhouse, painter, Maitland street, father of the deceased Mary Stephenson, deposed : My daughter was thirty-three years of age, and a native of Scotland. She has been married ten years, but was about five years separated from her husband on account of his idle habits and threats which he had (made deceased. Stephenson about two years ago went up country, and wanted to borrow money of me. He threatened that if ho came back broke from the North, he would cut his wife’s throat, the children’s throats, and his own. He used every night, on her way home, to follow her, and molest and abuse her. He also abused witness, and oh one occasion even assaulted him. She had given him about L3O, and he always wanted more. She did not appear to be frightened of him. Whenever ho could he got drunk; he gave way to intemperate habits. I never saw anything strange or peculiar about his manner. I last saw him on Thursday at my house. Ha wanted to see me, and when I said I would have nothing to do with him he asked to see the missis. She saw him and told him sh; had nothing to say to him. He went away without making any threats. He used to blackguard us when he came to the house. About two months ago when he got seven days for using language to her calculated to provoke a breach of the peace, he said to her, “ One of us must die.” Yet she never seemed to be afraid. I heard the report made by the explosion of the dynamite, but did not see the victims till some time afterwards I had my own fears about his threats. The man was not safe to go about, and 1 often went to bed not knowing I would see the light of day. He appeared to be fond of the children, but they having heard him use bad language were afraid of him.

Andrew Turnbull Anderson, contractor and brother - in - law of the deceased Stephenson, stated that Stephenson was thirty-nine years of age, and a native of Lincolnshire, England. He had been in this colony nearly all his life. I have seen him daily of late, and knew him to be at the Spanish Restaurant. He had been in work till last Saturday. Latterly he was very despondent; indeed, so much so that my clerk remarked to me on the day of his death he was very down-hearted. This despondency was caused, I believe, by domestic troubles. He was always wanting to see his children. When ho was at work he was very steady. Yesterday at half-past four 1 saw him. He had just received soma letters from the Minister of Justice, which he said gave him no encouragement in connection with upsetting the protection order and seeing his children. These he said were his last hope, and he could not settle down in the frame of mind in which he was in. At four o’clock he told me he had been out to Anderson’s Bay with some dynamite ; that the party was not there, and he had left it. He brought the dynamite down from Uindon la*t Tuesday, where he had been working as a miner. He seemed very down-hearted when I last saw him. I have heard him say, after he had been refused admission to see the children, “Don’t be surprised if they find me dead on their doorstep some morning,” and that he had nothing to live for. He might as well be dead as alive. This was some time ago. I opened his box, which was at my house, to-night, and found a little bag containing dynamite. It was nothing unusual for him to buy dynamite, he being a miner. He always talked of his domestic troubles. Marion Corfield, head milliner at Saundars, Mcßoath and Company, knew the deceased woman for some time. Witness accompanied her part of the way home on the evening of the murder. When they passed Larner’s shop he was writing a note on some boxes outside. He followed them, and said “ Good evening ” to his wife, and began to speak about the children. Speaking to his wife, he said, “God alone has joined us together, and He alone should part us.” Mrs Stephenson said something lightly about the weather to witness, and her husband replied, “ You talk lightly to your lady friend ; your sister Margaret met death without " much warning ; look out you don’t meet death the same ” I noticed ho was very norvous and excited. Witness left them proceeding towards Maitland street, at the corner of Melville street and Manor Place, Mrs Stephenson saying “ Good night.” To the jury—Mrs Stephenson appeared to me, to be a very nice tempered woman. Robert Gray stated that, after the last witness left the deceased and his wife, he noticed the male deceased following close behind his wife, and when near a lamp post he took a few quick steps and caught up to his wife. Witness then lost sight of them, and proceeded down Manor Place. He afterwards heard a report, but did not know the cause. Mrs Stephenson did not appear frightened, and her husband was quite sober. Archibald Cargill, clerk, residing in Manor Place, deposed at about Q 15 he was standing in front cf his own house, and saw what appea ed to be a squib twisted in the air. While this was going on there were two very loqd shrieks in a female voice. Then followed a tremendous blast which ha concluded must have been caused by the discharge of a gun. He ran up the street, and passed two figures, one in a standing and the other in a sitting position. The woman was the recumbent figure. He and his brother were surprised that the figures were motionless, and they turned and struck a match. Both figures were headless. Information was at once given to the police. David Carswell gave evidence regarding the visit of the male deceased to the Anderson’s Bay quarry. Deceased wanted to sell some dynamite, and left a package of dynamite, about 41b weight, in witness’s keeping. This was at X p.m. on

the day of the murder. Deceased was anything but in low spirits then, and chatted freely with the men. Police Sergeant Geering gave evidence regarding the searching of the bodies. Among other things he found a dynamite cartridge in the male deceased’s trousers pocket. He produced letters from the Minister of Justice found on the deceased upholding the decision of the Resident Magistrate regarding the protection order before referred to.

The Coroner summed up. There was no doubt the male deceased had caused the death of both himself and his wife. The question for the juty was to decide on the state of mind the male deceased, was in at the time of this horrible tragedy. At 10 p.m. the jury found a verdict — “ That the deceased Stephenson and ■ wife met their death by a dynamite capwidge tired by Stephenson, but that there was not sufficient evidence to show in what state of mind he was.” They added a rider recommending that no person should be allowed to purchase or use dynamite without a license.