THE OXFORD TRAGEDY.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 618, 16 June 1882, Page 3

THE OXFORD TRAGEDY.

An inquest was held on Tuesday at the Oxford Hotel, at 11 a.m., on the bodies of John Home and John Grenfell, the former of whom was killed by the latter on Monday. The first witness called was Stephen Dal ley, who deposed : I am a platelayer on the railway. I live at East Oxford. I know the bodies of deceased, John Home and John Grenfell ; they weje mates of mine, and were also platelayers. I have known Home about seven years and a half, and we have been mates together all, the time. I have known Grenfell about two years and eleven months. He has worked with me during that time. Yesterday morning, about half-past six, I left West Oxford station for Bennett's Junction. I met deceased and the ganger Pachnetz about thirteen minutes past eight, at the Immigration Barracks. John Home and Grenfell had been to East Oxford with a trolly for sleepers. It came apparently without any quarreJ, and all four began to load the trolly at the barracks with materials for repairs. John •Grenfell went back about five yards and took up an adze, and came and stood beside the trolly, I walked back and took up a hammer and a box, and carried it up and dropped it on the ground in front of him (Grenfell). He neither spoke to me nor Ito him. Hβ was standing still with the adze in his hands. I returned for a block of wood, meeting John Home and Pachnetz with the 'Stop block (a rectangular piece of wood weighing about 80 or 901 bs, and used to put on the rails to stop the 'Carriages). Just at the time I got back to take up the piece I was going to fetch— the block—John Home had reached the trolly with their wood. I was in a stop ping position to take up my block, when I heard some one sny " Umph," I turned my head towards the sound and saw John Home fall. I saw the blood gush from just under his left ear. John Grenfell was standing with the adze in his hand. I called out "Jack, Jack, my God, what iiave you done ? n He lifted up the adze his head and made towards me, and said " You too, you b ; you too, yoj b ," twice. I ran away. I ran about twenty-three or twenty-four yards. I did not know whether he was following mo or not. I turned my head over my shoulder, and saw he was within a yard of une. and the adze over his head as when lie started. A thought struck me to rush him, and I wheeled round and rushed at liim, lifting my hands above my head to ward off the blow. Hβ struck at me with the adze and hit me on the head. I got hold of the adze by the handle and gave it a sudden pull and pulled it out of his iiand. He then ran away. Nothing was eaid during all the time. I returned to Pachnetz to assist John Home. We sent Powell, who was working near, for the docter and the sergeant of police. Home was quite dead when I got back to the trolly. It was not more than from three to four minutes from the time of my first running away. Wβ stood by the body until the policeman came. Lai or, the constable, asked one of us to go with him. Pachnetz stopped with John Home, and I went with liim in the direction that Grenfell took. Crossing the paddock we saw a man. The policeman asked me if that was the man. I said I did not think it was. Wecooeyed to him and the constable asked if he had seen the man anywhere about the field, and he said he had not. Whilst we were speaking to the man I said '* There he is, hiding in the ditch." We walked up and found Grenfell lying flat on his belly in a pool of water. It was a furrow of a grass paddockV It was about 3ft in length, and about three or four inches deep. £ assisted the constable to pull him oat. There waeno appearance of life. Sergeant Scott then came and had the bodies removed to the place where the jury have now seen them. Fred. Pachnetz, ganger of the Oxford length of platelayers. About a fortnight ago Grenfell became surly, and did not talk so much as he did & month ago, but did his work. The jury returned a verdict as follows:— i 'We ifind that deceased, John Home, came by his death from a blow from an adze given by John Grenfell, who afterwards drowned himself, and that the said John Grenfell was at the time suffering under a fit of temporary insanity.— Press. We have received, (says Thnrsday'e Press) some further particular? as follows: —It appears that about a fortnight ago a pecial train left West Oxford, and Greenfell got into it, thinking it would stop at East Oxford; but finding it did not, he ejumped off the train whilst it was going full speed, and in doing so turned a somersault. This was seen by a good many people, and he was chaffed about it, which he did not like, and he had no reinembranctt of being rolled over.; he only knew that he had knocked some skin off his hand. This seems to have injured him most likely in the head, as he had not been the some afterwards, and his wife said that he would not give any one a direct answer, even people who were Ins greatest friends before. One day a neighbour (C. Mehrtens) was passing with two pieces of flax in his hand, and he said to his wife that he was going to hang him with it. He had also a suspicion of the next neighbors, and said they were going to shoot him, and on Mondny morning he icmarked that he would go and see them about it, but his wife dissuaded him from it. When he went away on Monday morning bo said to bis wife that he should not come back, ac he was sure they had nn t> anPKTa] train tn talra Viirn avirAv