MURDER TRIAL CONTINUES

Chronicle (Levin), 10 November 1948, Page 6

MURDER TRIAL CONTINUES

Press Associatfon)

Victim's Injuries Detailed By Pathologist

(Per

WELLINGTON, Nov. 9. The shoc.king injuries suffered by Mrs. ; Catherine Gladys Cranston, whose body was. found pn Mount Victoria: on.September 26 were detailed this afternoon at the trial of Edward Ray Horton, aged 20, on a charge of murder. Sir .BgmphreyO'Leary, the Chief Justide, is presianig and accused is represented by -Mr. A. J. Mazengarb. Lull Clark, a Tiousemaid at the People 'a Palaee, said she went to the i'ooili -ticcupled by Hellyer and Davis about 8.30 or 8.45 011 the Mouday morniug. I11 the room was a tall dark inan who said he was booking out, but his niate was stayiug. The room was cmpty when she returned a little iater. Slie fouud a suit tn the pedestal cupboard and a shirt in the bottora drawer oi' the duchesse. The suit was wrapped 111 two newspaper parcels. She saw a orown ■ 11) ark 011 the frout of the shirt, which she identified as the oue produced. '

Blood-stained Glass. Acting-Detective Siiumons gave evideuee oi liaving t'ound .about 12 feei from Mrs. Crunston 's doby on the Suu day a heavily blood-stained ueek oi a bi'oken beer bottJe.. There nere otliex pieces (produced) of a broken Ijottle aear Ihe body, iinTudiug oue 011 th^ ••ulf of the right leg, aud tlicy wero ull sineared with blood. ( loustable Navlor, attaehed to the 'ietective stall", said he saw the ac- .• used about, 6.45 p.iu. ou Mouday, Sejiteinber 27, 111 conipauy with ' Nobby ' ' CJark. Wituess asked iiim to go witii hini to the police station for ijue.stioniiig. Jiorton told liiiu lie liad ,oine irom Christchurch and was goiug to PaJinerstou North. lle said Clark liuil liis tieket. ile also stated tliat he liad not woikod for llie prcvious three wecks. "Ilis answers were uol altogcllicr salisiaclory to niu, and ths.it "as the reason he was takou to llie police station ior iurther- ijiicstioiiuig, said wituess. Accused there uiade a statemeiit which lie signed as bcing true. Accused 's Statement. The siatenienl said Jiorton liad coxue to Wellington with "Nobby" Clark 011 September 21. lle liad slayed at the New L'ity llotel on the night of .Se]> leiuber 26, with Clark. lie liad spent Ihe iSalurday night at the People 's I'alaee until 10 a.nx. oxx Sunday. Outside Llie Koyal Uak llotel he luet soine iiien in whose conipany he was J'roxn 11 a.iu. to 1 p.iu. or 1.15 [i.in. The rest of Ihe afternoon lie spent liear the boat hai'boifr. 'About *6 'p.ni. lte niet (..lark and thev went to llie New Citv llotel wherg Jie slayed until 9 a.ni. 011 Mouday. ile niet Clark .afboni WL a.uts; iuid' -tliey visxled scxeral holels. lle arrauged to tueet Clark at 6.45 p.m. at tlie lailway station. llere he was when approached by the police.

Wituess said he noticed two cuts at Ihe base of the niiddle iiugcr of accused 's right hand. Cross-exaniined by Mr. A. J. Mazengarb, wituess said he was ou dutv at ine railwav station ^.s part of a net spread in connectioii with Llie murder. uo did iiot kiiow* anythiiig 6f Horton 's history at ihe tiuie and it was partly because he was in company with Clark tlmt- wituess approached him. Ai'tey takihg the statement froni Horton he charged him with vagrancy. Mr. Ma/.engarb: Thal wouid be al) ihe evidence you would need to arrest, uim on thal chargeV — Yes. Mr. Mazengarb: The charge was not proceeded with ou the Wednesday inoriung? Wituess: lie was remanded for a vveek. We considered his statement wouid' require verilication as to his niovements on tlie hiuiiday. Mr. Mazengarb: Your idea in that was not to prove a charge of vagrancy but because of inquiries iuto the uiurdci'7 — That wouid be a fair assumption tu uiake. To his Honour, "wituess said he liad never seeu Horton before the Mouday evening. Hulective yergeaut Knapp described in delail tlie bloodstains and broken liulLle at the scene of Ihe erime anu the iiuding, 011 the tiunday afternoon, oi a vvomaii's watcli which had slop))ed at nearly 12.5. He said two handkerchiefs blood-stained but olherwisc clean (which had liecn identilied by Mrs. Uurward as bciongiug to Mrs. Cranston), were i'ound under some mildewed clolliing in some brusli on tlie olher side of Alexander itoad i'roni the body. G-hastly Injuries. Hr. Phillip i'atrick Lynch, pathologist, produced a rejiort of his exatnination oi Mrs. Cranston 's body, a niau s bood-slaiued clolliing, haiidkerchiefi and a man's shoes as weli as some hairs takou i'roin Ihe clolliing. He described the posilion oi Ihe body which. was uuclothed i'roni the waist down. All the clolliing ou and about the body was heavily slained with blood. There weie four vvouuds about Ihe sealp, evidently caused by biovvs t'rom a bluut iustruuieut, and a fracture of the skull. Both eyes were black, the i'ace was

bruised and the lower tfaw -'Was "F/olfen, There were several stall woqnds in the neek as, deep as the. ' windjpipe. The back of the left wfist' lyaS abrade'd and bruised. There was ^ gash on the inside of the right wfist and numerous bruises on the body as jfaf down as the thighs. There ' were" indications of manual stranguiatioh and that aspliyxiation was a factor in death. It Was evident that dece.ase'd had been^struck about seven times" on th'e head, had been" stabbed in the heek, " had been throttled' and had been raped.- it Was unlikely that Mrs. Cranston could have iived iuore than anfc li'oiir after the attack. ■ ' Dr. Lyneh' also detailed his examination of the clothing' produced in Court, indicating the positiOns oi' the stains he identified as of hiiman blood. Any oue of the four wounds on the scalp would have bied r'reeiy. The . wound nearest the front of the lie.ad was consistent with Mrs. Cranston ha'ving met hef assailant face to face. If that blow was lirst struck it would alniost certainly stun the . Victini, in his opinion. The jagged neck.of the bottle lie saw at the scene was" snieared w^h wet blood. It could well. .have caused vvouuds trausfixing the neck. Cross-exainine^l by Mr. Mazengarb, wituess said it was probable the victiin was unconseious after the hrst blow. Mr. Mazengarb: The injuries were terrible?

- Wituess: The injuries were beyond my experience. ./ Mr. Mazengarb: The injuries were consistent with the act of a maniac? i Wituess: Yres. \ Mr.. Mazengarb asked whether, when j he examined the huirs taken from the j blood-stained suit, wituess had ascer- j tained wlietlier they indicated that !■ clothing had rubbed against clothing j worn by deceased? ' j Ur. I.yneh: I did not; examine them [ from that poiut of view.' .1- (ian only say there was ' no indicatioa to be gained from tliem. ! At tlie conclusion of Ur, Lynch;s , evidence it was intimated tliat Mr. j Mazengarb did not, in the meantime, 1 propose to proceed With the 'cross- ! examiiiation of the previous wituess i Knapp but proposed lo dei'er this! until later. Recovery of Clotlics DcLcctivc Bergeaut F. O. Bcott said 1 he lirst saw accused when he was . bcing queslioiied at the police station j ou Ihe Mouday night. Ou tlie Tucsday , Hellyer had inquired regarding tlie re- j covery oi his clothing. Wituess saw j accused and informed' him of this. j Wituess said lie asked him whore- he ; liad disposed of the clothes he had been j wearing 011 Bunday, September 26. Accused informed him be had dumped lliein in bushes in the reserve at the corner oi "Taranaki Btreet aud Courtenay Placo. Wituess said that area uientioued was searclpid and the clothes wero not found. Accused Llieu .told him, | said wituess, that Jiu wpuid, tell-Hellytjr j vvhere Lhey were but wouifi. not tell Ihe | police. Wituess tlien arrauged; T o r1 j liellyor to see accused and uux,L .day, ' after iurther examiiiation, he recov.ered i Ihe clothes produced in court from t.he olrice of the People 's Palace.

Admissibility of Evidence The Crowu Prosec+rtor: -D.nl . y.uur 011. the following day, tlie Thursday 1 Mr. Mazengarb hefe interjected: Y'our Honour. At this point 1 Wish to make a submission. The Chief Justice: Yes,. Mr. Mazengarb. I have beeil informed of its nature. ' To ihe jury his Hbnoiir' said: "The questiou arises wlietlier further evidence to be given is .admissible. That is for me to decide.. This must be lieard aud detennined(!wlien you ai'e uot preseut because, of . nocessity, the nature of the evidence wilJ have to be revealed. Indeed, it niay be necessary for me to hear part of the evidence and if you were present, the ell'ect of this applicatiou might be . nullilied. 1 have 110 alternative, therefore but to say lliat proceedings, so far as you are concerned, are liuished for today. They vvill be resumed at 10 a.111. tomorrow. " His Honour directed1 that the hearing of the applicatiou would be taken iu chambers. Accused uiust, of course, be preseut. The Itegistrar of the Court informed the press, ou applicatiou, that their presence was not permitted.-