THE GISBORNE TRAGEDY

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 221, 11 June 1908, Page 8

THE GISBORNE TRAGEDY

VISITOR'S DEPOSITIONS TAKEN. A PATHETIC SCENE. (BY TELEGRAPH —PRES3 ASSOCIATION. ) Gisborne, June 10. . ■ The condition of the girl, Minnie Petersen, alleged to have been shot by. her lover, Walter Symons, at Pakarae, yesterday, remains critical. A bullet was .extracted from the region of the heart by Drs. Collins and Reevo at four o'clock this morning. It is feared the girl will not last through the day. The shooting occurred at two o'clock yesterday afternoon. Aliss Petersen, who was a very capablo girl, .had lately been in charge of the Pakarae Hotel during the absence of the licensee. She was formerly engaged to Symons, and they were t-o bo married in January last, but she broke off the engagement, and it is understood ho had been pestering her for the return of some money ho bad advanced her.

Yesterday afternoon, according to the girl's depositions, taken before Mr. Barton, S.M., this morning, Symons accosted her in the hotel yard, and demanded his money. Sho stated that she had none. He asked her to get some from Mr. Shaw, licensee of the hotel. She replied that she had none due to her, and would not ask for that which sho had not earned. He then, poi'iting a revolver at her, said: "Take tnis!".and fired two shots, both taking effect; one bullet striking her in the mouth, the other in the region of the heart. ■ .

An hotel employee named Harry Mays, hearing the revolver shots in ! the yard, jumped a back fence, and rushed to the scene, where he found Symons about to disi charge the contents of the third chamber of the revolver into his own head. Mays struck the man a blow on the arm, and the revolver was discharged in the air. By this time, Shaw, the licensee, had arrived on the scone. Symons remarked: "Jack, I have done, it,'and I am not sorry." Sizing up the situation, Shaw threw the man, who was.immediately bound with ropes, and held a prisoner till the police, arrived, when he was arrested. ' The Rev. Father' Lane returned to town from Pakarae at midday, having; made the journey thither to tender spiritual consolation to the'sufferer. He confirms the particulars already, given. ' Mr. Barton, the /.mgistrate, happened "to bo at the hotelat the time;, travelling on his coastal'circuit, and he was s particularly kind, and rendered muqh assistance all'night. Father Lano says that Miss Petersen was perfectly conscious, but at the time of his leaving this morning Jier condition was still very critical. Her mother and two brothers from town were with her. V

A pathetic scene, Father Lane stated, , occurred when the accused was .taken to the patient's room to hear the depositions read. The spark of love, in spitq of all that had occurred, had not been extinguished, and looking up into his face she asked: "Walter, why did you do' this P": The reply, as tho rev. gentleman heard it, was: "I. did it." The prisoner was seemingly unmoved. ■ Symons had been keeping company with Miss Petersen for over a year, and he was to have been married to her, but 1 , it was put off till Easter, and the engagement subsequently broken, off. The consequent disappointment that Symons experienced' was, so far as Father Lane'could ascertain, the sole motive for his alleged action, • Later. The victim in the Pakarae shooting ease is to be operated on tomorrow morning with a view to extracting the bullet, which is supposed to be 'embedded in the "back of the skull. Latest medical advice is to' the effect that Miss Peterson's - condition shows improvement, and . there is now a slight hope of her recovery. 1 . PRISONER BROUGHT TO TOWN. .

Napier, June 10. Walter Symons, charged with attempted murder, was brought to town this forenoon by Detective Rawje and Constable Dandy, and .lodged' in the' 'lock-up. J Accused will probably be brought before the Police Court to-morrow morning. '