THE WAITARA TRAGEDY.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 425, 6 February 1909, Page 6

THE WAITARA TRAGEDY.

i * I, CONCLUSION OF THE EVIDENCE. [ MRS. DYING DEPOSITIONS. (BT TELEOBAPH— «PECIAI COBRESFONDENT ) New Plymouth, February 5. The Waitara murder charge was again before Mr. Fitzherbort, S.M., to-day, and the i hearing, was concluded. f ( The evidenoe was ytaken of Sergeant Hadj droll,j Constables Reardon and Whitehouse, I Dr. M'Cleland (gaol surgeon), Milhngton f (gaoler), Terry (clerk of the Magistrate's i Court), and others. > New matter was introduced by Constable [ Whitehousc, who was qiven the duty of at- ( tending Goodo in the cell at New Plymouth » police station early on the morning of De- ; cember 15. Ho deposed that accused..asked r for a drink of water, which was given him [ through the grill of the cell door. Ho seemed 1 'to be perfectly rational. / ' ; Accused asked , "What am I here for?" • Witness replied. "You've been., already r ' toid." j> "I don't know what I'm hero for," rer , turned a'ceused. "Yesterday a lot of felj lows came in I thoughts was a bad case "c ' from the freezing norks'. I went out and $ they'took to me and knocked me about." i witness then , skid "Are you hurt ?" [ Accused replied: "My head is very soro. ,1 'Accused asked for a wash, and also asked if lie could/"oome out of Dr. H A M'Cleland , , gaol surgeon at New Plymouth, stated that no saw Dr. Goode j at the gaol on December IS about midday I Witness saw at onco that ( accused Was suft fonng from the effects' of excessive alcohol- [ ism., Hβ was, fairly'rational. s Ho seemed in , [ a sort stupor, 'but' answered witness's t questions rationally. "" ! ' Witness asked accused what was the meanf ing of the wounds'on his head and throat. ' i Ho replied: "That is the nay those police-1 men havo knocked toe about. They all tried ■' to murder me." [ Witness did what 'was necessary to the [= wounds. Later 1 in the day witness again saw [*, him. > ' J 1 > • I Mr. Weston: Did" he-refer-to-, what had happened on the 14th,,, and did ho recall j anything that, had occurred to him? f Mr. Johnston objected, to i this question on I the ground that the rule regarding relations [ between physician and patient Vuled here. f Mr. Weston referred to the Evidence Act, £ which made such evidonce in a-, criminal case, J admissible. ' r ' r ' ' His Worship quoted the i Act, and ruled j against Mr Johnston's objection. < f, Witness, resuming, stated that in several conversations with accused the latter said he [ had no remembrance of anything that hap- > ' pened to him before his capture, Dufrememi berad what had > happened afterwards. Ho f drew a. brio between' the events "before and > after "the'tragedy.- Drt Goode drew -witness's attention-to-the fact that he had lost'his lower~bicuspid tooth. Accused gave witness , "" to understand that this had been knocked out in his capture. _, Accused said it was to this tooth that some wire was fastened that held'his false< teeth >,in position. Hβ gave r witness to understand, at first that the wound| in his throat was caused i by the way in which he-'had < been < After tlio wound'had-been probed in, the hospital, acicused told witness that he believed • 'the wound, had been caused by a bullet,-but did , not knowihow it had como about. From the i first, accused's condition gave •witness conI , siderablo anxiety. • ■> ' , > In , previous j medical evidence it had been r ' ' stated that the crown of a bicuspid tooth was j found-pn the floor of Mrs.'Klenner's sittingroom 'on -the afternoon of the shooting af- , fair, ,but it f was subsequently mjslaid. Constable'Reardan*deposed that Goode spent the night <in the police cell sitting on ' blankets in a corner. ' A man named Jackson, employed to watch him for three nights in the prison coll, j that;he'read through the first two f nights, but slept a. little on the third night. 1; ',_ The Clerk of the Court put in the follow- ' ing dying* depositions of lire. Klenner: — f_ "I am the wife of Alois Klenner, butcher, j"" of Waitara. I live next door to Dr. Goode i at Waitara, who is accused of attempting ! to murder me Accused i came to my house, 1 I think, about half-past three yesterday afternoon. ' I thought I .-heard a noise on the , doorstep. I opened the door and found it Iwas Dr. Goodo. He walked into the sittingroom and said, "I want to speak to you." He was the worse Of liquor. He said bad I things, about mo. y . .. He said,''"You be 1/ .mine or I'll 'shoot you " I refused, and he i fired' shots at me at short range, and 1 f fell. ,i He ( tried to fire a third shot,, but the revolver would'not go off. I heard nun say, t - *A/ e y° u dpad.' I never answered, as I was efraid.* I heard/ him say, 'I am j*oing to t get some more" whisky and 'finish myself.' He then f slammed the' door 'and , weirt away. ( I did not see 1 him since till nofr." ■ Crdss-examined* by Mr.'Wilkes (counsel for occused) she said:—"Accused was drunk I * , could not say how long ho wa*s in the r<Som. He was very excited His language was very ■unusual He > was very angry beforb I rei f fused 1 his request. been drinking s for days. ' I could not 1 say if he could walk straight, i Hβ tried to shoot himself, but the revolver -would, not go off. He was always > my medical adviser ■ pince he has been m : Waitara. ,I am quite friendly with him I * think he must have been, out of his mind, or not have done what he did 'Accused was mad with whisky I judged / from his appearance that he was out of his mind." ' i ' Accused reserved his defence and was ;*- committed to the Supreme Court for trial at ' - the Maich Sessions.' , '-;.' '