REMARKABLE STORY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1083, 23 March 1911, Page 5

REMARKABLE STORY.

» . TOLD IN COURT. HARQE AND RETRACrATION. .VERT EXCITED .WOMAN. (By Telegraph,—Press Association.) Auckland, March 22. A remarkablo story of an alleged hup ary and arrest of tlio supposed housercakor, and the subsequent retractation oi le charge, was told to llr. E. C. Cutten, ,M., at tho l'olico Court to-day. On tho night of March 15 a woman timed Mrs. Sindley called a polico oflicer ) hor house and declared that tslio had >cn a innu enter by tho window. Tho oliceman and lady entered tho house nd she declared a number of household rticles and a piece of jewellery, were lissing. Tho officer then made a search, ut could find no ono in tho house. He ■cut outsido with Mrs. Sindley- and a lan was seen closo by. Ho was pointed ut by Jits. Sindley as being the iuruder; and tho constable invited him in lie house where he searched him. Iu everal pockets he found several articles ientilied by the woman as having l>oen tolon. The man's na'mo was William .'ozer, and he was taken into custody, lubsequenlly ho was brought before tho lourt and charged with breaking and ntering the house and stealing goods to ho value of over JCS. Then Sub-Inspector Hendry received, a c.markablo letter from Mrs. Sindley in i-hich she said: < X wish to let you know that tlia statement I made about the man , Tozer breaking and entering and stealing certain articles was untrue, and I have no intention to go to Court and swear any lies, as 'at that lime I made the remarks I did not know what I was snyiug. I thought it only fair for all concerned to let you know. I am also notifying Tozcr's solicitor of the above facts. When the case was called on to-day Sub-Inspector Hendry said it appeared that someone had attempted to tamper ; svitli the cuds of justice. The woman' Sindley, beforo calling tho police, took a boy to her house and peering through, the. fence the lad saw tho foot of a man disappearing through tho window. Then, when the accused was arrested, 6he plainly accused tho man in tho presence of the 1 officer. , , ' The boy gave ovidence. and a jeweller s traveller, deposed to selling Mrs. Sindley. a brooch which was found on accused. When Mrs. Sindley was called, she appeared very excited. At first she emphatically refused to take tho oath. ('l'll speak tho truth without the Bible," she said. She was at last p£r-. suaded by the magistrate, and reluctantly, responded "I do" to tho exhortation. Sub-Inspector Hendry: You charged this man with stealing your property?— Yes, but it is not true. . And you accused him of getting throughtho window?— Yes, but that was a false statement. The Sub-Inspector: Ycty well, tell the ] Court your story. , Tho witness related tho following story :— "I met this man, who I know and hate, in Upper Queen' Street on that night, and; whenever I see him ho insults me, and It hammer him. I can. lie ran away, and: came up to my house and taunted me' later in the evening, and I said I'd swear lie broko into my house, and that's what I did." „ At times during her evidence the witness became wildly cxcited, and alternately addressing tho accused and her husband, who was standing at tho back of the Court, sho expressed th© hopo that she Would be able to murder them both. Tho charge was altered to ono of entering a dwelling-house and stealing, instead, of breaking and entering, on account of. insufficient evidence. , Accused denied thei offence. Mr. Cutten said ho thought nothing would be gained by sending tho caso to a jury, and he dismissed tho caso.