PUKEKAWA TRAGEDY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 17, 15 October 1920, Page 8

PUKEKAWA TRAGEDY

THORN CHARGED WITH MURDER .

DECEASED'S WIDOW GIVES EVIDENCE

By Telegraph—Presi Association. Auckland, October 14. The preliminary trial of Samuel John Thorn, charged with, the murder of Sydney Seymour Eyre, at l'ukekawa, on August 24, began at Pukekohe to-day beiore Mr. J. W. Poynton, S.M. Mr. E. P. Hunt, for tho prcsecution, addiessing the Court, said the case was a strong circumstantial one. It would be shown that the fatal shot was fired by ono who had an intimate kuowledgo of the hcuse, and that Thorn was the only one outside family having that knowledge. At tho time of the murder Thorn was working at Granville's farm, 18 miles from Eyre's. A horse under Thorn's charge had peculiarly-shajped shoes. Tracks had been discovered which shewed that it had been ridden between the two properties on tho night of August 24. Eyre's house contained two guns, neither of which had been fired recently, but the gun in Thorn's whare had been discharged. It took a cartridge of tho same calibre as that used to kill Eyre. Thorn wns the only possessor of cartridges of that particular brand within a radius of 20 miles. .The night of ths murder was one of two nights when Thorn had been left alone in his whare. The evidence would show that while Eyre wai away, and aftoi! his return, Thorn had forced immoral relations on Mrs. Evre. Thorn had threatened Eyre's life liefore witnesses and had said to Airs. Eyre; "Don't you wish hi> were dead?" Ej re's son 3 had heard Thorn sneaking into their mother's room at night. The motive suggested was revengo for being discharged from a gcod position, and being deprived of tho opportunity for continuing relations which were enforced on Mrs. Eyre. Millicent Eyre, widow of tho deceased, stated that the property of 600 acres owned by her late husband was worth between .£15,000 and .220,000. On the night of August 24 there was nobody fit the house except'members of the family and everyone was in bed about 9 p.m. Her husband and Phillip were the last to go to bed, and she saw' that the front door was closed. She was awakened after having bpen asleep for some timer by accused's dog barking under the boys' room. This dog, Bod, had been taken awav by Thorn when he left tho farm, but had come back by itself.' The dog was barking furiously and she called to it to lie down,* which it did after a time. She again went off to 6leep, to be awakened later by the shot of a gun. She heard quick, heavy steps by the side of the house, apparently going towards the back gate._ She callod to her husband and, getting no inswer. she struck a light and discovered that the top of his head had been blown, away. Between five and ten minutes after the boys had left the house for help, she heard a horse cross the bridge below the house, apparently going away from the house. Mts. Eyre also said that accused last visited the farm on. August 24. Ho had often told her that he loved~Kcr and had asked her to go and live with him. She admitted that relations had been improper between accused and herself; they continued after her husband returned. She could not prevent him, because he said ho would "put me away to my husband, expose mo, drag my name in the gutter and get me divorced." She saw accused at tho Tuakau police station after the murder. _ Ho asked her then what made her think he killed her husband. She replied, "Circumstances." Ho asked: "What circum-stances?"-and site answered: "You knew the position of the bed and everything about the houso." He replied: "Truo as I am here, I never did it."

The witness was etill in tho box when the case was adjourned.