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MURDER CHARGE

PUKEKAWA TRAGEDY IWAL OF THORN IN SUPREME COURT By Toleeranh-Preas Association. •.iTho f.-«i - A H ckland - November 15. farm haml « SBmnrt /° hjl Tho ™. » • »arm hand, 34 years of age, who wni wrested on September 11, "on a charg "f having murdered Sydney Sermon? i tore,- farmer, at Pukokawa on th? night C^Wi 3 * 1 w " s >K»n «> tie Suprem llrktrHf 'J? 0 ™""*. Chief Justica (bu .Robert Stout) and a jury of twelve. Jn the absence of the Crown Prosecutor tfcte pi execution was conducted by Mr C. Martin and Mr. E. P. Hunt" Mr W 7 m \ 9' ?■ Stollt - an(l 3lr - Air. P. D. M Liver watched the proceedings on behalf of Eyre's widow. The ibody of the court was crowded, and a Bmall number of women occupied the middle height, thick set, clean shaved nnd fresh coniplexioned, pleaded not ■guilty. j ■ In the course of a long opening address Mr. Martin reminded the jury that the Crown was just as interested in • seeing justice done as anyone else. Ho asked the jurymen to disabuse their lmnds of anything they had heard or lend about tbe case before coming into court. It would be most unfair and unjust to allow anything they might lave heard to weigh with them, either for or against the prisoner. The evidence, said Mr. Martin, would consist of what was called circumstantial evidenct. People Jrnd got the idea that circumstantial was nn unreliable sort f of thing, but the experieneo of all those ■who had spent their time in courts was .that circumstantial evidence was more i reliable than direct evidence. Unfnrtunntely the case had some unpleasant features about it. , After telling the jury -the short facts of Eyre's career, his hard work, and turning his section from its rough state into a property worth over <£17,000, how he got ill and went to Canada, where he 'bad relatives, his enlistment with tkfi ■Canadian Forces, nnd his return to New ! Zealand, Mr. Martin said that the. family iconsisted of Mr. and Mrs. ■ Eyre, and e'everal children. There had also been .several farm hands, including Thorn, : who had been employed for two years Eyre's absence, and for some ijieriod a,fter his return. It was those people who bad a knowledge of tbo Jiouse and household. On the night of ihe murder Mrs. Eyre retired to bed 'at about 'J o'clock. She wns later awakened by dogs barking under the house, ■and she called out to them to lie down. She then went to sleep, nnd some tinin after midnight was awakened by hearing the report of a gun. Getting no reply when she called out to her husband, she lit a candle and foufid that he had 'been murdered, practically' tho whole of his head, being blown oft. What was the Motive? Thte first- thing to consider, said counsel, was what was the motive for the crime. Clearly it was not robbery. Nothing was disturbed, and nothing was taken away.' In passing, Mr. Martin referred to the fact that the gates leading to and from Eyre's had all been opened, ehowing that the person who had done the murder knew the place and made sure that he would be able to get away :in -n hurry if anything happened. If robbery were not ihe motive for the ■ crime, then the question nrosc who did it and why. Putting the children on one side, counsel said, tho first person to turn to-was Mrs. Eyre. Speaking of tho will left by Mr. Eyre, Mr. Martin said that it was fair and just. He told tho jury that under its provisions Mrs ' Eyre would benefit to tho extent of ilaO • to £IH a year. Was (ho asked) her desire to gain that sum an adequate .desire for murdering her husband? She already bad a home. Was it likely that a woman would commit such a dastardly deed-for the benefit of £151 a year at most? Before ber husband returned from the war, counsel proceeded, Mrs.li.yre had'been engaged in illicit intercourse with Thorn?and that had continued after ' Kyro returned. Mrs. Eyre's.story ,was that she allowed accused to continue carrying on with ber because he threatened to expose her to her husband. Ac- , 'cased, said counsel, had- a strong desire to.-possess' the woman. ff nnd his. ™>Uve . for the crime would b/onoof jealously, nnd the probability Mat bis monetary position would be considerably improved. The actions of Mrs. Eyre nnd tho circumstances surrounding her movements ivero not those which *>uld suggest . that she was a murderess. Indeed, ho thought it had been proved conclusively lJint she was innocent. The only other person who would have any molivo in' committing the crime, suggested counsel, was the prisoner. Thorn was a left-handed man, who shot from his left shoulder. He was a.good shot, and had brought down seventeen ■■ pigeons with as many shots. He ■possessed a 12-boro shotgun, and used a ; . peculiar, kind of shot, similar to that fired at Eyre. It was true that the accused was a short man, and the window ■ jit which the murdered man was sleeping was so high that) sv six-foot man standi- ■ ing on the ground and looking lorronrcn. the window could not see Eyres head 1 , But bv standing on a board outside, and holding on to the rill by his right hand, accused's head would be at least a foot above the sill, and he would have amplo ipower to shoot. Links of Evidence. ''■ "What are'the links whioh will connect up the prisoner with the crime J" .. asked Mr. Martin. He pointed out that accused's dog, -which was kept, at ' Eyre's house, barked once on the night ' of ihe murder. It was an animal that barked at everyone who approached the house including-tbo Eyres, until he recognised tho person. Why did the dog not bark again before tho gun was fired? •Was it because someone approached near enough in the first instance for it to recognise him? On tho evening of ifhe . day following the murder, Detectivo Cummings had interviewed Thorn,, and told him of the murder. Accused's behaviour was somewhat peculiar, comi " mented Mr. Martin, for his reply when ' be heard the news, was merely "Yes. Then, when questioned br the detectivo i as to wben ho had last cleaned his gun, ho replied "Yesterday or to-day/ ' • ' "Where -were you on Tuesday night? was the next question, This was the reply "Oh, well, I am going to say I was noil out." When the police pressed for yes or no, accused asked, Has anyone seen me out? Were they talking to me?" Accused did not question tbo accuracy of a single statement inn-lei by Mrs Eyre, except one where she declared she had spent the night with him at an hotel. Thorn declared that ho had always found ber to be truthful. If ho did not attempt to contradict her statements, then he accepted them. Reference wafe made by counsel to a conversation between accused and an hotelkeeper. alleged to havo taken place in the presence of a newspaper man, and in which accused was said to have declared, "If they get me I will. drag : , some other into ii There is eonieone nearer the rope's end than they think thev are." What innocent explanation could be given to that remark? If thero was any meaning to ■H then accused had been misleading the police from within twonty-four hours of the crime. Counsel commented at ]ength on this statement, and remarked on the fact that: in it Thorn did not ' suggest getting himself out of trouble, but that, he would get someone else' uufi it When Detective Cummings asked Thorn "Who commitiled the murder?" Thorn' said. "1 won't tell you,. Ho did not oeny having made the statement attributed' to him, and did .not say he was drunk. Counsel then dealt wifln tho hoof-marks discovered on tho road ; after the murder. His address occupied'nearly two hours and n half. A mou" the witnesses called to-day was Mrs Eyre, who related the story of the murder as told in the Lower Court. Sire was subjected to a lengthy cross-exam-ination! by Mr. Singer, and was still in . 11,., !~x when the Court adjourned for the day. ■ "

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19201116.2.62

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 44, 16 November 1920, Page 8

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,373

MURDER CHARGE Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 44, 16 November 1920, Page 8

MURDER CHARGE Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 44, 16 November 1920, Page 8

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