NEW LINE OF INQUIRY

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 281, 26 August 1942, Page 4

NEW LINE OF INQUIRY

Police Investigations At

Wairoa

BLOODSTAINED AXE FOUND Dominion Special Service.

WAIROA, August 25.

With the tremendous amount of routine work, the police tiles are rapidly increasing in tiie Wairoa double tragedy case. . A large bloodstained axe found m the washhouse of the Salvation Army Hall premises has set the police on a new line of inquiry. The police ’are mow anxious to contact the person who gave Brigadier Smyth a substantial meal in the last three weeks. The pathological examination of the body suggests that a large meal was eaten shortly before death. If the date of the meal can be established, the date of actual death might be fixed approximately. It had been the custom of the brigadier to visit the Wairoa stock sales to collect for charities. She was not seen at the sale on August 13, but a local resident says he saw a light in the army hall on August 9. The war has had the effect of narrowing down the field of inquiry, as the male population is small and the restrictions on rail travel would hamper the movements of a fugitive. It is believed that the crime was not premeditated, but was one of sudden impulse. Further police reinforcements are expected tonight, including a constable who spent many years in this district.