RUAWARO CASE

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 23, 27 January 1934, Page 12

RUAWARO CASE

MORE EXPERT EVIDENCE

THE GOVERNMENT ANALYST

M AKKAY OF BOTTLES

> (By 'Telegraph—Press- Association.) ' AUCKLAND, This Day.

■■'..yesterday, afternoon was taken up in the murder charges against Bayly ■with lengthy technical evidence by Dr. Dennis Brown1, acting Professor of Physics. a u the Auckland University College,, regarding measurement and tests he toade with the knife and wood, and. regarding, the calculations he made from ■ exhaustive tests with rifles and shells. His : evidence covered, minute; descriptions .of microscopic markings on the articles. He sought to demonstrate, largely by the use of. highlymagnified photographs, that a. certain bullet tad.been fired by a certain gun. ■ Further.' expert evidence on guns aid. "cartridge shells was given when the Court resumed today, b"t the most interest was .aroused by about forty bottles arranged on the' tables" that two; days before had been covered with boxes Of bone fragments. The bottles were produced later in evidence by the; Government' Analyst, Mr. K. M. Griffin. ■ They contained charred substances, sonio coarse and others fine and powdery. All were labelled and classified.

Gregory Gerald Kelly, a firearms expert of thirty years' experience, said he examined a Winchester rifle covered with mud, also a .22 cartridge shell. He elearied the bore of the rifle', fired seyeral -shells from, it, iand compared the striker .marks with the striker marks' on, thL . shell; which Detective Shedden'had shown; him. -.They .were identical; He* was of opinion that the ■shell ■; was. fired from;'the. same rifled' '.' '... \ '.' ,- . .. • , .\ ■ ■ ,-

John Waddell, .* who said. that he had been'engaged in the manufacture of steel,: and; the' chemistry ■of 'the; engineering , trade, • for .forty- years, examined a- large oil drum, on the floor of. the .Court. He1 said that there .had ■undoubtedly been an;■ open -• wood fire under.it. Hei formed the opinion that the heat to which; it had been subjectedi had ;been fairly .prolonged, rather thfen, .fierce.and siiort. The .drum had been cut in- two and it was his opinion that it was cut after the fire had been un'deiv'it. ~',•' \ ' ■'■'■ : * ANALYST'S EVIDENCE. Kenneth. Massey. .Griffin, said that, on October ;18 he received a glass jar of the stomach of Mrs. Lakey, and two. days'later. other organs. He examined'these for poison and,found none. The-;witnetes then produced numerous bottles of exhibits of wood, Charcoal, burnt-bone, etc. . He said he also found read'weighing o*3 grains and molten lead -weighing 17A grains. He had.sincei' weighed 'two .1.C.1, bullets' and found that each'weighed'2B.7 grains. J Thie fitness' said. that, he also ined b,bth the portions of the oil drum. From the' lotaer'portion he' obtained ashqs containing .charcoal, -burnt bone, and! globules of molten lead weighing 3.2 grains. The drum had been strongly heated, but not since it was cut. .He next produced pieces of concrete which, he said, had been subjected to heat on one side, and a piece of charred white robber footwear- containing eanvafu He produced a cigarette lighter and wick,, and said he found ', that the wick was exactly* similar to the wick of another'lighter produced, and also to «• balj of thread \ produced: : From; a . large ..'jar of wood, charcoal he extracted the.wad and paperof a shotgun cartridge and a piece of charred leather. Another exhibit contained a burnt nail, Bone,rand .sacking. : He compared .the charred sacking .with a sack produced and-found that the material and construction were'similar.

MOBS FIRE-MARKED TrEMNANTS. , Mr. Grimnsaid he had examined two false teeth which had charred vulcanite adhering to them. ' Both teeth had been'burned from their setting. Witness.also found that, the screivs arid springs' produced 'fitted the cigarette lighter previously produced. Witness next' produced exhibits of burnt cloth arid- sacking, which, he identified and described. Other exhibits were metal buttons, a rivet, buckles, and brace fasteners, ~ail of which had been heated. One, brace . fastener had a portion of burntr brace , material showing. t Theje was ;also some charred , leather, with long pails embedded, in, it. This 'was from/the heel of, a boot or shoe. Sheets of galvanised.iron had had a.hot smoky flame,played' on, them. Altogether, from" the various exhibits, he recovered 21.4-.. grains, of melted lead.. • ' .. 'The.-Court adjourned till 2 o'clock, and, although .several witnesses have still to be.heard; .the hearing will be completed this afternoon.