BAYLY TRIAL

Evening Star, Issue 21752, 21 June 1934, Page 13

BAYLY TRIAL

COUNSEL CONTINUES ADDRESS SUGGESTS EVIDENCE WAS "PLANTED” On resumption of liis address to the jury ill tlio Ruawaro murder case, niter the luncheon adjournment .Mr Northcroft stated that it would be shown that the presence of bones at Bayly’s property showed that the.y could not have, been placed there by Bayly. The police had been at Bayly’s on November 16, some weeks before Bayly was arrested. Bones began to bo found. They then took two bottles of 'charcoal. There was no bone in that charcoal. If the Crown’s theory was correct it was amazing that neither bone nor the ashes oi bone were found then. The defence declared that this charcoal represented ash from the boiler when pigs were killed. The charcoal had yielded a piece of load, but this might well have come from an old lead-headed nail. Mr Meredith had admitted that it might well have come from an old lead-headed nail or a piece of (lashing. Mr Meredith had admitted that lead could have come from the debris in a number of innocent ways. On November 16 Detective Findlay had taken deposits from right across the cowyard, and all that was obtained comprised infinitesimal quantities of bone dust. “We know the whole place was searched over and scrapings taken,” eontinued counsel. “ Detective Allsopp took five scrapings, all of which were negative save one from a drum. At the bore was charcoal ash, with bonedust, burnt nails, and staples. There was also lead. There is nothing inconsistent with what Bayly said was the use made of the drum after he cut it. Ho told the police that lie cut it to heat an iron. You have there miscellaneous bits of nails such as those from a packing ease which Bayly told the police had been used in a fire there. That exhausts all that was found on November 16. Anything which looked like ash charcoal was taken, but no bone was found. Any bone found subsequently must bo regarded with the utmost suspicion. The bone found later was found in the positions where it must have been found during this search if it were there then. During a further search on November '2d everything had been thoroughly inspected. The scrapings where-the drum stood and also the two parts of the drum were taken, and again nothing suspicious was discovered. In other words, the detectives had been oyer the place again and again. If anything incriminating were to be found it would have been found then. After Bayly was arrested we start to get the material found where searches for this very class of material had been already carried out. One exhibit taken by Detective Bayliss and other detectives has been described as obtained from the cowyard. There is no evidence of bone fragments. Tin's exhibit lias been washed. Can you believe the bone fragments have been in the cowyard, trampled in mud unci dung, from the middle of October till the middle of December? I don’t hesitate to suggest, using the language of the miners, that it gives clear indications of salting.” Mr Meredith said a large number came from the dip. “ 1 quite expected that point,” replied Mr Northcroft. “The police themselves have made no attempt to put in one container the bones they got in the dip and in the other container the bones got in ! the cowyard.” Af ter • ITi'rfchcf : : argument, -Mr Nortlit croft said ho Was prepared to read the evidence'of every constable on''this question. ' , “ Perhaps you had bettor do it,” remarked His Honour. “ I repeat that the bone found on that occasion is the clearest proof that someone deposited the bone at Bayly’s place in ini effort to assist the police to get evidence against Bayly,” continued counsel, who reiterated the point that if the material had been lying in the yard and in the 'dip for six weeks it would not bear its present appearance, “ The same observation applies to the lighter,” he continued. “ If that lighter had lain in the dip, could it possibly have remained in this condition for that time ? Even the wadding in the bottom was comparatively clean.” “ The finding of the material in Bayly’s garden was almost more mysterious,” eontinued counsel. “ The Crown has invited the jury to believe that Bayly had concealed material about the sheep dip and cowshed, and had dug it into the garden. The police had been looking everywhere for Lakey’s body. Constable Elms arrived at Bayly’s at mid-day on October 16. The garden then must have been, according to the Crown theory, conspicuously freshly dug. Next day the detectives visited Bayly’s, as did Constable M'Eacliern, who had, lunch'there. During the same week other police officers, including Chief-detective Sweeney, visited Bayly’s, while on Saturday the police arrived with a search warrant, inspecting the property thoroughly. Yet beneath their eyes was a piece of ground newly dug in which it was now said incriminating evidence was found. Actually the garden had not been dug then. When the police did commence to dig the garden they went straight to the small area, 10ft by 10ft, whore the material was found.” “ All that is found there is negative,” continued Mr Northcroft. All that was found was rubbish commonly found after a domestic bonfire. There was also found bone resting on sods. This was such a small quantity that it could easily have been dibbled in without disturbing the appearance of the garden. In other words, it could easily have been placed there by a person other than llayly. When the police arrived they went straight to the place and commenced to dig. The whole vegetable garden bad been neglected. That might have been accidental, but it strongly suggested that someone bad placed the material there, and then through an indirect channel communicated with the police, as ho (counsel) had suggested had been done with regard to the guns. Mr Meredith said the police had dug the whole garden. .Mr Northcroft replied that the whole garden had now been dug by the defence at bis orders, so, unfortunately, be could not judge, but be would rend the record of the evidence to show bow much garden bad been dug. He read portion of Detective Allsopp’s evidence. “'l’lie point, I make is this: The police went to (be garden, and at the very point where they started digging materia) is found,” be continued. “ The point is too significant to Overlook. The point has been made that bone bad been found with wood ash in each instance. Asli is a good fertiliser, and Bayly used it frequently. AYborevcr bone had been placed it would have been found in conjunction with the ash throughout the garden.’’ There was one curious matter in relation to fbo teeth. False tooth wore very resistant to tire. Of a set of thirteen teeth only four bad been found at Bayly’s. Lakey's upper set bad one tiiotb missing. There was found on October 16 a spare tooth at ■ Lakey’s bouse. This tooth did not harmonise with the rest of tlie teeth,' When the

police found the teeth at Bayly’s and compared the loose tooth with these they found that they did not fit, so another loose tooth had been then conveniently found at Lakey’s. “ It is a‘most extraordinary thing,” he continued. “Flow does that tooth come to be found at Lakey’s in December at a place the police had thoroughly searched? ” Another fact was none of the lower teeth nor part of the jaw had been found. Of all the bones of the skull found all related to the upper portion and none related to the lower portion; ■: The only part of the Crown case which survived oross-exanL. inatiou was that, a small portion of a human skeleton, had been found at Bayjy’s , concealed in . extraordinary places,: and on that alone the jury was asked to convict BayJy. “ I ask you-if there is any evidence on which you are entitled to say that Lakey is. dead at all? ” he continued; “ Although there be evidences of a crime, and that circumstantial evidencelinks the accused person with that crime, circumstantial evidence cannot be used, or must be used with caution, to prove there lias been a crime committed. In other words, there must be a corpse or the existence of a corpse demonstrated by proper evidence before a person can be convicted of murder.” After reading authorities to support his contention, counsel said that unless the fact that a murder had been done was proved the body must be found. Circumstantial evidence must be as cogent as direct evidence in identifying the remains before any jury was justified in concluding that there had been a murder let alone concluding there had been a murder by the accused person. The jury would have to be definitely satisfied in the first place that the remains were those of Lakey. The judge would direct the jury on this point. “ The jury will he directed properly ; you can rest assured of that,” observed His Honour. Mr Northcroft said that counsel was entitled to bring the judge’s attentionto any matter on which the jury should be directed. “If counsel-is correct,” rejoined His Honour. Mr Northcroft said that the jury bad to consider whether Lakey might even now reappear in; some obscure part of New Zealand or even have gone overseas, it was for it to say whether Lakey ’was dead. It was on the evidence of the experts alone that the' jury was invited to form the view that the relics exhibited represented one body. Counsel then quoted from several volumes passages relating to expert evidence. It was notable ot all the bones positively identified as human, ho said, that all but four or five came from the upper part of. a skull, which was the commonest form of human relic to be found. “ 1 suggest to you that these arc the remains of a few casually collected bones collected for the purpose of burning and scattering on his property,”declared counsel, who said that any oily vegetable resinous material coming in contact with dry holies in a fire would give. a charred bubbly appearance. The (barred bubbly material had been said to occur only where muscle was present on tho bone, yet on one exhibit the bubbly material covered- a portion of-, broken edge of bone. None had been found in the interior of the skull, where it would be expected if the skull bad been burnt with tlic brain tissues ■ inside. There was every reason to believe that these bones were a miscellaneous collection which could easily be picked up anywhere to 'provide a false scent, not to lead to the conviction of Bayly, but to divert suspicion from the person responsible. The Crown bad advanced the proposition that all the bones bad been burnt at the same time and for the saint' length of time, lint this could not be supported, concluded Mr Northcroft. After counsel bad intimated that the point on which be was about next to embark was a lengthy one, the court adjourned.