Supposed Murder at Gisborne

Feilding Star, Volume XII, Issue 14, 19 July 1890, Page 2

Supposed Murder at Gisborne

(per united press association.) CJisbobne, July 18. The body of Eobert Streeter was , brought on a pack-horse from the place of , discovery, eight miles along a fearfully ' rough road, to the Whakatutu Hotel, 36 ' miles from here. Dr Innes conducted the | post mortem, and Mr Booth, R.M., held . the inquest. Mr L. Bees appeared for the prisoner and Mra Streeter. Constable Law said that he and a party of natives set out on Wednesday morning to search for tbe body, and were only 20 minutes 1 searching before they found it. They 1 went in the direction indicated by one of the men from the camp as the I place where Blackhad left a spade. : They found the spot, which looked like a fireplace made for boiling a billy, and 1 rooted about, and came acrosa a man's feet. They then dug deeper into the side of the hill and came across the body, 1 jammed in anyhow, with sticks and eirth 1 to cover it up. Dr Innes deposed that the body was fully dressed except for a hat. The clothing was blood-stained, and [ the battens which had been placed over i the body were also blood-stained. There was a hole behind the right ear, three : inches by two, and the skull was fractured i into many pieces. There was no mark of powder around the wound, but on search- , ing the brain he found pellets, shot, and several fragments of gravel. The body . was healthy, and he considered that the s wound was caused by a shot from a gun. 1 The charge passed through the head and ' came out by the left temple. Elizabeth i Streeter said the body was that of her : husband, and she had last seen him five i months ago. Arthur Parkinson and Frank McDonald also identified the body as Streeter's. The jury returned a verdict that the deceased was murdered by a , gunshot wound, but there was no evidence to show by whom inflicted. The Magisterial inquiry takes place on Monday. The body was a ghastly and revolting spectacle. The trunk was in good condition, the flesh being white but shrunk. The head, however, was a mass of corruption, and the wounds made it more sickening to look at. The whole face had been flattened in, and the features were indistinguishable. The party which left had a rough time of it, the riyers being in high flood and the roads very bad. This morning the prisoner Black was taken in to view the body, and immediately he entered the room the Sergeant asked him, "Do you know who that is ?" and he re. plied, "Yes— Eobert Streeter." These were the only words which fell from him, and throughout he maintained a stolid and simple appearance.