MURDER BY A BOY IN TASMANIA.

Globe, Volume III, Issue 253, 3 April 1875, Page 3

MURDER BY A BOY IN TASMANIA.

(Hobart Town Mercury, March 9.) By the arrival last evening from Southport of the ketch Oddfellow, we received particulars of a most shocking case of murder, perpetrated by one boy on another. The victim is a boy named Hooper, a son of Mr Hooper, of George-street. Battery Point, and the murderer is ayoungfellowof about twelve years old, named Hazlewood. Both boys were employed at Southport in taking care of horses and carting timber. On Wednesday last young Mr Elliod, in whose employment the deceased was, departed from the LeftHand Narrows with the intention of proceeding home to Southport, Prior to leaving he told Hooper to groom the horse and then go home. Next morning Mr Elliod, not seeing anything of Hooper, went up to the hut and inquired of Hazlewood as to his whereabouts. The boy said that he had not seen Hooper since Wednesday evening. Hazlewood then said he would see if Hooper was up at the other huts. On returning he said no one had seen the missing lad. Elliod then made an unsuccessful search, and afterwards reported the matter to the police. The latter, with Elliod and three other men, immediately proceeded to search the creek, thinking that the lad had gone to water his horses, and met with an accident. This search proving futile, the party took to the bush. While engaged in the search, one of the number remarked that he had heard the report of a gun the previous night, and asked his companions if they knew who had fired it. The others had also heard the report, but could not give any information as to who had fired the gun. By this time the party had arrived at Hazlewood’s hut, which they entered, and on asking the lad if he had heard the report of a gun, received for answer that Hooper had, the previous evening, taken a gun out of the hut to fire at a shag on the opposite bank of the river. The searchers then went into the hut, and looked at the gun, which they remarked was still loaded; and one of their number drew the charge, which he found to consist of a little powder and a large piece of paper, Hazlewood then said that Hooper, after discharging the gun, had again loaded it, and immediately afterwards went out. On looking round the hut some of the party discovered blood and a portion of brains on the chimney, on the back of which the hut is constructed. This aroused the suspicions of the party, and as they could not elicit any information from Hazlewood, they again proceeded to the bush. After some search they came upon traces of blood, which they followed up, and about 150 yards from the hut the body of Hooper was discovered. It had been dragged from the hut, placed under a log, and covered with scrub and boughs. On uncovering the body it was discovered that the back of the head was almost blown off, from which it, is assumed that the deceased was shot from behind. The face was but slightly disfigured, in fact, the only injury was the loss of a few teeth. Near the body three holes had been dug by the murderer, apparently with the intention of burying the body. His progress in sinking the holes was evidently stayed by coming upon solid rock, and he had chosen the log as the nearest and most expeditious means of concealment. The party afterwards came upon a portion of the deceased’s brain, which they placed in the head, and then conveyed the body to Mr Kennedy’s public-house. The boy Hazlewood has been arrested on suspicion of having committed the crime.