The Weekly Times. "Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri." MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1867. THE CASE OF WALTER TRICKER.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 49, 9 December 1867, Page 305

The Weekly Times. "Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri." MONDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1867. THE CASE OF WALTER TRICKER.

Circumstances have recently occurred which tend to revive much of the interest which was felt by the public in the case of Walter Tricker, who was, at the Supreme Court Sessions held in Wellington in June, 1864, condemned for the murder of Mr Rayner, at Rangitikei; and as much misconception exists regarding the merits of the case, we purpose to give a brief narrative of the events as they occurred, including the inquest and the trial, as well as the efforts made since his condemnation, by persons who are convinced of his inuocence, in his behalf.

Mr Rayner was a married man, and owing to the disturbed state of the country, in the latter part of 1863, he had sent his wife and _children for safety to Wellington, living himself on his farm with a half-caste lad (Hamilton), and a Maori boy (Hoani). On the 27th of August he was at the store of Mr Bull, about a mile or so from his home; he had gone there to receive payment for some cattle which he had sold from Mr Horace Broughton. He had received the money, and sent it away to Wellington, and left for his home soon after 10 o’clock. Next day he was to ha\e appeared again at Bull’s, it being the day for militia drill, but he did not appear, and was in fact never seen alive after. On the 2nd September a search was made for him by some of his neighbors, who, on proceeding to his house, found the kitchen door open, but the front door locked—a pane of glass broken in the front of the house, by means of which the fastenings of the French doors could be reached and access obtained. Tthey found a revolver on the floor, having two of its barrels loaddd' the other three, having been discharged, and the bedding in confusion ; his watch had run down, his milch cows had gone dry, his poultry were still shut iip, in the stable they found his saddle on the ground, stained with blood, and at length his body was found, close at hand, having been buried in the bank of a creek, at i spot from which clay had : been dug, and close by the grave a footmark corresponding with the boots worn by Hamilton. Further researches discovered a spade 1 ’stained with blood and hair,'twq others'covered with the clay; of the' creek, and in a whare close by tlie' remains of a very ‘small fire on;the ground* (usbid-for. a covering to the and a gin box smeared with blood. !

An inquest was held 'on the body at - during the -month of September*; frdfti time to timfe from the sth to the 14th. The two boys were Under arrbStf and exaniined. ahd Walterj /Tricker jwis als6!>arrestfed, as lie; ;W&s’ ! kn(>wn' to havei used ? language^ofla ffit|Batening character-* concerning;; ; he fq^t^q«giyai;.fqr. :

bis time from the evening on which Rayner was last seen alive until the next afterhoon, he was discharged. The two boys declared that they left Mr Rayner alive early on the morning .of Friday, the 28th, their term of service having expired—that he breakfasted with them andpardthein money, and gave Hoani a blanket and a pair of boots. Hamilton said that 'fallen he last saw Rayner he (Rayner) was pouring water on the kitchen fire, to put it out; that he saw no person about the premises on that morning: he said also' that there were eight horses in the paddock, three of them belonging to natives who had worked for Rayner, that one of these natives had been there 1 about a week before, and that he did not know who killed Raynerl

It also appeared that after Rayner had left Bull’s house on the Thursday night, and allowing him about time to have ridden home, three distinct shots were heard from the direction of his house. Three different persons ; —W. S. Russell, T. Scott, jun., and Joseph Freeth—concur iu the testimony, of having heard the reports and of the direction of the sound from the N.E., with a NE. wind blowing, and all the neighbors concur in the statement that at that time there was an unusual and unaccountable barking of all the dogs in the neighbourhood, one person in particular living near Rayner’s, Joseph Hitchens, having been obliged to get up to quiet bis dog. This Joseph Hitchens lived so near that he could hear any person speaking loud ou Rayner’s premises, and see anything that transpired there. He noticed that on the morning of the Friday all was quiet; he saw no person moving about, nor any smoke from the chimneys, and he was about his place splitting wood, in and out, all that morning ; if horses Mere tied to Rayner’s fence, he could have seen them, but he did not see any. The above evidence (excluding that of the boys) tends to prove that Rayner was murdered by persons lying in wait for him on his return from Bull’s, on the Thursday evening—possibly having beard that he had gone to take money, and not knowing of his inten tion to send it away as soon as he had received it. It would appear that on dismounting at his stable door he was struck down with the spade, and then shot with the three barrels of his own revolver, which it was ' known he had not with him at Bull ? s.

Other circumstances seem to confirm this vidfa of the case ; his dress was the same, he had the key of the house in his pocket, and inside the door was found a candle ready for lighting, as for a person returning after dark; also, as was pointed out, by W. S. Russell, his stomach was found empty, as of a man who had fasted for some hours; rather than of one who had just gone from breakfast. The remains of a small fire in the whare, the flax mat, and a tobacco pouch made of print, indicate the presence of Maoris, and footmark indicates him as 'being the fpetson faho Buried the body. :

The mystery attending -the murder caused great ! excitement; so: much/so,

that r a lar|fe 'reward -faas':offered-for thb discovery ; bf the and the greatest.'possible "publicity was given to, the offer, by means of. placards, &c., ‘in Maori and English, posted all over the district, ' when Hamilton ready to make another differing from .his previous qne implicating- Tricker—and : though; he denied knowing anything; of the proposed 4 could haye beem rgn^^

events, Tricker was again apprehended and on his evidence committed, for trial. The trial took place at Wellington, On the Bth, 9tK, and 10th of June, 1864., When Hamilton was examined, -—the other boy, Hoani not being, forthcoming* as, according to a medical certificate, he was unable to attend unless a conveyance was sent for him —Hamilton’s, story was directly opposed, in many important particulars, to that be had previously told, stating that when he , got up on the Friday morning, he went off to his brother-in-law’s (Horace Broughton’s) house to get his clothes, and from there to Bull’s, to get his horse, returning at once to Rayner’s, where be tied his horse to the fence. He found Mr Rayner up, cooking food on a wood fire, in an oyen; *• there was much smoke.” Beside the oven there was a pan of potatoes and a kettle of water on the fire. He left Rayner cooking, and went to milk the cows; having done which he returned and found Rayner at breakfast, nearly finished. He sat down to his breakfast, and Rayner went, first in bis bedroom, and afterwards, out to catch his horse., He almost immediately heard the report of u gun, which caused him to go out; before he got out he heard a a. second and a third report; when outside lie saw Tricker standing by the stable door, and Rayner lying dead. Tricker forced him by threats to help him bury the body, which they did in the bank, having first coverev it over with boards, and that himself after returning to the house for his clothes, went away, leaving Tricket on the premises. Tricker had threat- : ened him if he should tell what had occurred, and it was fear of Tricker’s threats which made him tell lies before. In cross-examination he denied having gone down to the grave (where his footprint was left) at any part of the time, but Tricker did. He did not tell his father, his sister, or his brother-in-law of the murder; he first told a native (Nepia) of it “ because he asked him.” The above is an outline of the evidence which led to Tricker’s condemnation, it was altogether unsupported by anything else, if we except the fact that Tricker had used threatening language against Rayner, on account of his having suffered imprisonment, as he felt unjustly, through Rayner’s means. His friends depended on the alibi he had before proved, and somewhat too lightly went over the details, which were as follows;—While Rayner was at Bull’s, on the 27th, Tricker left that place, and took Mrs Campion home.* He did not leave Campion’s house that night; Next morning he rose early, breakfasted, and left on horseback for Scott’s place—distant 4 from Campion’s 4 about eight miles—between six and seven o’clock; be stayed there about an hour, and left, taking with him letters for two people who lived in the direction *bf his road back to Campion’s; these were Wheeler and Winks. He reached Wheeler’s about nine* and gave him his letters,; stopped about five minutes, and went on towards Campion’s ; at a quarter before ten he gave Winks his and went on with him to Fraser’s, to drill, so that it was considered that his time Was entirely accounted for* and, as we must believe, satisfactorily ; but oil the part of the prosecution it vyas assumed that in the : interval between th’e delivery of Wheeler and Winks letters he had r ridden a distance of miles, committed the murder* buried the body, and done all that Hamilton had described without, as it appeared, any hurry,-and apparently cool, with a cool horse, was ready to go to drill with Winks, where he appeared ingood time, which, however* hose who know the place consider- to be 4 impossible. : - ' William Whale, also a neighbour* could 1 see’Rayner’s house and'- premises, from his place;; he noticed the hoiisebn the Friday morning; he usually saw smoke there of a morning, ibiit. there was noneftheff not seeanything siirring-ttiere: at all on that morning ; could 'have seeu a horse if tied^to^RajHiercs’l’fehceyliufc f ditl'not; *

. V we consider that the only * evidence! tending! Limpiicate him" is. iKß^J;;clf V{ ihe half-castb, and; that,.'even'that, was so opposed to hik

moat certainly -have observed some 4?f the occurrences of the Friday morning if they had taken place, we shall admit that it Vis utterly unworthy of any eiredit, Nor shall we be surprised to hear that he. is now ready to tell another tale, but we are surprised that any jury could convict a man upon such evidence—as much so as : the public were; who did not . hear Ms Honors summing up' fornone others supposed he cbuld be convicted.; 7 -Neither is it. strange that unceasing efforts haves since been made by his friends, whb believe him innocent, to procure his discharge ; 7 and notwithstanding that oyer four years ha,ve passed sinee the murder, and three and a half since the trial, nothing has occurred to fix the guilt on him; or to waive the almost complete testimony that establishes his innocence. There can be no pretension of a reason for keeping him in custody; if he is guilty, there were no extenuating circumstances, and he should have long since suffered death, and the only reason for a reprieve was a doubt, that doubt has not been removed, and he should have the benefit of it. Not but what we firmly believe his innocence will yet be made plain to all. '