PUKEKAWA MURDER

Hokitika Guardian, 19 October 1920, Page 4

PUKEKAWA MURDER

* . AUCKLAND, Oct. 15 The trial of Samuel Thorn, on a charge of the murder of Sydney Seymour Eyre, was continued at PukeUohe.

iMr Singer (for the defence) said that while Mr Hunt (for the Crown) had qttit'e properly stated in his opening evidence he proposed to call, aiid had given theories deduciblo from that evidence, lie thought, in fairness to‘the accused, tljat it should be made plain that the credibility of the evidence had yet to be tested, and consequently the deductions stated by counsel had to be accepted with reservations until they were proved sdpnd or unsound. He desired to call attention to tliis poiht irf older that there should be no prejudgment of toe cake until the evidence hiul been tested in later proceedings, and the defence disclosed.

Miilicent Eyre, widow of the deceased j stated that the property of 600 acres owned by her late husband, was worth between £15,000 and £20,000. On the flight of August 24th there was nobody at the house except members of the family, and everyone was in bed by about 9 o’clock. Her husband and Phillip were the last to go to bed, and ■she saw that the front door was closed. She was awakened after having been asleep some time by accused’s dog barking under the boy's room. This dog, Bob, bad been taken away by Thorn wh4n lie left, but bad come back by itself. The dog was barking furiously, and she called fo it to fie down, which it did after a time, and she again went off to sleep, to be awakened later by the shot of a gun. She heard quick, heavy steps up the side of the house, apparent, ly going towards the back gate. She called to her husband, and, getting no answer, she struck a light and discovered that the top of his head had been blown away. Between five and ten minutes after the boys had left the house for help, she heard a horse cross the bridge below the house, apparently going away from the house. Witness said that accused last visited the farm on August 24th. He had often told her that lie loved her, and had asked her to go and live with him. She admitted that relations had been improper between accused and herself. They continued after her husband returned. She could not prevent them, because Thorn said he Would “put mo away to my husband; expose me; drag my name in the gutter; and get me divorced.” She saw accused at the Tuakau police station after the murder. He asked her then what made her think that he had killed her husband. She replied: “Circumstances.” He asked: “What circumstances,” and she answered: “You knew the position of the bed and everything about the house.” He replied: “True as I am here I never did it.” Under cross-examination by Air Singer, she stated that her husband’s return from the war last year was not a complete surprise, but he did not announce the date of his return to herself, or to any member of the family. When the boys on the night of the tragedy were sent for assistance, they went out of the front door, because she thought it would be safer, as she heard someone run up the back. Dr Wake, of Pukekohe, stated that when he visited the house with Sergeant Cowan, in the early hours of August 25th, Eyre was found lying on his bed, as described by Airs Eyre. Tlie bedclothes were not disturbed, and the body was in a position of repose, while the top of the head was blown off, indicating that the man had been murdered in his sleep. The mark on the place where the left eye had been, had been caused, he considered, by the firing of the gun close to the head. The direction in which brain and bone fragments were scattered and the appearance of the wound generally led him to conclude that the shot had been fired from outside the window. The gun barrel had inclined slightly downwards, and at such an angle that any person in the other bed would not be bit.

Dr Campbell Smith, who made a postmortem examination, gave corroborative evidence, and testified to finding about 40 pellets of shot in the base of the skull. From tests he had made with a gun on tlie spot, lie considered that it would be easier for a left-handed man than for a right-lmnded man to fire the fatal shot at the angle at which it must liavfi been fired. He considered/it impossible that the shot could have been fired from inside the room.

Phillip Sydney Eyre said he was 16 years of age. He had often been out shooting with Thorn, who was a good shot, and always fired left-handed. He bad frequently seen accused go into his mother’s bedroom when she was ill in 1918. Accused slept in the same room as witness, and witness at times heard accused go out of the room after they had got into bed at night, and go along the passage, after which he heard him talking with bis mother. When witness’s father was not present, accused called his mother M illy. He heard accused talking to his mother one day about his father. Accused said he would “murder” him or “kill him,” but he was not sure exactly what the phrase was. After accused had left the farm lie called hack one Sunday and complained to witness’s mother that witness’s father was talking about him. His mother denied this, and accused retorted “Every dog has his day.” While his father was away tilings were very happy in the household. Thorn and Mrs Eyre were on the best of terms, as were also the children and Thorn. William Henry Hazard, gunmaker, of Auckland, gave evidence in regard to two guns lie had examined. One had not been fired for at least a month, while the other gun (produced) had been fired recently—the left barrel more recently than the right. In his opinion the gun which was fired at deceased was fired by a left-handed person, who stood on a crosspiece from the steps to the wall, holding on with his right hand to the window sill. Further evidence was given in regard to the hoof marks of a horse seen on the road. The case has not concluded. (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, Oct. 18. The charge against Samuel John Thorn, of having murdtred Sydney Seymour Eyre, at Pukekawa, on August ■ 24th, was continued in the Auckland j Court,

James Granville, a farmer, whose property is eighteen or nineteen hiiles from Eyre’s farm, deposed that accused entered bis employ about June 11th, and occupied a'whare on the farm with another farm hand, .Joseph Bell. Subsequently he fixed up another''camp for Thorn about two miles from the house. Bell left witness’s employ on August 23rd (Monday). A hoy had been engaged to help Thorn, but so far as Thorn know* Monday and Tuesday would be the only night lie would be sleeping „alono at the new camp. Witness saw Thorn there on Monday and Tuesday. Among the horses Thorn had in camp was Micky and the latter was the only horse wearing plain shoes that had not heels on them. Witness was present when Thorn knocked off ploughing about 5 p.m. on Tuesday. When witness got back to Thorn’s camp at 9 a.m. next day, Thorn was working a double furrow plough with Micky in the team. Accused had just started. He explained being late, saying the horses were not working well. It was not till that night that witness heard of the murder. The police visited witness’s place on Wednesday evening and spoke to Thorn. morning they took Thorn to inspect the horses, asked witness what horse the police were after. When told “Dick,” he used a coarse expression to indicate that'the police were on the wrong track, but when Thorn saw the police taking “Micky’s” shoes, he said “Oh.” Accused’s saddle was tried on Micky, and fitted it. In cross-examination, witness admitted to counsel he had seen accused riding two other draught horses just prior to the day of the murder, which would necessitate accused lengthening the girth straps of liis saddle.

Mr T. D. McHiver, solicitor and cotrustee in Eyre’s will, said the estate was worth about £17,200. Mrs Eyre had an interest of one-sixth of the income, estimated at £157 per year. She would get another £157 per year for the children’s keep and education.