NEWS BY MAIL.

Hokitika Guardian, 20 February 1922, Page 3

NEWS BY MAIL.

SHOT HEIRESS

BERLIN, Dec. 22.

Peter Grupen nas been found guilty of the murder ot Dorothy Rohrbeck, 16, the heiress of Kleppelsdorf Castle, Silesia, and of her 12-years old cousin Ursula Scha.de, and condemned to death.

The court sat 16 hours to listen to counsel’s speeches. One of Giupen s counsel spoke for 5 hours. Anothei began at 10.30 last night and ended at 2 a.;tn. to-day. The story of the crime is that on February 14 Frau Eekhard, the grandmother, Dorothy, Ursula, and her younger sister, Trman, were staying at the castle and so was Peter Grupen, Dorothy’s unde by marriage. They were all together in a. room before luncheon .arid with them was Dorothy’s governess and her housekeeper. Suddenly Ursula took her cousin out of the , room, and 20 minutes later, when j luncheon was announced, they had not I returned. A maid was sent to call I them.

She returned with the news that she had found them dead in a lower room with blond flowing from their wounds. A revolver lay at Ursula’s side. Shortly afterwards suspicion fell on Peter Grupen. Frau Eekhard appeared to have been entirely under his influnce, and it was argued that as the castle and enormous wealth passed to her after the death of her grandchild. Grupen hoped to benefit. , During the trial many women and girls gave evidence of Grupen’s “fascinating personality,” and it was sug- ' gested that he had hypnotised Ursula into shooting her cousin, but this theory was disproved by witnesses. A medical expert’ evidence was that girls’ devotion to Grupen was “sex slavery.”