MURDER TRIAL COLLAPSE

Hokitika Guardian, 20 March 1930, Page 3

MURDER TRIAL COLLAPSE

IPSWICH, (Suffolk,) January 31. With dramatic suddenness the pi :>- seen Lion m a murder trial at the Suffolk Assizes at Ipswich to-day collapsed, and the accused man, George Whistleeraft, a farm labourer, aged 61 leift the court a free man. Whistleeraft was indicted for the murder of Charles Cornwall a gamekeeper, employed by Lord Plairfair on his Redgrave estate at Botesdale, near Eye. The case for the Crown, outlined by Mr J. D. Cassels, K.C.. was that Cornwall was killed in Stubbins Wood by a discharge of No. 5 shot from a folding gun with .410 bore. A similar gun was found in the cottage of Wliistlecraft at Rickiiighall Inferior when lie was arrested. The whole Crown case collapsed alter the evidence of Mr Robert Church ill, the gun expert, of Orange-street, Lei-cester-square, London.

GUN EXPERIMENTS. Exploded and unexploded cartridges had been found in Stubbins Wood. These cartridges were examined by Mr (Tmrcbill, who declared that the ?.x----ploded cartridges had been fired from a gun with a blunt striker, and the unexnloded cartridges showed that the free misfired owin' l - to a fault and the striker having stuck. He had examined th"> gun taken from Whistlcoraft’s house. He found after expe’ment that this gun misfired on occasions and had a striker which stuck ; hut it had a point ed striker. Mr Justice M'-Cardie: That, means apparently that it was not this gun that fired those cartridges. “T am not prepared to sav either way,” replied Mr Church HI. “T cannot swear that this gun fired those cartridges.”

| VERY SERIOUS POINT. I Mi' Justice McCardie (to Mr (a: scls): Tliat is a very serious point i your way. Jfir Casisols: Yes, it is, assuming t course that these cartridges had am t thing to do with the crime. “But that was part of your case, declared Mr Justice McCardie. “Yo cannot have it both ways. Is there an, evidence to connect this man with til use of this gun?” -Mr Ca.vscls: Only that it was foum hy the police in the house when WTrstleeraft resides, in tlie room wlier he was sitting. Mr Justice McCardie: With hi: brother. You are in a serious difficult,! Do you think that in view of the evi deuce von could safely ask the jury tc convict? After a consultation between Mr (-'assets and Mr Push ley, representing the Director of Public Prosecutions, M,i C'assels said: “I am prepared to take the responsibility, and in the interests of justice, which after all is our main consideration, to say it would not b( right to go further with the case for the prosecution. I shall therefore not offer any further evidence.” The jury on the direction of Mil Justice McCardie, returned a verdict of Not Cuilty, and then the judge, turning to Whistlecraft, said: “You can go from the dock.” Whistlecraft touched his Iforelocks •Mid left the court.