MYSTERY DEATH

Hokitika Guardian, 22 October 1931, Page 2

MYSTERY DEATH

NEW COUTH WALES CONSTABLE. MURDER OR SUICIDE? STARTLINC THEORIES. SYDNEY, Ottuber 8. Ihe story surnnindmg the death of Constable i. C. Nowland of Bendemeer • ' *} ■ -N.MI.) is stiangtr than fiction. Beudenieor is a sleepy little town set among the hills in tne flourishing Noitn Coast district, and tne constable*

married to a young wife, was one of its most populay inhabitants. On M-jiday night, at a late hour, lie let his home, ostensibly in answer to an alarm r. isi'd by a local resident who had said that a madman was ‘‘playing up” uu- | tier tlie bridge over the Macdonald River ,which runs through the town. Next day. after extensive dragging operations, the constable’s body was recovered from tbe river. At tT.e time everything ] jointed to the fact that he had been murdered, but serious doubts in that connection have since been aroused, and the police say definitely

that Constable Nowland committed suicide. At the same time they are t liable to suggest any reason why he should do so, Surely no suicide has ever, before his death, concocted such a fantastic aura of premeditated murder, such details of plot, in which mysterious strangers and lunatics were impressed on the mind of his wife and friends. It was with the greatest reluctance that the police discarded all suggestions of foul play. The events lead ng up to the tragedy are remarkable. According to the story told by the constable to iris wife, a man called at the police station on Sunday night and asked him to go down to i lie river because of some trouble with a madman who was running amok with a bottle of wine, threatening to kill everybody. Alls Nowland actually thought that she overheard the conversation between her husband and the stranger. The constable, with a friend, left the police station on Sunday night and returned a, little later with Gn> i< • j it i imr nothing was amiss. On Uoielas night the constable reported that (hr -• manger had again called and complained about the madman on the bridge. Constable Nowland said he did not like the look of tilings and once again went

out to investigate. He told his wife that he would take his revolver for fear he needed it, and then said goodbye to her. From that moment the constable was not again seen alive. When her husband did not return home Mrs Nowland told her story to the police at Tam worth, and it was agreed that something mysterious must have occurred to prevent the return of the young officer, who was regarded as both careful and experienced. After hearing the woman’s story, the police were convinced that quick action was necessary and commenced to search the village and its environs, The villagers, aroused by these unwonted scenes of activity, volunteered : their assistance, and thus began an extensive search for the supposed murderer. The bridge and the route from the polici station that the constable should have taken, were closely examined for sorru clue which might have suggested where a scuffle had taken place or for bloodstains which might have confirm-

ed the suspicions that there had been a fight. Absolutely nothing was found. It was then agreed that the rivershould be dragged, After operations which lasted for some hours, the body of the constable was found in shallow water still fully clothed and with the revolver in its holster. The only thing missing was the constable’s cap. There had been some slight bleeding from the nose, and this, though it would be consistent with drowning, might have been caused by some cerebral injury. That was one of the factors which led to the police theory that Constable Xowland was decoyed from his home,

ambushed nearby, struck on the head with some weapon such as. a sandbag, which would leave no external mark, hut would be sufficient to render him unconscious. Then, it was thought, he was carried to the bank of the river, and thrown in among the tangled willow roots. The local Heath Office) was convinced that when Constable Xowland entered the water he was alive.

The mystery took a surprising turn on Wednesday when it was reported that a post mortem examination of the dead man’s stomach had revealed indications of large quantities of strychnine. It was taken apparently onl\ to make doubly sure of death. * Standing on the brink of the river, wearing his overcoat, witli a loaded revolver i his holster, Constable Xowland must have s'valowcd the strychnine and then before the poison had time to take its effect, plunged into the stream. The police are nov, rat i: !;•••] I hat Xowland went to the doot oi tin; t>• ! i< ■• ■ station in Sunday night. returned ;...a to.i. his wife that a suspicious stranger bad called, when, in fact, no one had been there. Xowland told his wife that a stranger had wanted to sleep in the

cells and tha the had been unable to permit him to do so. The police r.-c certain that no stranger called. As t" the conversation which Mrs Xowland said she overheard on 1 lie fol'o—or night, the police are also satisfied tha. Xowland asked ■ the questions and answered tinm himself in order that lie could deceive his wife. Xo reason can be diseovred, despite the widest inquiries, ftr these strange actions. Norland took a keen interest in his work,

-**d -W1 n happy lmme life. He was the only person to see the mysterious stranger on either Sunday or Monday night, and no resident recalls having seen anybody camped near this particular part of the river. Those who oppose the suicide theory ask why a man intending to take his own life should go to such extraordinary lengths. Maybe the full story will not be told until the inquest is held.