PICTON MURDER

Hokitika Guardian, 26 August 1932, Page 5

PICTON MURDER

TRIAL CONTINUES

EXHIBITION OF SKUL'L OPPOSED.

(Per Press Association — Copyright.)

BLENHEIM, Aug. 25.

At the Picton murder trial most of the afternoon session wa3 taken up in nearing evidence indentifying a ser.es of £lO and £2O notes alleged to have been cashed, at various shops by the accused, Tarrant. .

■ It was proposed by Dr Lynch, the patheologist, to exhibit the skull of the deceased in Court.

Counsel for the prosecution objected to its exhibition at that stage. The difficulty was got over by .counsel. and the Magistrate examining the gruesome skull in chambers. . ....

A typical case of the evidence was that hf Clifford McKay, a gentlemen’s mercer, of Blenheim. He said that the accused bought goods valued at 15s, tendering £lO in payment. Witness remarked to the accused; ■. “There are not many of these notes About.’’, The accused replied: “There afe still one or two abotit.” Solne days later the accused again called; at witness's shop, and pm-chased goods, again tendering a £lO note. On a third occasion liq also tendered » £lO hot?, A 1 of tsiwb notes were stained, bearing rusty brown marks.

Sergt, ' Petersen, .detailed steps that were taken by the police to obtain possession of th© notes -that were cashed by the accused. Some of the notes were very soft and damp. The signature on two of them had. quite disappeared, and on others they were nearly gone. The notes appeared to be mildewed. .

Constables McKay and Healey gave evidence as to obtaining £2O antf £lO notes cashed by the accused from- a number of tradesmen. Detective Jarrold said that he interviewed .the accused) regarding the money transaction lie had had with the deceased, and also regarding, his movements on the night of November 3rd last. Tli© accused said that he had clear recolections of,, that njght.l He then made a statement that he used to tether his horse in the deceased’s section,, but he was not near the deceased’s bouse on the night of Nov-, ember 3rd. He spent the evening grazing his horse, and at' about ..nine o'clock, he returned home with his two sons. Witness again interviewed the accused and told him that people whom he stated he.bad met on the night of November 3rd bad denied having met him, about 8 (o’clock, and that two *men, Hcberbley and Parslow, hadmfet him earlier Ir the evening. The accused stat'd that Mr Bjizzard's state: m&nt that he called on him (accused) to demand payment of tent on the night of November 2nd was untrue, . Witness asked the accused why he

did not nay Blizzard the rent from the £3O ‘that he borrowed from the de* ceased. The accused then began .to tremble and was very 'excited. He said that he didn’t want Blizzard to know that hei had -borrowed money from Flood. The accused made a further statement reiterating that his former statement in connection with his movements on the night of November 3rd wastborrect. Witeness told the accused that he had a search warrant to search his house and. grounds for money, papers and the wallet,- The accused' 9aid that he had no objection. Sums of a lifde over one pound in silver and coppers were all the money in the house.. In the backyard, the accused demonstrated his skill in splitting a block of wood at one blow with an axe. He did this in a left-handed manner, ahd he said that he could sol it a five-foot length just as easy. The axe had. a very sharp edge. The accused said that it was the only axe he had except an old one with a broken handle. ,

After the arret, witness o tookpossession of the axe. It had a different handle to what it had on December 3rd, and the edge was now blunt. On June 18th, witness and 'Sub-Inspect-or Ward interviewed the accused in the Blenheim Police Station. The SubInsnector said that it had come to the Police Department’s notice that the accused had been cashing £lO an<T'£2o notes. He was asked for an explanation. The accused said that he had spent notes at various shops that were mentioned. The accused was shown notes, and he was asked to, pick out notes that he had cashed. He picked out stained notes. Asked where he bad obtained them, the accused said that he had been, saving - them for years. He said that he had' got the notes when money had been paid to him by various firms.' The accused accounted for the stains by the fact that he had kept the notes in a chocolate box hidden tinder the kitchen floor, and that probably tliev had got damp. At this stage the witness was feeling tlie. strain of being two hours in the box, and he was allowed to stand down till the morning.

The Court adjourned at 10 p.m. till 9 a.m.

ADMITTED FINDING WALLET.

COMMITTED TO SUPREME COURT.

BLENHEIM. August 26.

At the resumption of the PictOn murder charge this moraine, Detective Jarroll, continuing his evidence, said, after warning accused that he was willing to take any further statement he would like tc make, accused stated that he found the money in a wallet under a hedge between the croquet lawn, and

Miss Williams’ .property. He had been searching for hens’ nests when ho lound it. When accused was charged with murder, he replied “I did not do it.” After the arrest a £2O note was found in the lining of accused’s overcoat. Accused said that it was the last of the money that he found. Suit-Inspector Ward’s evidence followed the lines of that given by Detective Jarrold. Counsel for accused reserved his defence, and accused was committed for trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court at Blenheim. I ■ ■