THE WAIKINO MURDER.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4639, 17 December 1923, Page 2

THE WAIKINO MURDER.

CONCLUSION OF HEARING. ACCUSED COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. (Belpre Mr J. H. Salmon, S<M-) The preliminary hearing of the two murder chargfes preferred against John Christopher Higgins, farmer, of Wtikino, was concluded at the Paeroa Courthouse on Friday evening. Mr V. -R. Meredith, Auckland, conducted the case for the Crown, assisted by Inspector Wohhnann, Hamilton, of the Police Department. Mr J. J. Sullivan, Auckland, appeared for. the accused. Pether James McKinney, aged eight years, said he was shot in the haul as he sat at his desk. He afterwards ran away.. A fourth standard pupil, Peter Raymond Shaw, aged 12, said Higgins waited awhile in the classroom before, firing. Witness was shot in the finger as he was trying to open the window, and then he hid under the desk. From there he could see IHggirs walking to and fro. Then accused went to within a yard of Kelvyn McLean, who said, ‘‘Do not shoot me, Mr Higgins. I will not hurt you, Mr Higgins-” The boy started to cry. Witness thought Higgins said something to McLean, but did not hear what it was, and did not sec the boy shot. Higgins went to a desk under which two girls were hiding and fired at them. After Higgins left the room witness saw the boy Stewart lying oa the floor. , Doris Irene Hewitt, teacher, who was in the main classroom, said that Higgins did not seem to be firing at random, but to be picking out certain children. He showed no signs of excitement Cross-examined, witness said she did not see accused firing, but saw him aiming. She would not say that ■she actually saw him picking out certain children. Further evidence was given by .Elina Georgina Sutton, a member of 'the staff, who was teaching in the infnnt room when Higgles walked past her with a revolver in his handWitness said that accused looked round the room before he fired. He .seemed to take aim at a boy, who dodged. Witness went into the othe 4 classroom, into which Higgins came. Witness was one of the teachers who hid behind the She said she saw the boy McLean shot. Higgins walked up to him before firing-Cross-examined, witness said tha: the boy McLean was not hit at the firs*-.shot. She saw Higgins deliberately walk up to where McLean was sitting. Mr Sullivan: Would you pledge your oath that Higgins deliberately shot McLean ? Witness : I would. Dr. J. _McM. Cole, of Waihi, said that when he spoke to accused about 12.30 p.m. on October 19 there was then nothing abnormal about Higgins’ demeanour. He was calm and collected. Later, when witness visited accused at the hospital, he heard him say to Constable Whiting words to the following effect: /‘You do not know how I have been persecuted-” Witness .said to him, “No one has been persecuting you.” Higginsi made no reply, but just looked up, and his expression changed. He looked quite angry for a few seconds. Witness was with Higgins for some time on this occasion, and accused seemed quite normal and appeared ito know what he was doing. To Mr Sullivan : A man may be normal on every subject except one. Nora Constance Amy Whitley, a 12-year-old girl, who had hidden under a desk in the classroom where the boy McLean was, said she heard the boy call to accused: “Don’t shoot me, Mr Higgins.” He also called for his mother. Witness did not see McLean shot. The events following the arrival of civiliar.s and the police at the school were outlined by Frederick Kinsella, butcher, of Waiklno, one of the ilrs.t arrivals. Higgins, he said, was then leaning out of the .study window witn a revolver in his hand. He called out: “What do you want?” Witness had known Higgiffs for several years, and on this occasion noticed nothing different about him. To Mr Sullivan witness said that accused addressed him shortly. There was that difference from other occasions. Frederick N. Franks, foreman moulder a.t the Waikino battery, said that when called on by Senior-Ser-geant O’Grady to surrender accused said: “Come round here and I will toss you up. You have not given me a fair go.” O’Grady said : “I have always giver; you a fair go.” Witness -heard no more. ■ SeniorSergeant O’Grady tried to “wing” Higgins. Shortly after Constable Olsen was shot witness called to Higgins “Come on, Jack, you will only get shot.” Higgins replied : “I will get shot, anyway." Wltnesi said the only thing to do was to burn down tbe school. Higgins replied : “Let her go.” Then witness heard that Higgins had thrown his reovlver out. The door was broken in and the crowd rushed in to arrest accused. Higgins wak always a quiet man. An account of the siege of the school was given by William Joughlin, fitter at the battery. He said he procured a rifle and fired 10 shots into the study. When Higgins hail thmwn away his revolver he was kept covered by Sergeant O’Grady and the civilians, and witness opened the door to secure him. Accused said : “My revolver is gone, but I have a knife.” Witness did not see it. When Higgins had been made to put his hands un he was handcuffed and secured. Daniel Andrew Bustard, battery hand at Waikino, said that when he went up to the school he learned that accused wa.s in the study. Aftei- witness and another man had smashed in the door witness called out: “You coward.” Higgins replied : “You do not know what you are talking about. I will get you-”

When standing by the door witness saw accused reloading his revolver. Prior to this Higgins had been tiring. Referring to subsequent events witness said that in the rush when the study door was opened Higgins was knocked over, and witnesfi struck him. Constable H. J. Olsen, of Waihi, gave evidence that after Sergeant O’Grady called on accused to-sur-render witness went to the study door, and’looking through a crack saw Higgins looking out of the window. Mr Reid was lying on the floor. Accused was exposed, but witness had no arms. He subsequently gov the revolver. Accused was behind '.he cupboard, but. looked round quickly, saw witness, fired, and shot him in the abdomen. Senior-Sergeant O’Grady, of Waihi, gave a detailed account of the events at the school after the arrival of the police. The building was surrounded, he said, and Higgins was standing at the study window. They called on him to throw his revolver away, and come out. Higgins replied, “Is that you, Sergeant ?" and then fired. Witness and constables worked their way into the school building, where wit-nr.c-s again called on accused to throw the revolver away. Instead of complying ac- used continued firing. Witness lm ’ two shots at accused’s hand, with the intention of putting him out of action, but missed. Efforts, to persuade I-i:.cg'n,s to throw down the revolver faked. Shortly afterwards Constable Olsen was shot, and a barricade was then erected (to enable him to he removed safely. More shots were fired, and a service rifle was brought into action against accused. Witness got a spade, broke the study door, and told Higgins if he did not ' throw the revolver through the window ho would shoot him. ~

Continuing, Sergeant O’Grady sai l ae exclaimed that Mr Reid was dead. Accused kept silent for a few minutes, and then said: “It is all over.” He threw his revolver away after that. The barricade was removed, arid witness walked ‘n. Mr Reid moved on to bis side—the first sign of life he had given since the police had arrived. There was a general rusn into the loom and Higgins was hand■cuffe.l. Near accused’s coat was found a bowie-knife, and 25 live automatic pistol cartridges were -found oh the floor. Two were taken from the magazine of the pistol accused 1 ad thrown a,way, and one from the chamber. There were also empty cartridges ■about in the study. . “* •. Witness saw a detonator attached to a fuse, ready for use on a plug of gelignite. At accused’s residence witness found four large plugs'of gelignite, some fuse, two boxes of detonators, and a quantity of ammunition. In July, 1921, witness said, he issued a permit to accused to purchase a bog, of gelignite, fuse, and detonators. Accused was then making a road. When the Arms Act came into force witness asked accused if he had a fire-arm. Higgins replied that he had had one, but had lost it. Witness visited accused in his cell oft October 18, and accused then appeared quite normal. He-was the same when arrested. : On being charged with murder he said he was sorry for the parents, but not for himself. He said he had lied to witness about the revolver, whicn he had had for many years. He said he often carried it about with him, but he did not know what he did the shooting for, or why he carried, the revolver to Waikino. Proceeding, Sergeant O’Grady said that on that occasion accused said: “I had a feeling I had to do something. When up there I emptied a loid of w.ood and then wandered up to the school, but I do not know what 1 went there for. I was walking about when the schoolmaster met me. We had some argument before I shot himI told him I was persecuted on my farm. I do not remember what we were arguing about. I fully realise that I am charged with murder.” Coss-examined, witness said he regarded Higgins as a quiet and intelligent man.. In the absence of a motive his, action was inexplicable. Constable W.' I. Trask, of Waihi, detailed the statement made -to him ( by Higgins when being escorted to Hamilton en route to Mount Eden. Accused said he remembered having an argument with Mr Reid, but did not remember shooting anyone. He was certain he did'not shoot the girl McGarry. He locked himself in the ■master’s office and saw someone through a crack in the door and fired, but did not know that it was Constable Olsen. Higgins also said that when in the office he felt a stinging pain in the body and thought he had been shot. He said he remembered being knocked when he was arrested. Accused alleged that his neighbours in general were persecuting him. He attributed a loss of, stock to them, and stated that the neighbours came to his house in the dead of night to persecute him. Finally accused said: “I am prepared to face the consequences of this terrible deed. 1 knew I was doing wrong, but I could not help doing it.” To Mr Sullivan witness said the statement was made on the train between Paeroa and Frankton Junction. Witness did not take notes at the time, but what he now said was substantially correct. The note was made when- he was returning from Hamilton a few hours later.

Dr. T. G. Short, of Waihi, who had proceeded to Waikino on the morning of October 19, described the condition of the injured and the injuries to the Witness said he had a conversation with the accused, who answered question rationally and intelligently. Later witness heard Dr. Cole speak to accused, who appeared to be in a normal, mild condition. This applied also to two subsequent occasions. To Mr Sullivan : I was not present when accused spoke to Dr. Cole about persecution. I did not mention the matter to accused latgj’. I did not examine him for delusions. Further evidence was given by Constable R. J. F. Whiting, of Waihi, who said that when searching accused he found in his waistcoat pocket an automatic pistol containing seven

live cartridges. Accused told witness tint he had been persecuted for years, but did not say what the persecutions were. The last witness was Constable McClinchy, who stated that when served with a summons in connection with a civil case about 12 months ago accused said: “I am persecuted in ev°ry quarter. Everyone is after me.” This concluded .the case for the. Crown. Mr Sullivan intimated that accused was reserving his defence. Higgins was committed for trial at the Supreme Court at Auckland.on February 5. He showed no emotion whatever. The Court rose shortly; before 8 p.in.