The Musswell Lodge Murder.

Manawatu Herald, 16 April 1896, Page 2

The Musswell Lodge Murder.

The latest London cablegrams mention that three conjurors have been arrested at Bath on suspicion of being concerned in the Muswell Lodge murder. Their arrest was only effected after a fierce resistance. Two convicts are to be charged with complicity in the crime. English papers of 28rd February give full particulars of the inquest, and it shows the crime was not the act of professional burglars. There seems very little doubt that the murderers not only knew but were known by their victim. The successful manner in which they evaded the alarm wires, and the fact that, having gained admission to thea^ house, they proceeded direct to the^H very spot where the money waa kept —for there is 09 evidence that the/

eritered any apartment except the j bedroom and the kitchen — show | that they were well acquainted with the interior of the premises and ibe habits of the unfortunate gentleman. All tJolice authorities a.gree that the professional burglar 1 will never com ; - mil; what may be called unnecessary xririrder. In this case the murder Was not only unnecessary frdra a burglar's point of view, but Was evidently committed by men in a state Ofestreme panic. r „"^ie murdered man's name was Smith; aiid he lived at Musswell Lodge by himself and kept a sum of £700 in a safe in his bed-room. One q£ the witnesses described how the deceased was found. The deceased was lying with his head towards the floor of the kitchen. His legs were tiedj the knees tied, and he was tied With exceptional tightness round the hands, which were also bound to hi 3 side. He was only wearing a nightshirt and stockings. The lower extremities Were, cold, but the chest #as warfid. , His head was enveloped in cloths and tied with string. When that waa removed, the mouth was found stuffed with a duster ; and tt- there were a considerable number of wounds about his head. He noticed 4at the back of the skull ; behind the ear Wad a clear cub wound half an inch in diameter. There were 3 other wounds over the left temporal artery ; these were punctured wounds Which might havo been caused by blows from any blunt instrument. He paid particular attention to the wounds because the Bhape wa3 so singular. The doctor said there must have been a struggle. The nightcap was found in the coal scuttle. Deceased was well nourished and corpulent, weighing, probably, 17 stone, and standing 6ft in height. All the organs of the body were remarkably healthy. There was a fracture of the skull and laceration of the brain ; the fracture was the size of a shilling. Death wa3 caused by concussion of the brain, following shock, and loss of Wood. There was no sign of death from suffocation, nor was there any wound. Outside the house the Inspector traced the footsteps of two men from the back door to the fence, which they had got over and into the wood.