ALLEGED CHILD-MURDER CASE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3763, 27 April 1907, Page 2

ALLEGED CHILD-MURDER CASE.

A Sensational Ending. Full Details. The alleged child-murder case at Christchurch came to a sensational ending on Tuesday. The Christchurch Truth publishes the following details ; The accused, Alfred Hellyer, after appearing at the Magistrate’s Court in the morning, was taken violently ill in the police cells during the afternoon, and was removed to the hospital, where he died shortly before eight o’clock. Death, it is understood, was caused by poison, self-administered. Hellyer was arrested at Belfast on Sunday morning on a charge of having murdered an illegitimate child named Clifford Gunning, of which he is alleged to be' the father. When the child was born he informed the mother that he intended to have it adopted, and with that object in view he arranged to meet her on the Belfast road, where he was to take charge of the infant for the purpose of handing it over to the people who were to act as its future guardians. The girl, in company with a married woman, accordingly went to the place mentioned by the young man, where he joined them. He expressed annoyance at the presence of the third party, and spoke rather severely to the mother of the child for her want of forethought in allowing the other woman to accompany her. The child was handed over to him, and he walked away in the direction of the river Styx, wheeling his bicycle in one hand and carrying the baby with the other. The mother, shortly afterwards, returned to her home in Dunedin, and in reply to questions put to her there explained that she had left the child with the father in Christchurch. The police, not imagining for a moment that anything was wrong, but simply to make sure that the child was not being boarded in an unlicensed home, interviewed Hellyer here in order to ascertain the whereabouts of the child, but the man, notwithstanding the positive statement of the mother of the child, supported by the other woman, denied point blank having ever received the child. Suspicion was then aroused, and Hellyer was warned not to leave the town, and he agreed to remain. He disappeared, however, shortly afterwards, and all trace of him was lost until Friday last, when it was ascertained that he was hiding in a stable in Belfast. On Sunday morning he was arrested by Constable Pratt and brought to Christchurch lock-up by Detective Fade and Bishop. He remained in the lock-up until yesterday morning, when he left, in custody, to attend the Magistrate’s Court. On entering tbe lock-up he was duly searched, and his belongings collected together and lodged in the strongroom in the usual way. In one of his pockets was found a glass phial containing some white tabloids, and that was removed with his other property. Early yesterday morning he asked Constable Wright, the watcbhousekeeper, to give him the phial, explaining that he wanted to use the contents for the purpose of deadening toothache pains from which he stated he was then suffering. The constable complied with the request and gave the prisoner the contents of the phial, but retained the phial itself in his possession. Whether Hellyer then made use of the tabloids for the purpose indicated is not known, but at all events he appeared at the Magistrate’s Court at half past ten in apparently normal health., although he seemed to be suffering from a mentaljanxiety natural under the circumstances.

At the Court he was charged firstly with killing the child, Clifford Gunning, on or about March 2nd ; and, secondly, with stealing a bicycle on April 15th. Chief Detective Chrystal, who represented the police, applied for a remand till April 30th, which was granted by the presiding Magistrate, Mr H. W. Bishop, Mr E. T. Harper, counsel, for the accused, offering no objection. Bail was not applied for, and the accused was escorted back to the Police Depot. The fact that he had obtained possession of the contents of the phial was apparently known only to himself and Constable Wright, tor on the part of the other police officers no misapprehensions existed as to the safety of the accused while in their custody. He was given his dinner with the other prisoners, and left in a cell until the afternoon, pending his removal to Lyttelton Gaol, where prisoners on remand are lodged. When a constable went to fetch him shortly before 3 o’clock he found him lying in a sort of stupor.

It was at once apparent to those in attendance that his condition was grave in the extreme, and Dr. Symes was hastily summoned. He found the prisoner suffering acutely, and in a very grave condition. The symptoms pointed to poisoning, probably with prussic acid.

The doctor ordered the patient’s removal to the hospital, and a stretcher and an express being hastily requisitioned, the patient was conveyed to the institution as speedily as possible, arriving there a few minutes before 3 o’clock. He was subjected to the proper treatment at the hospital, but he never, rallied, and finally succumbed shortly before 8 o’clock. After Hellyer had been removed to the hospital a careful search of his cell was made, and a few small

fragments of some kind of whitish tabloids were found. As cyanide of potassium is sometimes put up in this form, it is understood that this poison was the cause of death, but an analysis of the stomach is being made with the object of ascertaining definitely to what poison death was due. The fragments found in the cell are also to be subjected to chemical analysis to ascertain whether they are identical with the contents of the phial and the poison found in the stomach. An inquest will be held at the Hospital this afternoon. Hellyer was a young man of about twenty-five, and had been employed at a local warehouse. He came to Christchurch from Dunedin, where his people live. From the time when they first suspected that the child had met with foul play the police have been making diligent search to discover the body of the child, but so far without success.