ALLEGED MURDER.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 844, 26 May 1910, Page 3

ALLEGED MURDER.

At the Supreme Court Palmerston North yesterday, Joseph John Powelka was charged with the murder of Patrick Hacket Maguire on April 10th. Mr C. A. Doughnan, Crown Prosecutor, conducted the case on behalf of the police, and Mr H. G. Moore appeared for the accused, who pleaded not guilty. Mr Doughnan in opening the case gave a resume of the central facts and briefly touched on the evidence to be called for the prosecution. He called Dr. Martin, whose chief evidence was the same as given at the inquest and at the proceedings in the lower Court. In reply to Mr Moore the witness said ; The man who fired the shot must have been within close range. Witness had had a conversation on the 14th at 3.15 a.m. with Maguire. It was the morning of his death. In reply to a question: “Did you know it was Powelka you struggled with?” he replied, “I could not say whether it was Powelka ; he had a big hard hat on ; he wore a mask ; I only had handcuffs with me, and I struck him on the face with them.” In reply to “Who fired the first shot ?” he replied ; “I’m certain Powelka fired the first shot. Ido not think it was Quartermain’s. It may have been. I was struck lying on the ground.” Cater another conversation was held in Sub-Inspec-tor O’Donovon’s presence. He was quite rational, and said : “Powelka had the shade of the light on me. He had a hard had pulled down on his face. I’m inclined to think he had a mask. I was on the ground when I was shot, and he fired at me. I couldn’t swear that he struck me.”

Sub-Inspector O’Donovan’s evidence was a repetition of that given in the Magistrate’s Court. Inspector Wilson stated that he was present at the post mortem examination, and saw the bullet extracted from Maguire’s body. He also went to Quartermain’s rooms and took charge of his revolver and cartridges on the morning of the death of Maguire.

To Mr Moore; The reason of taking Quartermain’s revolver was because rumours had been circulated that deceased had been shot with a service bullet. He did not know at the time that deceased had stated “he may have been shot by a revolver bullet.” He did not see that there was any necessity for taking charge of Quartermain’s revolver on the night of the shooting. Evidence was also given by E. Hampton, and Detectives Siddells and Ouartermain. On being crossexamined by Mr Moore the last named said that after he fired the shots he did not for a moment think that he had shot Maguire. He knew the seriousness of the charge against accused, and, if he had thought that one of his shots had hit Maguire, he would at once say so. He had borrowed the revolver from a neighbour in Wellington named Perkins.

The Court then adjourned till next day, and the jury being locked up tor the night.