ARAMOHO TRAGEDY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 2652, 30 October 1923, Page 2

ARAMOHO TRAGEDY.

£250 REWARD. Wanganui, Last Night. ■ The Aramoho murder is still unsolved. The police who have work in hand, have been further r<s(j inforeed, Chief Detective Cummings,' of Auckland, and Detective-Sergeant Quirke, of Palmerston North, arriving to-day. The combined police forces have had a strenuous time. A number of likely clues have been pursued and in the majority of eases, dropped, as the outcome of *earcliing inquiries. In a word, there is nothing fresh to report. Mr Oates is still at the District Hospital, slowly recovering from his painful injuries. One. arm is still mucli swollen and bruised, but it is the arm that.shielded his head, and undoubtedly saved his life. A reward of £250 for information leading to the arrest of the murderer was announced to-night. NO TRACE OF MURDERER. DELIBERATELY PLANNED. CALLOUS AND COLD-BLOODED. There are no further developments in connection with the Aramoho murder, hut the local police, reinforced by special officers from Wellington are actively engaged in making investigations with a view of apprehending the perpetrator of a dastardly crime. SCENE OF THE MURDER. Air Oates’ residence is on Somme Parade nearly half a mile'above the railway bridge in the midst of a quiet and picturesque residential locality with the river in the foreground. The house is surrounded by a good many shrubs and ornamental trees with a lawn and kitchen garden at the hack. On the lower side of the section there is a belt of high pine trees. These facts are of interest to show there was plenty of cover to screen the movements of arty miscreant. The murderer was evidently well acquainted with the movements of Mr Oates and his wife, and he also chose the opportunity when the residents in the house next door, which is close at hand, were absent.

When daylight came on Saturday, the police were able to start a detailed search and some definite conclusions were arrived at. When Mrs Oates was attacked she was in a kitchen. She had prepared some supper and was evidently sitting with her back to the kitchen door, looking at a newspaper while waiting for her husband to return home from the store. The murderer probably' quietly entered the kitchen door, and with an iron bar, or some similar blunt weapon, literally dashed her brains out. Blood were freely distributed about kitchen, and there were pools of blood —one with some 1 human brain in it —in the passage leading to one nf the bedrooms. To this point the unfortunate woman had been dragged, and then, with a towel wrapped round her head, east on the floor. A little Skye terrier, a special pet uf Mrs Oates, was also there in a .lazed statu when tlie police arrived.' it had been faithful to the end, and I he murderer had silenced the little companion with a blow oil the head, is a gaping wound disclosed. It appears to have been the decision of the murderer to hide any- , thing that would have given Mr Oates a warning that something was wrong. As it was, the unfortunate man walked into ihe deadly trap i hat was set. Mr Oates followed his usual plan of walking round the house to place his bicycle on tlie hack verandah, and then, as he stepped to the kitcheu door to open it. the murderer, standing in the dark near the door of the washhouse, struck him down preparatory to seizing the money and decamping. ACTIVITY OF THE POLICE. As soon as the nature of the tragedy was known the police rose to the occasion in a praiseworthy manner and commenced to diligently pursue anything in the nature of a clue. Superintendent Fouhy was in touch with headquarters in Welling- / ton as quickly as possible, and as a result, Senior-Sergeant Dinnie, linger-print expert, in company with Chief-Detective Kemp and Detective Walsh were roused out of their beds and were soon racing for Wan-, ganui in a high-powered car. In fact the Wellington officers, despite a rough trip in the rain over the l’aekakariki Hill, were on the job in Wanganui before nearby residents in Aramoho were aware that anything of a sensational nature had occurred. With this reinforcement the local police set out on what appears at the moment, a very difficult task. On Saturday morning, Mr Dinnie diligently applied innself to his intricate work which consists oi painting with brush and powder, all surf aces likely to have finger prints preparatory to minutely examining them with a magnifying glass. There is hound to be plenty of finger-prints in every house, although to the layman, invisible. The great task is to sort them out, and seek for the prints that in this instance may bring a callous murderer to justice.

NO TItACT 01’ WEAPON. The police carefully searched the grounds on Saturday morning in an endeavour to find the weapon that was used, or evidence that would help them. There was no sign of a weapon, and it is probable that the murderer took it away with him, possibly casting it into the river. In the hours of daylight it was difficult apart from the terrible evidence inside the house, to believe that in the dark hours of the previous night, such an awful happening had occurred. In the kitchen a canary in its cage was trilling its morning song, and out on the back lawn the

brave little Skye terrier lay nursing his injuries. - There was a good deal of morbid curiosity on the part of the public, who visited the locality in numbers ■ both on Saturday and Sunday, but from outside the gate the only ims pression to-be gained was of a urban residence with particularly neat surroundings. X FUNERAL OF MRS OATES. The funeral of the late Mrs Oates took place at Palmerston North yesterday. She was 32 years of age and a daughter of Mr and Mrs Hen- - ry of that town. Her demise under such tragic circumstances, will be. mourned by many, as she had a host of friends in Wanganui, particularly , at Aramoho. Mr Oates is about 38 -years of age, and one of the best knowmcricketers in Wanganui. Out of respect to him the Wanganui Cricket Associaton on Saturday postponed all matches and both the Associated and United Club, of which he is the captain, forwarded wreaths to Palmerston North. Mr Oates is of good athletic build but attacked from behind, as he was on Friday night, he had no chance. At one time he was house steward at the Wanganui Hospital, and left there to -take over the store at Aramoho.

PREVIOUS MURDER RECALLED A little over a year ago —June 30 of last, year —Chow Ynt, an elderly Chinaman, was murdered at Long Acre. In that ease the Chinaman was shot at a hut where he lived alone, and pursued along the road, and finally fatally shot. A mysterious feature was the shifting of the body for fully half a mile along the road. The murderer was never brought to justice, and all the long search that the police made proved fruitless. The Long Acre tragedy has three points in common. In all instances robbery was the motive, a wet night marked the crime, and the murderer had exact knowledge of the movements of his vic- * tints, a knowledge that could only he acquired by frequenting a locality. Another brutal murder has created a very uneasy feeling that Wanganui may harbour a desperate ’criminal, and if he is speedily brought to book there will be a feeling of general relief. '■ WHY NOT BLOODHOUNDS. The police work in the present ease has been admirable, in that every nerve jyas strained from the outset to solve the problem. Thro- „ ugh the prompt steps that Superintendent Foully took at midnight on Friday, Mr Dinnie, with two officers ( to assist him wehe through to Wanganui in a few hours. DetectiveSergeant D. Cameron, who was officially visiting-Wanganui, and had previously been associated with the search for the Long Acre murderer, was on the spot to assist the local force, > while Detective-Sergeant Gourlay, who was absent on police business at Taihape, was recalled •immediately. It is not a disparaging thing to say that even the best brains of the police force have their limitations, and the point is now pertinently

raised; as'it was at the time of the Long Acre murder, why the use of v bloodhounds should.not be available and why dogs of the breed should not be at hand for special work. It is possible that in such instances the bloodhound with its extraordinary of following the faintest of trails, would succeed where the human mind fails. MB, OATES’ CONDITION. \ Mr Oates is still an inmate of ■*- the District Hospital and is progressing favourably. It transpires that the first blow he received partially stunned him and on turning round he received the next blow over the eye. The flow of blood blinded him and he fell. While on the ground he was savagely battered, but he screened his head and arms, fought as desperately as he could, and called for help. This caused his assailant to desist and decamp. DOG SUCCUMBS TO INJURIES. The little terrier which was Mr Oates’ faithful companion, did not survive its injures.—Wanganui Chronicle. J