MURDER AND SUICIDE

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3730, 15 December 1927, Page 3

MURDER AND SUICIDE

EVIDENCE AT INQUEST,

Christchurch, December 13,

Murder and suicide was the verdict returned at the inquest to-day concerning the deaths of Olive Edith Foster, aged 31, and her husband, AVilliam Alexander 'Foster, aged 36, at their home at 31 Godley Avenue, Papanui, on Saturday morning last. Foster killed his wife with an axe, and then took his own life by drowning himself in the bath. Letters written by Foster showed that he intended to kill his five children also. The milkman, who discovered the bodies of Foster and his wife, found four letters addressed to various people, which subsequently showed that Foster, deliberately decided' upon suicide, and indicated that he had perhaps discussed a death pact with his wife. LETTERS WRITTEN BY FOSTER. The following letters written by Foster were handed in to the Coroner.

To Detective-Sergeant Young, Foster wrote/in a legible, steady hand:—

“I’ve saved you a bit of unsavoury work, old man. There’ll be no need of a warrant. You knew I was guilty, but you had only a very small corner of the case . The more you dug, the more you would have found. So cease fire; this job is over. Pigeon-hole the papers and I hank' God you didn’t have to see it through. Good luck. —W. A. Foster.” Then followed: “I’m trying to bluff the Coroner and my family into thinking it was money troubles, so keep up the farce, there’s a sport.—W.A.F.”

The letter to,Mr. Gates was as follows: “Dear Mr. Gates, —That is the end. Thank you for all your kindness, which turns out to have been wasted. You are well rid of me. God bless you. —W. A. Foster.”

In a lengthy letter to Mr. J. J. Hall, Foster wrote: “A message from the dead for you and-Gibbs. My past was too strong; it rose up and hit me. I can't face prison, so I’m facing the judgment of God. He will best know what to do with a poor miserable sinner like me. I have no hopes of heaven, but in hell if I see you go past on your way to heaven I’ll give you a wave in remembrance of all you have tried to do for me here. I hold no bitterness against anyone. I’ve landed myself in this mess and deserve all I get.” To his mother, Foster wrote: “I’m not mad; I know quite well what I am doing. I’ve made a mess of my life and this is the only way out of it. I promised Olive I’d never go without taking her too. The kiddies will be bejtter off dead. Goodbye mother. Don’t fret. God bless you and help you to forget me. Forgive me. —Your loving son, Willie.”

CORONER’S COMMENTS. In his vediet the coroner said that Foster evidently was not normal. “The act of killing his wife and thus leaviqg five young children without parents, shows that; so too does his suicide and the manner of it. On the other hand, the letter written by him and that note he.left ffor the milkman shows that he committed the acts after deliberation and with a realisation of their nature and consequences. Had lie been unsuccessful in his efforts towards suicide a jury, bn the evidence before me, would not have been justiled, in my opinion ,in finding him not guilty of murder on the ground of nsanity. The inference might be drawn from the letter written by deceased to his mother that his wife consented to die, hut all the circumstances of her life and death negative this. If his possible suicide was mentioned between them she, in order to put him off such a step, might have said that he would have to take her too. It might be said in favour of Foster that the nature of the indecent acts alleged against him constituted only the minimum essentials of indecent assault. It appears from one of his letters that the acts with respect to boys was due to his being obsessed by certain ideas, on juvenile sex matters. One of the letters shows, too, that it was his intention to kill the children, but fortunately they were saved.

The Coroner then returned a verdict that Mrs. Foster was murdered by her husband, who then committed suicide by drowning in a bath.