DREADFUL MURDER.-CORONER'S INQUEST.

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 736, 4 May 1853, Page 2

DREADFUL MURDER.-CORONER'S INQUEST.

Our peaceable neighbourhood,—in winch Hie more serious crimes are of such exceedingly rare occurrence —has been startled by the perpetration of a murder attended with circumstances of the most foul and revolting atrocity. The victim was Mr. Richard Ralhhone, a baker in (be employment of Mr. George, in Shortland-slrcel, and the sccnc.of the enormity a house in which he resided alone at the Cabbage Tree Swamp Road, within about a mile and a-half of the town. The facts, so far as they transpired at the Coroners Inquest, will be learned from the following report of the evidence given at the Inquest, which was held before Dr. Davies, Coroner, on Saturday afternoon, at the Wheal Sheaf Inn in Queen street, to which the body had been removed. Mrs. Mary Justin, residing at Cabbage Tree Swamp Road, near the house of the deceased, deposed, —On Friday morning she observed a slow smoke from Ralhhone’s house; she sent a child to gel a light; Ihe child returned staling that the fire was out, and that she could not find Mr. Rathbone; witness went herself in the evening to lake some butter and milk ; she sent her child upstairs; the child told her she saw no bed there; witness perceived a singed smell; she raw only deceased’s hat and walking-slick. On Saturday morning she asked Mi. Horne, a neighbour, to examine the house, as she could see Mr. Rathbone nowhere. They went into the bed-room, Mr. Horne first. Mr. Horne cried out “There he is!” she saw deceased lying straight in bed, and his foot burned. His face was the colour of the Maories. The hcd-clolhes were much burned. The bed was on Ihe floor; there was straw about it. She saw drops of blood on the floor. Saw Mr. Rathbone last alive on Thursday. The bed-room door was open. Deceased was in Ihe habit of fastening his door at night, having been once robbed. The Foreman of the Jury (Mr. Wells, of Wakefielcl-slrcel) here represented to the Coroner that from the serious aspect of the case it would he desirable that (he Jury should see Ihe place in which Ihe body had been found. The Coroner replied that it was then too late to go there that evening; information of (he occurrence had been received only at 12 o’clock ; hul if after hearing further evidence he (Dr. Davies) and the Jury thought it necessary, the inquest might he adjourned, and they could go early on Monday to the house. The examination of witnesses was then proceeded with. Thomas Horne being sworn, —having slated his accompanying (he last witness lo the house, early on Saturday morning, continued:—he went upstairs and saw a bolster lying on the floor, also the frame-work of a bed, like a stretcher. Deceased had been in Hie habit of sleeping there because the lower room was damp. Saw in the room a stool, and snuffers and snufllray. On going into (lie inner room below, saw deceased lying burnt from Ihe middle down. All the centre of the bed wasburnl. Deceased was a quiet sober man. Witness came lo town and informed the Police. Having with the Police made further examination he saw a pool of blood, and marks of scuffling : it appeared as if some person had slipped in Lite blood. He had often seen a cutlass, or a long cavalry sword, with deceased ; Ibis could not he found, nor could a watch which he knew deceased possessed. He did not think (hat noise in the house would have been heard at Mrs. Justin's. Corporal John Traflbrd, of the Armed P< lice Force, deposed dial he had that day examined the house, having been ordered to dosoahoul lOy in themorning; on entering Ihe front door, in (he room abpul three yards from the door ho saw blood, which he traced to the insi ! e room close by deceased’s feet where there lay a pool of blood. At (lie entrance of the inner room he found on the jamb of the door a blow as if from the head of an axe, and blood sprinkled over

where Ihe blow was. At the place where It ceased’s head lay there was a of blood on (he floor. Examined (he body and found a large cut on (he left side of the chin. The left leg of deceased was entirely burnt away. At the tool of Ihe bed, where the door opened, there weic si<r,i S of dirty feet, mud mixed with blood. A niece had been knocked off a chest of draws near Ihe top, as from a fresh blow. Found in the kitchen a bottle that deceased had used to pul his candle in. A plated candlestick, a lookingfdass and various other articles remained in the house. The drawers in the room were not locked, hut they were not drawn out Jt did not seem to him that the drawers had been lansackcd.j Dalliston deposed that he had made a post mortem examination, lie found a severe wound on the back cf deceased s head, which seemed to have been made with a tomahawk or small axe: about the size of half a crown of Ihe external table of the skull had been cut away. There was a second wound on the left lower jaw. likely h> have been caused by an SumJ or Ihe U kiiHi; H» hone was broken into several pieces or shivers there was a third wound at the right angle of the lower jaw. This was evidently a slab. It must have wounded some of the branches of the external carotid artery, which would have bed largely He thought this must have been Ihe immediate cause of death. There were two slabs on the right arm, and two on Ihe left shoulder ; there were also several severe bruises about (he arms and shoulders. The wounds had certainly been inflicted during life. The whole of the body from the chest downwards was disorganized by tire, Ihe point of a sword would have inflicted the wounds which he had described as slabs. It was quite impossible that deceased could himself have inflicted (he wound on the hack of the head. Mr. James George, Baker in Auckland, deposed, lliat lie saw deceased on! hursday evening about 7 o'clock, in his (witness’s) own house. Deceased seemed then in good health. He bad been seven months in (lie employment. He was a steady, sober man. On leaving, he made an appointment to come to ids work next morning. It not being considered necessary to bring forward any other witnesses to these facts, the Jury immediately found a verdict of “Wilful Murder against some person or persons unknown.” We should add that (here is a very general—so far as we have heard, an universal opinion (hat (he Jury ought to have had an opportunity of viewing the body as it lay before it was removed, and forming (heir own judgment from what they might have observed around it in the scene of Ihe dreadful transaction. It has since been ascertained that the floor under the body was burnt through. The Government have offered a Reward of 00/. for the detection of the perpetrator or perpetrators of the horrible deed, and the Police are vigilantly on the alert ; but up (o yesterday evening no satisfactory clue to the discovery had been obtained.