THE PAPAKAIO MURDER.

NZ Truth, Issue 70, 20 October 1906, Page 8

THE PAPAKAIO MURDER.

"Whose Was the Hand?"

The committal of a sensational crime m any little unpretentious hamlet makes it notorious all over the colony., and since Schoolmaster William Hay Rennie was murdered m his sleep at Papakaio, the place, never heard of previously, has come m for a good deal of public attention. It cannot be said that the mystery has been solved m any way, although a suspect is under arrest. The cold, glazed eye of officialdom has been cast all over the district, and out of it, ever since the 3rd of October, and continues to be, and every stranger met with there is put down by the local inhabitant (there aren't many of him) to be a detective, who is looking for the missing criminal or the missing property, which may lead to something tangible m the way of a clue. Anyhow, the force is sparing no effort to trace the bike, the watch, and the missing blank cheque farms. The bike is a "Torpedo," and the watch has the deceased's initials, H.R., engraved inside, together with an intimation that it was presented to him by the Papakaio church people. Meanwhile John Findlay is enjoying that notoriety which has never previously, come his way, and he enjoys it with perfect equanimity. There, is really nothing against him, so far as is publicly known, except that he had been knocking about Papakaio, and had been observed m the vicinity of the deceased's residence on the day before Rennie was so foully murdered. He was known as^ "the sailor chap," because he had averred that he followed the sea for a living, and after his arrest people recognised him at once when the tecs showed his photo. For the police were m possession of Findlay's countenance owing to the fact that he had been m trouble before at Christchurch and Dunedin, where he served terms m

gaol.. However, as it is now stated that he had breakfast at Papakaio on j the Tuesday morning the yarn that he was seen careering away on a bike early on that morning is entirely dispelled. But the air has been thick with rumors, none of which will tear any sort of investigation. There was one current that Rennie had pedalled into Oamaru and attended a party on the night on which he was shot, but enquiries showed that the story was baseless. What some people "think" about a matter is exaggerated until it soon becomes an accepted statement, and the truth or otherwise of these statements take a lot of fossicking out. They must be traced to their source, too, because it may so happen that there is something m them . The police theory is that robbery was the motive of the crime ; if so one shudders at the idea of the existence of a fiend m human shape stalking abroad who wouldn't hesitate to shoot a man dead m cold blood for the sake of a Round or two, or less, that he might gain "by the damnable act. The average burglar is more humane than that these days, and whatever else he might take he wouldn't take a man's life if he were interrupted while engaged m his nefarious operations. Rennie's murder may have been due to some other cause, no doubt, but the most careful investigation on the part of the authorities has so far failed to show that the daring, detestable deed was actuated by jealousy or anything of that sort. Meanwhile John Findlay is under remand to come up at the Oamaxu Court this week end, when the adjourned inquest will be resumed, but at time of writing no evidence had been secured that would tend to throw any further light on the terrible tragedy. Findlay will likely be present at the inquest ; m any case he will be remanded for another eight days m order to give the police a further opportunity of pursuing their inquiries. The accused is a "man-of-all-work," and isn't particular what sort of job he takes on. He has acted as cook on stations, and was for some time m charge of Mrs Duff's stables at Methven, and used to drive the Meth-ven-Ashburton coach. It is very evident that he was out of toil at the time of the murder, but whether he had asked anybody round Papakaio way for a job isn't apparent.