ONLY FRIEND

NZ Truth, Issue 1206, 10 January 1929, Page 7

ONLY FRIEND

Old Man Kills His Sister-In-Law MIND CRACKED (From "N.Z. Truth's" Melbourne Rep.) "In losing her I was losing the only real, true friend I have on this earth," mourned . Joseph Livingstone when he got into the witness-box m the Melbourne Criminal Court to make his defence to a charge of murdering his sister-in-law, Mrs. N[argaret Fearon, at Frankstoh. THE old man's voice faltered and his 1 lip trembled. as he added, "If I had been m my sense's I would never have injured a hair on her head. Iliad never had a quarrel .'with' her, and I had no reason to take her life." Livingstone said he drank two quarts of port wine on the day before the tragedy, and as nine' empty beer bottles were found m the house by the police, he must have drunk that, too. He had a faint recollection of waking up the next morning feeling very ill, and of Mrs. Fearon bringing some wine. "After that," he said, "something seemed to crack m my head, and I remember ' nothing further till I found myself cutting my own throat with a razor. "I have a faint recollection of seeing Mrs. Fearon lying out m the yard. I do not remember having any conversation with anyone or making a statement to the police and signing it." He explained that at the time of the tragedy he was worried over money. Several mortgages were falling due, and he didn't know how he was going to meet his obligations. The Crown produced a statement m which Livingstone admitted cutting the unfortunate woman's throat with a razor. He added that it had been his intention to take his own life, but

Very Worried

had thought better of it because he wished to clear the name of the woman he had killed. .''She was innocent of any wrong," he explained. Senior - constable - Elliott, of Frahkston, said that when he asked Livingstone if he realized the seriousness of his dreadful act, he answered: "Yes; I hope they hang me. I don't know why I did it. Everything seems to have gone against me — both God and man. I have been frightfully worried." i To another witness he said he was m financial difficulties "and did not want to leave his sister-in-law to starve. She had lived with' him for 27 years and had been a "sister to him." The jury, after deliberating for half an hour., brought m a verdict of manslaughter. Mr. Justice Mann said he would consider the matter of sentence, and remanded Livingstone.

scheming rogues like Baxter, alias Cole, m comfort, if not luxury. The. remarkable thing is that these trickeries receive the response that they do, and that there is so much spare cash going begging. Kvery year someone- buys, a gold brick, or is financially tickled by a well -spun bonanza yarn. .Within the last fow weeks a clever swindler sold the Brooklyn Bridge m New York."" Sydney "Truth's" investigators when they called at Daking House, tound that Baxter's -Bilking 1 Bureau hud never been registered m the books of that building, but they did discover that "A. Cole" (the inverted commas are his own) had a .key to a letter-box which was rented by a man by name Boyd, and the latter had pnssert over his keys to the agents owing some weeks rent. Baxter-Cole was then traced to a Darllnghurst address, but the investi-> gators were told that he had never lived* there. It was practically assured, however, that he had used the place for a postal address. Even when the garage where he parked his car was discovered the schemer could not be found." . In exploiting . New. . Zealand as a happy hunting ground for ten shilling notes, Baxter-Cole is not flying his kite m. a territory that is unknown to him,