MURDER AT PUKEKAWA

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 561, 27 August 1920, Page 2

MURDER AT PUKEKAWA

VICTIM OF THE CRIME. SYDNEY SEYMOitE EYRE. HEAD HALF BIiOWN OFF. SHOTfcUN AT POINT-BLANK RANGE.

KILLED WHILE ASLEEP.

(•'Times" Reporter.")

At about 1 a.m. on Wednesday news came to the that a terrible crime at Pukekawa, a Sidney Seymore Eyre, having hw'tlis he^

partially oft while lying in

bad.

Sergeant Cowan* in charge of the police station at Pukekohe, with Constables Wolfendale (Pukekohe) and Thompson (Tuakau), together with Dr. Wake, of Pukekohe, at once motored out to the scene of the tragedy. A 'Times" reporter who happened to be at the returned soldiefe ball when the dreadful news pagiVd through, accompanied the they arrived a ghastly sight: afwitted them, the remains of Mr. Eyre lying on a bed close up to a Window. Half of the man's head was blown off, cleanxacross from the forehead and the two ears, and flesh, blood and cranium bones were scattered in a trqto ghastly mess on the bed, floor, vious, even to a layman, that the weapon must have been rested on the '-window-sill and the shot fired downthe victim at point-blank ifcnge. Several jwllets' of shot-like those from an Qrthnary sporting shotgun cartridge were lying about. The deceased slept in a slßgle becL-dose beside the outer wall affd immediately under the window, while his wife, slept in another bed in the same room, the reason of this arrangement being that the victim suffered from diabetes, contracted while on active' service, and he slept with the Winfor health reasons. The murdered man was married, and resided m a four-roomed house on his farm at Pukekawa, with his wife, formerly Miss Hallimoae, of Tuakau, and their five children, Philip, aged 17; Doris, aged 14; John, aged 12; Ainsley, aged 10; and Beatrice, aged 4. The deceased was regarded as a man of independent means, and was known to have another area of about 300 acres of land further back, having in all 632 acres. Details of tjjje tragic occurrence are scanty," the/police being reticent, but sufficient information has been obtained to make it absolutely certain that Mr. Eyre's death was due to the act of a murderer, there being no possible room for a theory of suicide.

After making her tragic discovery, Mrs,' Eyre aroused her children and despatched,two of the boys to the post office store, about half-a-mile away. "From there, the alarm was, given to the police at Pukekohe, some 14 miles distant. Sergeant Cowan, in (Charge of that st&|ob, immediately called up Constable Wolfendale, one; of the assistant officers, an& together | they set out by;*motor-car for the scene of the tragedj£.and at Tuakau, en tfcite, they picked up Tbßgfcson. These three officers' jeafjmd the Eyres' farm at about 5about one an a-half hourr fate® Deteclive-Sergeant Cummings,

VBerpant Fox and Constable Barrett Auckland, and having satisfied themselves that a crinie of major dimensions had to be investigated tley.got into communication by telephone with Superintendent Wright, The letter and Chief' fi||P'nve McMahon caught the Rotorua express ; and proceeded to Pukekohe, where they weiie. met by the police motor-car in charge of Constable Barrett, which had returned to Pukekohe at about 10.30, the "Times" reporter coming back with them. This and party immediately motored out to Pukel.awa, another representative of the 'Times" accompanying them, by courtesy of Superintendent Wright, when further investigations were made.

The section ojl which the. house stands is ploughed and surrounded by a thick, oleagnus hedge, anS the nearest reighbour lives about«half-a-mile away, and the Pukekawa Post Office is about one and fi-half miles off. There were footprints about, but it is not known ifßether these were of any value. A couple of guns, including an'' old muzzle-loader, were found on the premises, but these had, to all appearances, not been fired for some considerable time previously, and no other weapon was , Noi a "Dog's Chance. As the saying goes, the victim had apparently not a "dog's chance" of escape, or even defence, for he was obviously shot while asleep. A bigstalwart man, over six feet in height and built in goodly proportion, Mr remains lay there, the-"fires calm, and 11 peaceful, hands folded lobsely across the breast, legs slightly curled up—a picture of calm repose—except for the ghastly scene at the head of the bed, which was drenched in blood.

So far, no motive for the crime has been: disclosed by the police.

A Warrior.

"Old Syd," as he was affectionately alluded,to- by his many resident friends, was a born warrior; It is told how, when combating the strikers in Auckland in 1913, when the ; farmers went down to the wharves in ■•a body to load their produce, stood up in his manly strength and challenged any two of the strikers to come i?ut'and fight hiin) but none picked;up the gauntlet. »; "Syd" #as of a somewhat excitable, impulsive disposition by alt accounts, ana when the war broke out the martial music made the blood dance in bis veins. He was then (about three -and a-half jears ago) in California; wh,itherfiijj.; ha'd emigrated for health reasons, arisse at once went to Victoria (British Columbia) and enlislecf

with the Canadian Forces, In the 50th

*££■£ $.

Cordons, a Canadian Highland regiment, with which unit he saw active service in Siberia, and was afterwards highly entertaining when he could be persuaded to relate H hiJ' experiences. He was a fluent conversationalist and a man of no mean intelligence', being well informed on things in general. His abilities pointed him out as a man fit -to lead, and he was frequently mentioned recently as a probable successor G. Morrison, wh». was riding member on the Raglan County Council. Gazing on his cruelly mutilated form, one could well believe the reports of and mental attainments, jpthe calm "pose of death his <m? powerful frame, the hhfcftnrr. wefT-chise'led features, sur-

by an aquilline or "Roman*

%ose, gave him the appearance of one having the physical proportion of a gladiator and the mental calibre of a senator.

The; deceased had resided in the district for .about 18 years, and was 45 years apfee.

The*|Hperintendent and chief detective returnecrt© Auckland, the same afternoAty leaving JMJjp ant Fox in ihe the murdered mnn r whsj* Detective-Ser-geant Cummings, Cowan and Constables Thompson and Wolfendale left Eyres' farm ijlub motorcar in a certain direction. s||jfc . Tracking Hoof Prints, jm Later search revealed a nutntiStof hoof marks, which the detecwes considered were made by a mountSd horse.

fl to trick

The police officer* set ol these hoofprints in a motor-car, and after making certain investigations were expected to communicate with Superintendent Wright yesterday morning on their return. Owing 'to the. bad state of the roads, however, the car broke down on its retuljLso that the result of the search pay's inquiries was not -definitely *W(^

yesterday. • . Iff. , Superintendent Wright, acconfpfnW ed by. Detective Sweeney and Acnma* detective O'Brien, journeyed- Hfro«; Auckland by the Rotorua yeS' terday morning, the train making jtoi especial stop at Tuakau to enabw the superintendent and his officers toalight. The party immediately proceeded by motor-car to the scene of the tragedyY and were to remain at the house yesterday afternoon till return of Sergeant-detective Gumming and Constable Fox from their trail of the mysterious hoofmarks. I"'

Matter of Footmarks.

A city paper states: "A peculiar circumstance and one that;, helps to shroud the crime in deeper mystery, is the fact that the closest search by the police officers failed.,to reveal the slightest trace of fojAfcints outside the window througffjwhich it is almost certain the jnJgMerous shot was fired. This is ftfjggiore lar from the fact taamtbe ground to within a few had j been recently plauglrcd, yet rreitMr on this soft soil nor on the in-

QPRehing space could any footmarks be detected." -

A "Tiirtift" staff reporter who was present at the house on the morning of the crime states that there were no footprints around the house, the murderer evidently having kept to the narrow margin of grass, about eighteen inches wide, around the house. There were, however, seemingly fresh footprints in a ploughed paddock next to the section the house stands on.

«\ INQUEST OPENED AND \ ADJOURNED.

,' ' The formal inquest concerting the death SeymorerEyre was l>y the District Coroner, Mr. Webster, ftfcsfccef sed's r #*>- JiaTl-of the {vHce -dT-:". j-' Campb4£Srt#h, *f Pukekohe, who madf? examination, were is jlj|^g^nee>^j^ Mrs,. Willieent Eyrt; '..'we "fifd**ceased, said she had resided at PuEekawa with her husband for the la'st 17 years. Both retired to bed a t #JH p.m. on August 24. She'slept in the double bed and deceased slept in a single bed in the same room under the window. He was in his usual state of heilth whence retired to bed that night. Somewheu* about midnight she _ was itwalenipr'by the report of. a gun, and upon getting up found the' ton of hfer hu***jid's head bl#wn off. Witness WentiffecLthe Body as thaf of hervSusband, Sydney Seymore Eyre, aged 45 years. The inquesfwas ttajburned untiL Thursday next, when further evidence will be taken at Pukekohe.

Investigations in the Hills. The orftyv" incident of yesterday afternoon was a conference between Detective-Sergeant Gamming, Sergeant Cowan, and.Cofhstable Thompson, ai,d the superintendent. The named officials reported the result of investigations some 22 miles back in the hitls. They had interviewed certain people in the of gaining sortie information might assist them in getting p«Sp|ftitrack ,of the murderer. Among so interviewed was aj man who M; s#'>& weeks ago had been workmjf for the late Mr. Eyre on his farm. The man Sfccompanied the ..three officials back Mo the Eyres' ■farm at' his own request, and subsequently proceeded on foot to the residence of his mother in Tuakau. It is understood that the interview with him threw no additional light upon the matter under investigation.

RAM ARAM A TRAGEDY RECALLED The tragedy recalls what is ljnown aajßte Ramarama murder, with which it has several general features in common. On that occasion the death of her husband, a settler about 40 years of age, named John Thomas Perry, was reported by his wife. It was found that husband and wife had been .sleeping together in the bedroom of their house at Rainarama, near Druiy, when about .'{ a.m. on the morning of September 25, 1915, a gunshot was heard, and the man was fatally wounded in the- head by a charge of shot. In that case there was a half-open window facing the bed, and it was believed that the gun had been fired from outside through the window. The police, nfter inquiry, suspected the wife, Amelia Perry, and arrested her, but the trial at the Supreme Court resulted in her acquittal.

Death of Victim's Fathetv

THe death occurred at Takapuna yesterday afternoon of Mr. Robert Dudley Eyre, in his 80th year. Mr. Eyre was the father -of Mr. S. SEyre, who was murdered at Pukekawa on Tuesday night. He had been in ill-health for a jnonth past, and had received attention in hospital. Mrs Eyre, who was nursing her bus-!

band, was not told of her son's death ,4;. until yesterday morning, and in view ' jj of her husband's condition she fS deemed it inadvisable to inform hfi»- ■ of 4he tragedy. Mr. Eyre passejjK t away a few hours later. He is stataftt to have been one of the original veyors of Takapuna, having first. settled in that district 54 years,ago. i He spent some years in the United jr > States, where his two married daugh- ~< •. ters live. Mr. R. B. D. Eyre, collector of Customs at New Plymouth, is his eldest son, and Mr. E. A. Eyre, *■• a member of the Northcote Borough '■■' Council, is another son. Jkeeased owned a farm at Puke* = kohe East some years ago, and V >3 Well known in this district. v r>|