A CLIFF MYSTERY.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXII, Issue 9018, 4 December 1907, Page 1

A CLIFF MYSTERY.

Complete mystery surrounds the deatli of Annie Elizabeth Hamlin, aged 20, whose crushed and twisted body was found at the foot of cliffs 50 feet high near Broadstairs. The coroner said the inquest had been adjourned for the police to make inquiries into the statement that the deceased was seen with a young man on the night of her death. There was no doubt she was with a young man, but whether he had anything to do with her death remained to be seen. Dr. Brightmau, who conducted the post mortem, said the deceased's injuries were terrible. Her skull was extensively fractured, lier collarbone was broken,- and there were other injuries. There was nothing about her condition which was unusual, and the organs were healthy and normal. The girl's mother said she could not understand the affair. Her daughter's only fault was that she was too jolly and spoke and joked with everyone. On the Friday night she went out to make a small purchase, and after that she saw nothing more of her. She was an unusually good and obedient girl, and as far as the witness knew did not keep company with anyone. The girl's movements were accounted for by witnesses for some hours after she left home. At 8.15 she was'seen by friends waiting outside a public house, and she told a friend that she was waiting for a young man, and threatened that if he did not turn up she would "get blind drunk and commit suicide." She called out '' Alf.,'' and a young man came out and spoke to her, returning to the public house. Half an hour later she was seen near the Glanville Hotel walking along and joking with a young man. Their arms were linked", and they appeared to be lovers. An hour later still she was seen on a lonely footpath leading to the cliffs between Ramsgate and Broadstairs. A young man was a few yards ahead, and he seemed to be lurking in the shadow. The identity of the young man has not been established. An open verdict was returned by the jury.