THE DUNEDIN MURDER CASE.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2209, 16 April 1880, Page 2

THE DUNEDIN MURDER CASE.

The hearing of the charge of murder against Robert Butler, tihas Donnelly, alias Medway, alias Leo, was commenced at the Supremo Courthouse, Dunedin, at 10 o’clock yesterday morning. Mr B. C, Haggitt conducted the case for the Crown; the prisoner was not represented by counsel. The Registrar (Mr Gordon) read tho indictment on which the prisoner was first arraigned—viz., that upon the Mtli day of March, in the year of our Lord 1880, he feloniously, wilfully, and of malice aforethought, did kill and murder one James Murray Dewar, against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her Crown and dignity.

Prisoner pleaded Not guilty. At the request of the prisoner shortly after the Crown Prosecutor had opened the case all witnesses were ordered out of Court, Mr Haggitt, in Ida opening address, recapitulated the whole of the facts connected with the late tragedy in an exhaustive manner. deferring to the question of motive he said The evidence of Inspector Mallard will go to show that the prisoner did actually contemplate such a crime as this one which was committed —'that he actually suggested to Inspector Mallard that if a crime was followed up by arson, the possibility of detection would be completely taken away. And, gentlemen, I shall show you by the evidence of Detective Bain that the only two or three days before the offence was committed, told that officer that if he (the prisoner) “ ever broke loose again lie would be one of the most ferocious tigers: that was ever let loose upon a community.” Gentlemen, if these things are proved to you by the evidence of reliable witnesses, I would ask you to say whether it is too much, when you find that a crime of this kind was actually committed, to connect the person who uttered them with that crime. When you find, as you will do by the evidence that will be called before you, that the demeanor of this man immediately after the commission of the crime was such as to attract the witnesses’ attention to him, and to cause them iri’esistably to think, that he had been guilty of some enormous crime ; when his appearance was such as to attract the attention of everybody who saw him, notwithstanding that they did not know at that time that any crime had been committed ; when the first person who saw him, after the fact of the commission of the crime became known to that, person, experienced exactly the same sensations as those persons who did not know of it; when you find, moreover, that the only evidence which this murder has left behind it—the only trace which can be found, for everything fits in, as far as it can be fitted in, to connect the prisoner with it —I ask you what other conclusion you can come to than that it becomes absolutely incumbent upon the prisoner to account for his time on the night of the Saturday on which this murder was committed. It becomes incumbent on him to account for all those facts against him of which I have spoken, and to account for why he left town as he did ; for why he removed his moustache ; for why he removed the soles from off his boots ; for why those blood stains are found upon his clothes ; and for why he attempted to account for those blood stains by means which the medical testimony will convince you it was impossible could have caused them. The first witness examined was Mary Grant, mother of Dewar, who was crossexamined at considerable length by the prisoner in reference to the knife found outside the house after the murder. James Nicholson, draughtsman in the Survey Office, produced photographs of Dewar’s house and described the premises minutely. The other witnesses examined were E. S. Howard, deceased’s employer; W. McGuire, tram-car driver, who proved that deceased travelled homewards on Saturday night; H. Hollander, carter, who saw' a light in Dewar s house at 11 p.m. that evening; J. Haydon, expressman ■who proved hearing a livid noise about four on Sunday morning, Charles Eobb and James Eobb who proved the discovery of the house on fire and the murdered inmates ; Dr Niven who described the of the bodies and nature of the injuries ; Sarah Gillispie, servant at the Scotia Hotel where the prisoner stayed prior to the murder ; George Leighton who sold him some salmon on the morning of the occurrence; John Wadsworth, a milk * boy, who saw the accused looking round the corner of Cumberland street in the direction of Dewar’s house on the morning of the tragedy; Hutchinson and \oungman, who found the salmon tins and cast ofi: clothing on the Town Belt ; George Donne, who repeated his evidence about the prisoner’s evident excitement in the hotel at Blueskin when the murder was mentioned ; Constables Townsend and Colborne who proved the arrest of Butler after he had presented a revolver at them in the scrub near Palmerston. At the request of the accused Inspector Mallard was called, and the prisoner was allowed to put what questions he thought proper prior to the witness giving his evidence in chief. The questions by the accused chiefly related to the conversation that took place at the lock-up immediately after Butler was charged with murder, and nothing important was elicited, beyond the statement by the Inspector, . that sometime previously Butler, referring to the Octagon fire, remarked how easily all traces of crime could be eradicated by five. The Court rose shortly after / p.m.

THIS DAY. Inspector Mallard was submitted to a rigid cross-examination by the the prisoner, who animadverted strongly on his questioning him (Butler) after he was charged with murder. _ ....... The Judge’s remarks implied that whilst a certain amount of discretion was left to the police as to cautioning prisoners, it.jvvould Juive been bcttci if Inspector Milliard had refrained fiom putting questions, as be bad made a memorandum immediately afterwauls, tlie evidence was admissible. Inspector Mallard said, he had debated with himself for nearly two hours as to what course he should pursue, but he ultimately decided to make a memo, leavin'* his superiors to censure him it they thought necessary. Ho however, swore positively that the prisoner bemin the questioning. In his examination in chief he detailed several conversations that he had with the prisoner in March when he came seeking the Inspectors assistance, and in obtaining employment. Butler had then discussed all the recent great crimes, particularly Pearce’s and Moonliie’s, and observed how easy it was to destroy all traces of crime by arson, adding in conclusion “if some great crime was committed here like these, I suppose you would blame me for it.” Mallard replied “No, I should look for suspicious circumstances and if they pointed to you-1 should certainly be after you.” The case for the Crown is expected to close to-night.