SUSPECTED MURDER AT BALLARAT.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 37, 17 March 1863, Page 2

SUSPECTED MURDER AT BALLARAT.

On Siil unlay nftcrn n considerable consternation was caused through town on its becoming known that the body of a man had been discovered by s »no children, whilst playing; in one of the stone u .rries of the Swamp, opposite the. mill ot Messrs d nnd Jirown. Information was at once given to the police, who, assisted by Mr GruiC conveyed the ' -dv to an out -house attached to the \N heat Sheaf Hotel. The deceased ovi lit.liv luul Ufcu mui-dored— such lit least is the conclusion arrived at by the persons who have seen the body, nnd th'-i conjecture is strengthened by the p'>y morle.-n examination that w made by ]>rlloh«o!i on Sunday. The ri^ht ear Ims been eat oil' close to the skull, with ft sinnll portion of the cheek-, bv some sharp instrument Several wounds have been inflicted on the ton and sides of (lie lu".id. bv a weapon, conjee! ured an axe, find it is suppn'si'd that the blows on the head rendered the deceased insensible, nnd while in Ibis stale he wa<s plnced in the water in the quarry, and there suffocated. Tlic medical testimony adduced at flic inquest this day will, we understand, support this view of the tus<i. Tho trousers worn by the deceased were lorn on the risrht knee, nnd blood was oozing from the nose. The deceased is about '■> feet \o\ or 11 inches in height, Ptoutly made, nbout twen -.-eight or thirty years of agr, and has ily v ' ivers nnd dark huir. Tho bod '' dressed in dark trousers, two guernseys, Ilia iaside one of which was torn and dis>p'- , b.ucher boots, nailed on tho soles, .und*(lark< socks ; tho e,w is mis " g. The quarry where the body was found is bout 40 fl bv 30 ft in extent, with from a foot to a foot and a half of water therein. It was abo.it 150 yards from the fence, and in no way connected with the Swamp water. The body was found at tho end of the quarry next the road, with the head under a projecting rock, and it is conjectured from the state of the body that the deceased had been dead about forty-eight hours. Mr Bardwe" took a photograph of the deceased on SuiMay morning, according to instructions received from the po'ice. On Sunday evening the landlord of the Tarn O'Shanter Hotel, on the Creswick road, and some persons in his employment, identified the deceased as a wood splitter, known by the cognomen of " Big Davey." who, with another mate, was cngago-1 splitting wood for a Mr Ko<>-ers, near tho Banner of War Hotel, on the Smvthesdale road. On Tuesday night the deceased and mate were drinking in the Tain O'Shanter Hotel ; both had money and wero indulging rather freely. The two left the house together, and deceased has not been seen alivo since. No properly of any description was found on tne decoased. — Tialhirat Star.