MURDER OR WHAT ?

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 25, 5 January 1916, Page 5

MURDER OR WHAT ?

to tin? hotol iint! had two clriiilvs. Deceased cm up in mul witness It* it; so 11 1 at lie could not say whether deceased had any drinks. Deceased was hail' drunk at the time. Witness pnrelmsed a £1 hamper. Deceased bought a bottle ni' whisky, for wliieh he paid. Witness and deceased both removed their purchases. Moth got into the gig, witness driving, Home was reached about miuu,. Deceased was pretty full of drink. The wife of witness' [brother Joe was at borne when they (arrived. She kept house for them. Joe was not: there. Witness had dinner. out Ids father would not have Ids dinner. Deceased opened his bottle of whisky and had further drinks out of it. After having dinner, witness went, out to his wliaro, which is some twenty feet from the hack of the house. Deceased Was Very Bad-tempered

on the clay in question. He was always so when in liquor. Deceased did not sav much to witness that day, though did usually had something to say when in drink. Witness was keeping out of his way. Deceased came out and sat on the hack verandah of the house. Witness could see him from the where. Be did not know what became of Joe’--w if o —he did not see her go away. Joe Came to the house in the afternoon, about half-past two. He was ndmg a horse and was drunk. Deceased was still l ifting on the verandah when Joe arrived. Joe rode on the verandah on his Jmrse, and tried to ride into the kitchen, hut deceased stopped huh. Witness went out and took the horse from Joe. Deceased was a bit angry with Joe. The horse was a thoroughbred and was new to the farm. Witness could not say to whom it _ belonged Joe and deceased were talking together angrily, but witness could not hoar what was said. Witness could 'not see if they bit each other-they may have done so. Joe and deceased always argued when they had drink in and witness took no notice of them. Witness had never known Joe to strike deceased. Witness saw deceased leave the house. He said to Joe; ‘Jm nil’ for the police,” and moved towards the road Witness saw him opening the .rate at the road. Joe remained, going into witness’ wliaro. where they stayed talking for half an hour. Witness saw Joe’s wife ’come home She ,-ame in after deceased loft. Aitei having a enp of tea witness went for the cows ahovit the usual tune <1 to 18.-, p.m-.l Joe had had a enp ot tea before and was lying-down m a hack room of the house. When witness went for the cows he saw no sign oi his father. The cows had to be brought along the road, so that wi - ness must have seen deceased it be were on it. Joe was still in bed when witness got back to the house. Joe came down when milking was halt over ami did three cows. The cowshed was between the house and the road and if deceased had gone up to the house or Joe down to the road witness would have seen them, doe was* m bed when witness had tea. The las witness saw ol Joe was at of of wljeu both went to bed. By that time Joe was “just about right” m regaii to sohrietv. Joe had nothing to drink at the farm. Witness hid his hamper as soon as hq got home. He was »■ light sleeper, hut during the night Ho Heard Nothing Suspicious.

Next morning witness got up at •> o’clock. Joe helped to milk the cows., Deceased had met ,with a number ol'. accidents. Some time ago he was run over bv a gig on the mam road ami one ol Ids eves was badly injured. His shoulder-blade was put out once as a result of deceased falling down the stairs at the hotel. Witness had heard about this, but did not see it himself. He could not say it this accident arose out of a tight in which deceased engaged. Deceased latteih did not do any work on the farm and walked down the road to the hotel daily (sometimes twice daily), and sometimes lie would lie under the influence of liquor. The farm of 9/5 acres belonged to deceased. Witness had worked on the farm all his life. Recently ho had been doing all the work and keeping the place going. For the past three years they had equally divided the returns from the dairy factory. On December ISth deceased received CIS from the factory. Twelve pounds of this was paid into the hank and witness knew that deceased had paid other accounts. From what witness knew he would form the opinion that deceased would unt have much money in his possession when he left home on the ‘2:lrd. So far as witness know deceased was well liked by the people about, and' was not of a quarrelsome nature except towards his boys v. ben lie was in drink. On the 23rd deceased said lie intended to visit his married daughter at Waitara. He frequently went away oir such visits without giving any notice, and so when he bailed to return on the 23rd witness took no particular notice of the tact. It was onlv when Mrs Tapp had visited A\aitara at Christmas time that witness knew deceased bail not been there. Then vviino- informed the police and caused search to be made. Mis father had told witness that he Intended to |,.jive his farm to all his children (three liiivs and seven girls) in equal parts. Witness, iu reply to the detective, said he had nothing further to say. 'nor was there anything on which he (losired to make an explanation. He had told the exact truth regarding everything lie had heard, seen, or done on the 23rd. Cross-examinaßon. To Mr King: At Sirs Tapp’s witness did not hear .his remark about His “last drink.” t To Mr Jilako; Witness could not recollect a wedding at the house when deceased and Joe were together and came to blows. To the Detective; Deceased’s ribs ivere broken iu an accident with a trail. , . AD o.3l) p.m- the inquiry was adjourned till i" P.n«.

SON JOSEPH’S EVIDENCE. On resumption at 7 p.m.. the first witness examined \uiv Joseph I lilenberg. another sou of deceased. V\ n-

ness said ho, worked for Harry (trey, j C'artlilF, a brother-in-law. His wile u usod to live at his father’s farm, and ho wont homo occasionally. On Doc-* emhor wCrd, witness left Cai'difl at J 1 a,in, in company with Grey, going through Stratford and on to Midhirst. Witness parted from Grey at Midhirst and wont on to his father’s larni, Ho was riding a horse and was ‘‘a hit on” He thought it was about 2. Id when ho arrived at his lather's. Ho rode right up to the house, and there saw his father sitting on the hack > verandah. John was in Ids whare. Witness did not see Ids wile on arrival. He rode the horse on the verandah. The kitchen door was open and witness tried to ride in it. Deceased got on Ids feet and grabbed the horse’s reins, asking witness not to ride the horse into the house., Deceased was angry. Witness got off the horse and John took it away. Deceased and witness were then standing in the yard, off thp. verandah, talking about horses. Deceased was “pretty full. Deceased was not angry at the time, and there was no dispute or disturb- | auee between the two. No blows were struck. They were together lor about twnty minutes. Witness did not bear In’s father say, as Jv<? left home, that he was going for the police. He had given him no cause to go for the police. Witness heard Ids lather say he was going to Midhirst, he went inside ami got his coat and witness went into John’s whare. That was the last witness saw of Ids father. At times there had been rows between witness and bis father, mostly when in drink. The Rows Were Never Serious, and when their father was in drink the boys did not take any notice of him. Ho had never struck his lather. Witness’ wife returned to the house about J o’clock. After Ink father left, witness went to John’s whare and later be bad a cup of tea. After having the tea lie went to sleep, waking again about d. 15. when he went down and milked a few cows. Witness never saw his father again after he left the farm. Witness went to bed about 8 o’clock that night, sleeping ' in the house,

And Did Not Leave The House until 5;30 o’clock next morning. Witness could offer no suggestion as to Imw lus father had come by his death. Witness could never remember having struck his father The Detective told witness that he had .put* this last question because there was a persistent nmiour to that elfect. ' Continuing, witness said hjs lather was inclined to he quarrelsome with himself and Ids brothers when in drink. When deceased grabbed the horse’s reins he was not hurt, and when he left the house he had no wounds of any sort. To Aho Coroner ; He had no watch, hut guessed the times. Between leaving Cardiff and arriving at his father’s place lie did not call at any hotels. The Coroner: So you were (huuk when yon left Cardiff i Witness did not answer at once, and the Detective stated that witness was the ,subject of a prohibition order and must have procured Ins liquor by some illicit means. JOSEPH’S WIFE.

Pearl I'lilenberg, wife of the l> re " vions witness, said she lived at deceased’s farm and kept house for him ami John. She had been at the farm recently for about four months, and she had lived there previously when she was first married. Deceased was addicted to drink, and frequently came home drunk. When in drink he was very disagreeable, and used to quarrel with the hoys. On December 23rd, witness assisted with the milking in the morning, and deceased and John left with the milk for the factory. They, would leave about 7 o’clock. John returned by himself. He had breakfast ami then washed the milk cans and did other work about the place. John later went to Midhirst in the- gig, returning with his father about noon, Deceased was about half drunk. He had a bottle in his pocket, hut witness could not say what was in it. Witness could not say whether or not deceased had anything to drink in the house. Diiniei was 'served, and though deceased sal at the table he did not take any dinner. Deceased appeared to get drunker as time wont on. Alter washing up witness went to visit her grandmother, who lives opposite. The house clock showed the time to he 2.1 d. hut she could not say if the clock was right. Witness was away about half an houi she could not swear exactly as to the- time. When she left, deceased was on the verandah and Jack in the whare. When she returned Jack and Joe were in the whare. She could see that Joe had had drink. Jack said His Fathe’- had Cone to Midhirst. Witness carried out her usual work all Hie day. assisting • with the milking. The rest of the time she wa s about the house all the day and saw no more of deceased. Jack and Joe were in the house all the afternoon. Wituss was positive licit deceased did not return to the house that night. Me slept in a. room opposite to witness. AN it ness was sure that Joe did not leave the house during the night. Joe vas sober when he went to hod. She did not think It strange that deceased was absent for the nigld. as he Mcquently stayed with Mrs Tapp 'overflight. At times ho might stop away To,- two nights. She had heard some quarrels between father and sons, but never seen any blows struck.

LAST TO SEE DECh-JED. David Blanc hal'd, farmer, Denbigh Road, Said he knew deceased very well. Their farms joined on e another at the back. On December 23rd, witness went to New Plymouth and returned on the same day by the train timed to reach Midhirst at 2.47 p.m. He remembered passing over the Manga mi i stream, a little north of •Midhirst. Witness was looking towards the main road, which runs parallel to the railway lino at a little distance. He saw deceased on the road just north of the bridge on the side of the road farthest from the train, deceased facing the stream. Deceased appeared to be alone. There were farm houses about, Mr Baker’s, about two hundred yards away, being the nearest. Witness could not speak a« to deceased’s sobriety, as he did nor move. Witness just caught a glimpse of him as the train went past, but he bad no doubt that the person ho saw was deceased. He was also positive that it was on the afternoon of the 23rd h e saw deceased, and not on the journey up to New Plymouth. Deceased was a Harmless Old Man, and witness had never heard oi him quarrelling with anybody, though he had heard of his quarrels with his boys. The Detective: Of late years bo was addicted to drink ? Witness: 1 suppose soj but many a time I have seen old Frank going home quite sober. The Detective: Deceased was a German, but was be not usually regarded as an Englishman ? Witness ; I never heard of anybody objecting' to him on the score of, his birth. T 0 th e Detective: The point where witness saw deceased standing was close to the place where the body was !found. He was standing! about five yards north of the bridge. IRON BRIDGE BOLT FOUND. Constable McGowan saifl that on December 29th he visited the place where the body was found and made a very careful search for some distance around to see if he could find anything to indicate how deceased came by his injuries. Hie was shown ■ the exact spot where the body was found. In the ditch in which the body was found, eight foot lower down, witness found a wooden pipe. The body was 75ft. from the edge ofi the rue fill on the road. Tin’s was in a direct line.' ’ Twenty-eight' feet from the road, about halfway between the edge, of the metal and the body witness found the bar of iron produced. . It was a bridge holt. The Grass was of. a Pale Color underneath it, indicating that the holt had only lain there a few days—it had been there more than a day or so. About eight or ten of these bolts were lying in a heap about seventeen feet from where the single one was found. They were imbedded in the grass and the ground, with the exception of one which looked as if it had been recently disturb'd. Witness made exhaustive enquiries, throughout the district for the purpose of finding somebody who had seen deceased after about 3 o’clock on the 23rd, but nobody could b e found. .Enquiries made at Tariki and all round tbe district. To Mr Spence: From the exhaustive enquiries he had made, witness felt sure that deceased had not returned to Midhirst—if he had returned, some of the people he had interviewed would have seen deceased, FOUND BY A DOC. Fritz Kleeman, manager of the Midhirst Dairy Co., said he knew deceased well, and also big family. Just after Christmas witness heard that deceased was, missing, and on December

28tli, he visited tl>e locality of the Manganui bridge. He went there about 1 p.m.. He had a good dog, which, made for the body at once. At the time witness did Hot know whoso body it was. The body was at the bottom of the ditch running along the side of the road. The body was face downwards and wa s covered with wider. Witness took particular notice of the locality, but could not see that the grass or scrub had been disturbed in .any way. There 3iad been considerable rain between the' 23rd and the 28th. Witness did not interfere with the body or touch it, but lie telephoned at once to the Stratford police, and Sergeant Dale came down that afternoon. | ■ When Sergeant Dale Turned the Body i Over, witness saw that it was deceased. Recently witness had gone over past events and could recollect that at 2 p.m. on the 23rd he left on a visit to the Waipuku creamery. He saw nothing of Frank or Joe Uhlenberg. Ho was standing at the Waipuku creamery, talking to the manager, when’ the train due at Midhirst at 2.47 massed. The train was running ten minutes late. This fact was told to witness hy the wife of the manager cf the York Road creamery. She had also seen Uhlenborg, travelling southwards from Waipuku. She told witness this a few days ago. Witness did not know her name. Witness left [Waipuku on the return trip about ten minutes after the train, and when ho passed the Manganui bridge be did not see deceased or anybody else. The Detective said deceased would have to travel for about six hundred yards along the ’main road from the corner to his road. Witness, in reply to Mr Spence, . <S"»>

said that on the trip up and down the main road he Saw tso Living Send on the Road or at any gate or anywhere near the bridge. Witness had one of his daughters in iiis car. On (lip way hack he picked up two young children named Brown on tile Waipuku hill. Just after passing the bridge witness saw one of the factory men going into Baker’s gate. Passing Cars. The Coroner; While you were standing at the Waipuku factory, did any motor cars pass? ■ Witness: Two ears passed, from Stratford. Mr Spence: Who were in those cars? 1 Witness: I did not see the cars. I was working behind the creamery, i The Detective; Did they pass before the train left for Midhirst? Witness: Yes. The Detective; Then they don’t matter, because deceased was seen from tbe train. Mr Spence: Did any cars pass the other way ? Witness: No.

Juryman Jackson said he had passed along the road about 2.30 on the 23rd and he remembered seeing Uhlenberg on tbe road, but he could not swear that it was on the 23rd. He remembered seeing Mr Kleeman’s car at Waipuku. The Defective said that Mr Jackson had passed too early to give evidence on the matter. To Juryman Jackson : Witness said he did not think the Manganui would be Hooded sufficiently by the rain after the 23rd to carry the body to the. position it was found in.

THE WORK OF THE POLICE, Sergeant Dale said that at about noon on-'December 26th, Henry Grey reported to him at Stratford that Uhlenberg had been missing since the 23rd. About 1 p.m. witness received a telephone message to the effect that the body had been found in a ditch near the IManganui Stream. Witness at once went out by motor car. On going down the bank off the road, in company with Mr Kleeman, witness was shown the body by Mr Kleeman. The body was lying face downwards. The legs were fully extended. The arms were under the body, 'and the whole of the body was practically covered with water. Before removing tlie body or interfering with it, witncsse made an examination of tho locality, but there was no sigM Of any struggle. The long grass was' 1 not even hodden down. The drain Where ,thp, head, rested would he about ten inches wide, perhaps a. little indie. From where the neck was lying, "the drain widened. If there had been a big volume of water in the ditch, ajid .there had been a big fall of gain, witness thought the water would force the head into the narrow part of the ditch. The head was facing towards the stream. Witness said he mentioned thi.s because he thought that • It did not Exactly Follow

that deceased fell into the ditch just exactly where ho was found, though he probably would fa'll in close to the point. The body was lifted out and the pockets were searched, there being’ 2s 9d, an ihsui*aiVee paper’,' ah unpaid account, and a knife. Onto nVing over the body witness saw tlie wounds ; already described by the doctors'. At the time, witness noticed a small rent on the right trouser leg and saw the right sleeve of the coat frayed at the cuff. A hat was lying about two yards from the head. The clothes were removed on the spot and had since then been in the possession of witness. There was a fence with two barbed wires fencing off the place where the body was found, but it was lying down flat on the ground and seemed to have been down for months. It would be no impediment to a person walking to the ditch. THE VERQiCT. After a retirement of about forty minutes, the jury returned with a verdict that “Deceased was found dead, but there is not sufficient evidence to show how be met his death.”

THE MDHIRBT MYSTERY.

i* RANG IS UHLENttIiRCdS DEATH. EVIDENCE DiSCLCCES MASS OF PERPLEXITIES. MANY WITNESS ES— LIT TL E LIGHT. JURY’S VERDICT: FOUND DEAD. The inquest regarding the death of Francis Uhlenherg was continued ■at the. Courthouse yesterday afternoon. Air S. Ward, M. 1 1 . ? acted as Coronet. and the following comprised the jury: Messrs N. J. .King (foreman), A. .Moon G. Jackson, G. 'A . Mills, H. Burmester and F. G. Blake. Mr R. Spence appeared on behalf of the family of deceased. inspector Wilson and Deiective,Sergeant Siddells were in charge of the police proceedings, the witnesses being examined by the Detective. AT THE VILLAGE PUS. James Cfamond Parsons, licensee Of the hotel at Midhirst, gave evidence that he knew deceased, who was frequently in the hotel. He remembered the morning of Thursday, December 23rd. Deceased called at the Hotel between 8 and 9 o’clock and purchased a bottle of beer and had one drink. He returned between 10 and 11 o’clock. Nobody was with him. Deceased and Ins son John were together in the house on this occasion, John coming in a few minutes after his father and purchasing a £1 hamper of liquor. Deceased purchased a bottle of whisky. They had a drink together before they left. When they left both were sober. Witness could not see any trace of the , effects of liquor on deceased. They left together between 11 p-m. and 1,10011 , driving in a gig.'T/TheY mppeiHecJ io/he bn thei best of terms. Witness wars in Jhal'ge .of the hotel,] o/ .xliat day J)eceaspqj|did;) not return to |he hpfje\itluvti : and ,

Wfljiioss Never Saw Him Alive Again. I ';. i>' J'i't ■ aU'IA 7/ <„v i n Witness could not call to mind any strangers about the settlement thatday. On some day after {he IBth,. when the dairy factory cheques were paid out, deceased paid £3 off his account with witness. After the 18th deceased spent a few shillings in the hotel, hut witness could not say how much. The Detective said the questions regarding money were not highly material, hut as the police knew how much money deceased received on the 18th they desired to account for-dt as far as possible. • ' DAUGHTER’S EVIDENCE. jjillit Tapp;, wife'-of John- Tapp, blaclkfc'inith, Midhirst-,' a daughter of' deceased, said she l lived > about 1 two hundred yards from the Midhirst hotel. Her- father was at her house almost daily. On December 23rd he came to the house between 10 and- I f a.m. He had a bottle of beer with him. He said it would be the last drink he would have and he would not see the New Year. Her brother John arrived soon after her father. l>om remained at the house for some time and drank all of the hqttle of beer. John left the house a few minutes before deceased. They left somewhere |about 11 o'clock. Her fafiier was. In His Usual State of Health and was sober when he left the house. Witness was at iiome all that day, but her father did not return—if he had been in the settlement- she would expect him to be at the house. Deceased had not recently made her any Christinas present, though he had given her two shillings. .It was a common practice for deceased to go off on visits to daughters in various parts of the colony without giving any warning, and when lie was missing alter December 23rd, all the family presumed that he had gone on a visitorone of Jus married daughters at Waitara. NOTES’ ON THE POST MORTEM. Dr Steven, sworn, said that on De-cember-28th he and Dr. Paget made !a post-mortem examination of the body of deceased at the Stratford morgue. They found post-mortem discoloration of the neck, well marked and dark . blue in color. The face was covered I with decomposed blood and moisture. .The post-mortem rigidity had disappeared. The gases nf decomposition 'could he seen escaping from the mouth.. Examination of the right car showed that the posterior edge had been removed lor about- an inch P tn ~ pendicularly and. a quarter of an melt buck wards. There was a slight abrasion. one inch in vertical diameter ana

half an inch across, on the inner part .of the front of the right kneecap. <>n | the right arm and hand there was a laceration extending from the middle joint of the right little finger up to a point mid-way between this and the point of the elhow. This wound extended down to the hone, which had i been hared over the lower end of the nhna. The dorra! flap of skin was deflected, exposing the fourth and fifth i i m c- nvlflrvni

metacarpal bones, there was m loss of substance in the frontal space between these two hones and from the palm a aspect of the fifth metacatpal bone. The extensor tendon of the

little .‘lope:* <;n the right Maud was poll.' from tiie knuckle to the upper margin of the wound, The wound when opened up had a length ol seven inches and a breadth of about three inches. Tlie edges were irregular ami' showed .i siliall puncture in the dorsal flap one-eighth of an .inch in diameter, over the knuckle. There was a larger perforation. a qucrler of an men in diameter, two inches further up. flm dorsal flap showed a well-marked notch corresponding to the styloid process of the ulma. An incision into the scalp allow tt! a slight extrcversation over the posterior end of the right parietal bone. Xu fracture of the skull was found. No fracture was found in any other hone oi the body. Apart from the results, of decomposition the brain appeared normal. The right lung was adhered to the chest wall over the auxiliary region. The third, fourth,, fifth and sixth ribs on tlie rigid side showed old fractures, which had united liiauly. The left lung was adherent at the apex. The lung tissue contained no water ami floated readily in Male,, There was no sign oi any obstruction in tlie windpipe. The right side ol the heart was slightly engorged. There was a slight' dilatation ot the aorta at the beginning of the arch. . Ihe valves of the heart all appeared nor-, mal. The abdominal organs were eyeurn hied and all appeared healthy. Fragments of scale and small pieces of doth which were removed from the wound ou the right arm were handed to Sergeant Dale. There were no other wounds beside those described. The cause of death was not by diowning. Witness did not think that the wounds were sufficient ot themselves to cause death. It was possible that deceased might liavo been stiangh d or suffocated. He might have died from shock or exposure. None of the wounds were such as could have been inflicted by a bar of iron. ' Witness could not say positively if any or all of the wounds wore made before or after death. The wounds on (he right hand and the ear ’ might ‘ have been 6aused by friction on some hard surface: Witness did not think the 'wounds would he caused by deceased being knocked down by a motor cfir. though they, might possibly by caused by deceased being dragged alter )C----in.T knocked cldwn by a motor ear or otljer vehicle. ' Witness had never seen the clothing deceased wore; 1 , j

i ‘ ‘'l - 'perssna! Opinions. A coat was here produced and witness was asked to, search inside one of the cuffs for signs of blood. He found slight tnarks which uug.it have been caused by blood. Witness found evident signs on the cuff, offriction or dragging. A tear on the cml mig.u correspond with the injury on the ngiu hand. Witness thought il just' 1 Possible that this wound might-have 'own caused l)'v friction against the wheel of am- vehicle: ! Looking ;at the. woum he would that it was caused more by gi'inlhal grinding than a suck. den blow. Witness could not swear,, hi a result of his observation, whether ‘the wound had been made before or after death. The condition of the bbdv made 1 it impossible bo swear in this direction. I He had seen the locality where the body was Sound and had had described to him the position (5 f the hodv ; and his opinion was that the hodv had not got where it was ov accidentally falling but by being placed there iff ter death. Cross-examination. To a juryman (Mr Jackson): Owing to" the state of decomposition it was imposibsle to form any opinion ot the cause of the discoloration of the neck. !t may have been caused by post-mor-tem changes. To a juryman (Mr Blake): None of the wounds had the appearance of being caused by barbed wire. To the Foreman- (Mr King); Deceased’s wounds would not have prevented him walking to the plage where the body was found. To Mr Jackson: The wound on the arm had not been oaten by some am* null—the flesh had-the appearance of being gradually worn away. To. Mr Blake: It was hardly probable that any of the wounds were caused by deceased being dragged over the rough top of a stump oi a post. To the Detective; Witness saw no evidence oi poison and ins opinion was that deceased was not poisoned, cart iof the skin on the wound on the hand I was absent. more medical light. I Dr. Paget, in evidence, said that in the main he agreed with Dr. Ste!veil’s account ot the post-mortem pxlanimation. The state of decomposition led him to believe that the dojceased had been dead several days. He 1 could not say nearer rhan that. Ex;animation of the right forearm showed ja wound of a very peculiar nature. / the extent and general condition 'being as described by Dr. Steven. I. I was particularly noticeable that there 1 wore no surrounding scratches or aura- : stons on the skin in the neighbourhood 1 of the wound or elsewhere on the body, 1 except on tue right knee and the right ! (.-■■, The edges of the wound showed ! ghat tko skin- had been worn away by j frici ion < and in the opinion of wit now, i the thin edge of the skin, where it was frayed, and the condition ol Liu* edges of the hole in the skin where it had covered the bony prominence on the outer side a ml hack oi the rigid win-. I showed that the wound had been caused bv long-continued, friction on a

fairly- smooth substance, probably metal or other hard substance, Tu witness’ opinion the whole of the in* jury to the right forearm was caused iAm death. The injury to the posterior edge of the right ear.partook of the same nature and was apparently caused in the same way as the injury to the forearm. Witness had seen the coat of deceased and the portion of sleeve worn away at the cuff corresponded to the position of the wound on the forearm. The substances found in tho wound were obviously portions the clock rum the coat- and several pieces of scaly substance which had the appearance of chipped paint. The tear in tlie knee of deceased’s trousers would correspond with the abrasion aver the right knee., which injury witness thought, , was received before death. The bruise in tlie scalp was a I so, witness thought, made before, deatii. The condition of congestion about the neck, face and brain Suggested Death by Sis angulation or a pendant- position of these parts for some time shortly niter death. The effect would only be produced if this pendant position were taken up just after death or before rigor mortis set in. The examination of the organs of .he body did not reveal tiic actual cause of death, ft showed, however, -fiat death certainiy did not result from drowning. The heart was flabby, softened add the aorta and the main 'arteries in the heart wore enlarged, md the walls were unduly thin. These conditions, however, were not sufficient of themselves to cause death. The stomach, which appeared to bo nearly empty, was removed for analysis, and only analysis would prove whether or not poison was the cause, of (Trtli. Until the result of the aualyri-, was known no opinion could be formed on tlie matter. IS death resulted from strangulation some soft article, must have been used, as there were an marks on the skin such us would be left by a rop r l! a hand had been ,i ip, would leave no marks which oukl be detected in the condition of. the body at the time of the exarairi-

anon. In answer to Detective SiddoJls witness said lie had had described to him file position of the body when found. If the bodv was found As described, witness was of opinion that it had oeen placed thereafter death. In witness’, opinion it was impossible for death, to have resulted from a motor car or other veliit.de at the point where the body was found. There would have had to be more: sevei*C injuries to cause death. The injuries deceased suffered were not of such a nature as to cause death of themselves and they were t far too localised and limited to have been caused B'j Cc!!isicn with a Vehicle. The only feasible suggestion as to the cause of the injuries was to account fot gradual wearing away of Jiesh and tendons right down, to tint bone, some of the substances' being fairly hard. He believed the wounds were caused after death. If the mai had been alive whit* rhe wounds were being worn lie would have moved away from /the substance which caused the friction. The only thing which witness could -think of as the cause of the wounds was the metal tyre of a vehicle. If the body after death were placed in a gig and the arm and head Lliowed to come into contact with the tvre of the wheel, the body lying with the head hanging down, it would account for the wounds found and the condition of the neck. If the wounds were inflicted before death then deceased inust have been in a very conir plcte state of unconsciousness while they were -being inflicted. If the theory of contact with a wheel tyre

•were accepted it would show that the dead body had been carried in a gig for a considerable distance. The wounds were certainly not caused, by abrasion on the road, by a blow from the iron bar (produced), by barbed wire, by a spade, or by contact with a stump. Neither could thej he made by the action of water or the teeth of an. animal. At the examination there were no indications sufficient to account for death.; -but the condition of the heart was such as would make it Hi ore likely for deceased to die from shock, exposure, or .strangulation than a man-with a irerfectly normal heart. To Mr Mills: The wounds might have been caused when the body was being taken by the police to the ;mor- ; hut witness understood the wounds wore seen as soon as the police moved the body from where it was found. ' To Mr Jackson: When witness first examined deceased’s coat there were marks on the coat cuff which might he blood. DECEASED’S SON’S STATEMENT. John Vhlenberg, eldest son of deceased, gave evidence that on December e;jrd he go. up from bed at 1 a.m., ns also did ' deceased. His brother Joseph was not at home. When the milking was finished witness took the milk to the factory ax Midhirst. Deceased went along in the cart, but left the cart and walked on to the settlement. That was about ten minutes past seven. After getting rid of his milk, witness returned straight to the iarm. After /having breakfast and doin'l' some work witness left tor Mid--1 hirst in the gig. for the purpose of 1 bringing Ins father home. The farm 1 was "about, two miles from the town-

ship. Witness returned td Midhirst between 9 and 9.30 o’clock. The vas left in the hotel yard, and aitei witness had had a glass of beer he proceeded towards Mrs Tapp's house' and met. Ids father walking towards tho hotel Witness went into Mrs Tapp’s house and later on his father returned pith a bottle of beer, which they drank fcogotaer. Deceased. left witness who stayed for some time, deceased staying only about a quarter of an hour. Witness then tveut