BEASTLY MURDER

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 216, 1 December 1927, Page 11

BEASTLY MURDER

SHOCKING WELSH CRIME FOUR MEN CHARGED By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright LONDON, Tuesday. Four racecourse frequenters were charged at the Glamorgan Assizes with the murder of David Lewis, a Cardiff footballer. Counsel for the prosecution described it as the most brutal and beastly murder imaginable. It was alleged that the four accused men surrounded Lewis, who was a fine athlete, and held his arms behind his back and deliberately cut his throat. They then left him to die on the roadway. Counsel argued that all the four men were guilty of murder.—A. and N.Z. The circumstances of the case were stated at the hearing: before the magistrate at Cardiff on October 19. Five men were originally charged with the murder of Lewis, who was 31 years old. They were Daniel Driscoll, 39, John Hughes, 54, William Joseph Price, 43, Edward Rowlands, 40, and John Rowlands, 30. Mr. G. R. Paling appeared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. He said there was a dispute between Lewis and Edward Rowlands at Monmouth races, but it was patched up. The fatal quarrel took place in St. Mary's Street, and a fight occurred in the centre of the thoroughfare. A constable ran toward the five accused and noticed that Driscoll was holding Lewis by the arms. He then saw Edward Rowlands fight Lewis, who fell. The prisoners ran away. Lewis had two wounds, one on the left side of the head, 7}in long. It was deep to the bone and stretched from the jaw to the

Police-Constable Evans said he heard four of the prisoners and Lewis arguing long before midnight. Hughes was not there. Later a fight began. As he ran he saw Driscoll holding David Lewis. Pie was gripping him from behind. Then he saw that Edward Rowlands had struck him in the face. It was all over in a few seconds. As far as he could see Lewis’s hands were by his side.