“NEVER BE CLEARED UP”

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 796, 17 October 1929, Page 1

“NEVER BE CLEARED UP”

Baffling Fire Mystery

himatangi tragedy verdict “Fire Made Clean Sweep” (Special to TBE SUN) PALMERSTON NORTH, Today. AS was expected, some important evidence regarding the domestic relationships of the victims and the mentality of Wright and Thompson was heard during the last stages of the inquest on the Himatang-i tragedy yesterday afternoon, but, although the evidence heard may assist the public the better to form theories, the mystery was by no means cleared up and the coroner was unable to do more than return a verdict that the six members of the Wright family and Westlake and Thompson had come by their death on September 6 while living in a house at Himatangi, which was lot-ally destroyed by fire and their bodies so burnt and charred as to be unrecognisable except through the medical evidence.

‘•Never has a case been more completely baffling in my 25 years of experience as a coroner in regard to setting a definite finding,” said the coroner, Mr. Fraser, in reviewing the evidence “The fire made a clean sweep and there was practically no evidence except that produced by the police and by the medical inquiries.”

He paid a tribute to the work of the police who. so far as he could judge, had neglected no possible avenue of evidence in their efforts to bring light to bear on the tragedy. The medical evidence had also been full and complete, the post-mortem by Drs. King and Wyllie establishing beyond doubt that the eight persons living in the house had all perished on the night on which the house was burned. The medical evidence had alao established that it would have teen impossible for the person whose skull it was that was found with a hole in it to have committed suicide. There had therefore been either an accident or a killing. NO OUTSIDER IN HOUSE The coroner ruled out the possibility cl an outsider being connected with the tragedy owing to the inaccessibility of the house and to the fact that, eo far as was known, no one had any motive for a murderous attack. What had happened upon the night of the tragedy had been confined to the eight occupants of the house. "Much evidence has been heard regarding the Wright’s financial Btate,” he said, “but there is not the slightest shred of evidence to show that he was the man who fired the gun.” Three adult bodies had been found in Wright’s room and the gun in Westlake's room, but the latter's body hail been found in the living room. Owing to his shortsightedness Westlake could not have fired the gun. That reduced the two likely ones to Wright and Thompson, but no one could say who had fired the shot, if it had been fired, or whether the discharge was accidental or intentional or even whether the destruction of the house was an-accident. "I am afraid that the mystery will never be cleared up,” said the coroner, in conclusion, “and it appears that we will never know the truth of the matter.” Yesterday afternoon further evidence concerning Wright and Thompson was given by Alfred Henry Burwss, a Rongotea farmer, who had known Mr. and Mrs. Wright since 1913.

“X should say he was not a normal man." said witness. “That was the general opinion in the district.” He added that he was not an intelligent man and so far as witness knew had not received any relief from the financial difficulties which were troubling him. Witness had seen Wright about a fortnight before he left Rongotea. Wright’s failure to make his farm at Rongotea show a profit, witness considered, was due both to his being a bad farmer and to his not being industrious. Senior-Detective Quirke: Taking in all the circumstances, do you think he was a mentally strong man? Witness: No, Detective Quirke: How would you describe Thompson? Witness: Just as a simple, innocent lad. Detective Quirke: There was vice in him? Witness: No. Mrs. Martha Elizabeth Burgess, wife of the previous witness, who had also known the Wrights well, said that he was not an intelligent sensible, sane man. WRIGHT’S BEHAVIOUR “One Monday morning Mrs. Wright rang up to say that her husband had been playing up. He had pulled the pictures off the wall and had thrown them on the floor and had also disturbed the linen. She gave no reason for his behaviour. The quarrels always took place at night. “Mrs. Wright also said that he had a habit of catching her by the throat,” witness continued. Thompson, this witness also described as “simple,” and Mrs. Wright as an Industrious woman of good character. Hildis Emmanuel Bergensen gave expert evidence regarding the shotgun found among the ashes at the scene of the fire. On examination of the hole in the skull produced in court, witness said that the hole could have been caused by a 12-gauge shotgun with a choke barrel fired at close quarters. The shot found In the skull he identified as No. 3 shot. He considered that the hole in the skull had been caused by a shotgun fired at a distance of five or six feet. The remains produced were those of a 12-gauge gun, and this or a similar weapon could have caused the hole. The cartridges produced were those of a 12-gauge size. He could not say how long It was since they liad been fired. This completed the evidence.