STABBED IN HIS OWN HOME

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 812, 5 November 1929, Page 1

STABBED IN HIS OWN HOME

Nelson Street Tragedy CAFFERY TRIED FOR MURDER r[EN Thomas Leavy was fatally knifed at his own home, 119 Nelson Street, on the evening of August 2, there were several visitors at the house—visitors who contributed toward building up a case of murder against George Caffery, a quarter-caste negro, aged 34, who faced Mr. Justice Smith and a common jury of 12, at the Supreme Court this morning.

The early part of the Crown’s case conducted by Mr. Meredith was heard yesterday when evidence of the stabbing was taken from several witM Mr S Dickson, assisted by Mr. McLirer, defended Caffery. The first witness called by the prosecution this morning was Mrs. Beatrice Rushworth, a widow, who, in comDany with Miss Bovina Foster, had called at Leavy’s house, 119 Nelson Street, at about 5.45 on the evening of August 2. She entered the front room on the right-hand side of the front door, and she and Miss Foster cat down with the two men, Leavy and Cole, and there had some liquid refreshment. While they were there Caffery entered as far as the room door, and asked Cole to come outside. When role refused, Caffery said: “If you don’t come outside I’ll get you there. ’ Caffery stood in silence for a minute or two and then left by the -front door. A few minutes later Gallott and Carmody entered. bang on the door The members or this assemblage were conversing for live or ten minutes when there was a bang on the door as if someone had pressed a foot '"Yleavy said: "I’ll deal with this,” and walked to the front door. Witness could not see to the front door, but she heard Leavy say: "Get out of here; this is my house.” She then saw Leavy pushed back by a pair of bands, tbe owner of which she could not ascertain. The two men pushed for a while, when Leavy said: “Dave, they have got knives to me.” Leavy then walked into the room, said “I’m done,” lay back on the bed, and did not speak again. He was bleeding profusely. . . Witness and her friend left Immediately. In reply to Mr. Dickson witness laid Caffery did not attempt to assault anyone when he came to the door of the inner room. It was clear to witness that the pair of hands was pushing, and not helping, Leavy toward this room. The two men were swaying back and forth for a few minutes. Cole was then out of the room. The tragedy as seen by David Patrick Carmody, who shared Leavy’s house, was much in corroboration of that of the previous witness, except that he heard, but did not see, the scuffle in the passage. Leavy staggered into the room and said: "Dave, I'm done.” Witness arrived at the house with Gallott, bringing with him three round bottles of beer, none of which he drank at the time. Leavy was placed on the wire mattress immediately he staggered in, and the ambulance was summoned. When shown the knife, witness said he had not seen it prior to it being shown to him at the police station after the stabbing. Cole was in the

kitchen when the bang came to the door. Witness told Mr. Dickson that he was surprised to find next morning that a knife had been found in the room, although none but those mentioned had occupied the room, and he had not heard a knife drop. James Anderson Gallott, who arrived at the Leavy household in company with Carmody, said Cole left the room, just before the bang came at the door, for the purpose of getting a cup, as they were going to have a drink. Mr. Meredith: There were six of you to have a drink. Witness: The four who were there had some of their own. SCUFFLE DESCRIBED

Witness described the scuffle at the front door and said he did not see a knife in the room. There was no means, as far as he knew, how a knife could have been brought into the room, as no one but Leavy had entered it. Mrs. Margaret Langton, of 97 Nelson Street, whose husband is a vegetable hawker, was disturbed by a noise in the right-of-way on the evening of August 2, and upon investigation she, together with her husband, discovered a man with a sack of potatoes taken from a loaded cart in the right-of-way. Her husband called the man Caffery, who replied, "I don’t want your potatoes.” Witness threatened to have him arrested, whereupon the stranger replied: “I am after that Cole. I will kill that Cole tonight." Witness rejoined: “You will do no killing here; because he is not here,” and the man replied. "1 know he stays in your back room.” Cole had left the Langton household some time previously, however. James Langton himself described the meeting at the vegetable cart, and confirmed his wife’s version of the language, declaring that the word “tonight" was used in Caffery’s threat, even though he did not mention this in the Lower Court. A sister of Caffery, Delia Mary Connor, told a story of having gone to Caffery’s house on the evening of the tragedy, Caffery, and men named O’Bullion and Byrne being present in a drunken condition. Caffery had a cut under his eye, which was freshly bleeding. She asked who cut his face, and he replied: “The wild Irishman," meaning Byrne. Byrne merely mumbled something. Witness was just leaving the house with Mrs. Caffery when the police called. After the police had taken Caffery and Mrs. Caffery away, Byrne said: “Have the b ’s gone? They will come back for me; I’m in this.” Almost at that moment the detectives returned and arrested Byrne. Byrne wore different trousers to those he had worn at 5 o’clock the same evening, when witness had seen him smack a woman’s face outside an hotel at the corner of Hebson and Wellesley Streets.

boots identified The bacteriologist at the Auckland Hospital, Frederick L. Armitage, identified a pair of black boots, grey ocks a small pocket-knife and the knife found in the room where Leavy jjed He conducted tests on the rticles for human blood, traces of which he found on the boots, sheathknife and socks, but not on the pocketknife- Practically all the blood was n the right boot. On the socks there was very little blood, which was only In one place. The only traces of blood on the sheath-knife found in the house was between the metal and wooden handle. Mr. Dickson questioned witness concerning a pair of blue trousers, jiroiluced. Witness stated that he found human bloodstains on the outside of the left leg. On a pair of brown boots there was also bloodstains, chiefly outside of the left. Mr. Dickson told his Honour that he proposed proving later to whom the boots and blue trousers belonged. They were the property of Byrne. BLOOD ON TROUSERS Questioned by Mr. Dickson, witness said that the spraying of blood on ihe blue trousers could not X- done bv artificial means without considerable experiment to secure spots the same size. He had tried the experiment, but found it very difficult to reproduce a similar result to that on the trousers. For a person to attempt this he would have had to be very scientific, and he did not think It possible that an ordinary woman could have done it. Apart from this fresh hlood he’d have had to be used. The witness considered that the spraying of the blood came from the wound. Under re-examination by Mr. Meredith, the witness said he could give no indication when the brown boots were last worn.