ALLEGED MURDER PLOT.

Taihape Daily Times, 16 May 1919, Page 6

ALLEGED MURDER PLOT.

STRANGE STORY OF A RICH

BLIND MAN AND HIS DAUGHTER.

A curious story of an alleged plot by a daughter against her mother, in which the daughter’s son was involved, was described at Greenwich Police Court. The main characters in the story were: — Mr Bodcn, who retired after making a competence as a boot and shoe manufacturer, and became totally blind. Mrs Alice Bowden, his wife, whom he is alleged to have turned out of th e

house in 1917 without money or a home. Mrs Alice Hughes, their daughter, who is alleged to have concocted a plot with her son to swear that his grandmother asked him to kill his * * r grandfather. ' Thomas R. Hughes, 13, the sou, who, at Greenwich Police Court some time ago, described the alleged plot to kill Mr Boden, with which Mrs .Boden was charged, but the charge was dismis- / sod. CHARGE AGAINST THE DAUGHTER. Mrs Alice Hughes, wife of Thomas H. Hughes, Troufbcck Road, New Cross, was now summoned at the instance of her mother, Mrs Boden, of Forest Gate, who alleged perjury in a sworn information, and in evidence at Greenwich Police Court. Mrs Hughes was also summoned for having suborned her son, Thomas, to commit perjury. The boy was summoned for committing perjury.

The boy’s story, as originally told in the charge against his grandmother, was that he met Mrs Boden by appointment on certain occasions, when she. had given him money, and that one evening she gave him an iron bar, telling him that when the alarm clock struck midnight, he was to go to his grandfather’s bedroom and hit him twice on the head with it. Previously he was (o lock his mother in her room, and, after striking the blows, he was to pull out the drawers, turn up the mats, and open the doors, as if a thief had entered the house and killed his grandfather. Then he was to go back to bed. He alleged that Mrs Boden told him that when she read in the papers of her husband’s death she would give him £2. a ltd added that afterwards she would deal with his mother. Having got rid of their enemies, they would have the grandfather’s money.

AN ABOMINABLE CONSPPIRACY.

Mr Abinger (prosecuting) described the offence of Mrs Hughes against her own mother, as an abominable conspiracy. Her father was successful in business, and retired in August. 1917, having amassed considerable - means, and after that his daughfer (defendant) entered into a. plot to poison his mind against his wife, so as to affect testimontary dispositions he had made. She told her father, who was blind, that his wife was going to poison him, and was a drunkard. On November S, 1917. Mr Bodcn turned his wife out of the house without money or a home. She filed a petition in the High Court for judicial separation, on which, on January 29th last, Lord Coleridge decreed a separation. While the petition was pending Mrs Bodcn was charged with procuring the hoy to murder his grandfather, and this, ho alleged, was done to prejudice the High Court proceedings. Mrs Hughes had exercised extraordinary ingenuity to support the fantastic story told by the boy, in which there was not a word of truth. It was impossible to believe' that a boy of 13 would concoct such, a monstrous, fantastic story as ho had told, unless put up to it by some older person. Mrs Bodcn. giving evidence, said it was untrue that her husband had declined to live with her -drunken habits.” She had lived happily with her husband, who became totally blind after 40 years’ hard work as a bo of and shoe maker.