MURDER TRIAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 October 1920, Page 5

MURDER TRIAL.

THORN PLEADS NOT GUILTY, SENT TO SUPREME COURT, 'ACCUSED IN WITNESS BOX. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. The hearing of the preliminary trial of Samuel John Thorn, 34, charged with the murder of Sidney Seymour Eyre, at Pukekawa, on August" 24, was "resumed this morning, before Mr. Poynton, S.M., with whom Mr. R. V. Webster sat as District Coroner for Pukekohe to return the Coronial finding on the evidence as to the cause of death. Mr. W. P. Hunt (instructed by the Crown Prosecutor} conducted the prosecution, and Mr. R. A. Singer (with him Mr. w. J. Gntenby) appeared for the accused. William Theodore Eyre, nephew of the deceased, stated that on Friday, August 29, he assisted to clean up the "deceased's bedroom, and found a gun wad under the chest of drawers. This he put in a basin of water, which was subsequently thrown into an open drain beside the house. Last Saturday on noticing ]n the paper that evidence'was oven of a missing cartridge wad, ho mentioned the > matter to' Detectivesergeant Cumminge, who accompanied him to Pukekawa yesterdav, where, in the presence of five people," he made a sear™ of the drain and found the wad, which ho produced.

DETECTIVE'S INQUIRIES. Detective-Sergeant Oimmings detailed at length the result of his investigations into the murder on August 'l' Witness, Sergeant Cowan, and Constable Ihompso'i made general inquiries at Granville's, and' fhev -visited Thorn's camp at Granville's in the evening Thev found a light in the whare and accused in bed fully dressed, except for his coat, hat, and boots. Me v,\is .-w-ip.rentlv asleep, but a candle was burning by his bedside and a book was beside it. When roused lie sat up and said "Good evening, Mr. Cowan," to the sergeant. Witness told the accused of the trp.geclv and asked him if he was on good'terras with the family.

Accused replied: "Sid and I had our differences, but I got on all right with the rest." When asked why he left Evre's. ho said he had been given notice.' as Phil had left, school and could work on the farm. In reply to furtheT .questions, accused said he had never written to Mr? Eyre in his life, nor she to him, and when asked what letters he had in camp he invited witness to look. Witness discussed the murder with accused, who remarked that it must have bean done by someone who knew the run of the place. When the motive of robbery was suggested, accused said he did not think that could be so. He said he had assisted Mr. Eyre to put his bed in position. ACCUSED'S MOVEMENTS. Witness said: "Where were you last night?" and he replied: "I'm going to say I was not out." Witness said the question was whether he was in or out that night, and accused said: "Did anyone see me out?" Witness mentioned an unconfirmed report that accused was out, a report that had not since been confirmed, and accused asked: "Were they talking to me?" Accused said that Granville had left him at 5 p.m., and that there was no one to back his word that he was not out, They went across to Granville's house, where accused made a statement and was told that he would probably be wanted _as a witness at the inq"uest. After his statement was made, witness pointed out that his movements on Monday night, but hot on Tuesday night, were in question. Again he tcplied: "I am going to say I was not out.' Asked by witness what he would put in the statement about it, he remarked: "Please yourself; I say I was nofrout." Next morning, witness said, he and Constable Thompson returned to accused's camp, where five working horses were examined. Pour were shod all round, and one, Major, had only hind shoes on. The shoes were taken off the horse Mickey by Constable Thompson. When witness put a rule on the shoes and remarked to Thorn, "These shoes correspond with the tracks on the road near Eyre's place," the latter went white, but made no reply. Witness asked Thorn if anyone could have got Mickey off the farm, and he replied that he did not think sp, as it was a hard place to get off unless one knew it.

SAVING MRS. EYRE'S CHARACTER

Continuing his evidence in the afternoon, Detective-Sergeant Cummings stated that on Friday, August 37, he tried the two front shoes taken off Mickey in two prints on the road near Eyre's tnat had been covered with a board. He found that the shoes, both off and near, corresponded exactly with the hoof marks. Witness stated that on Saturday he saw Thorn again, and told him ha had had statements from Mrs. Eyre and Phil Evre. He asked: "What does Mrs. Eyre say about me and what does Phil say ?"• He was shown the statements. Mr. Singer at this stage intimated that he contested the admissibility of parts of those statements, and objected to the publication of them until the question of admissibility had been decided by the Judge. The attitude that accused took up, stated counsel, was that he was not going to blacken Mrs. Eyre's character by anv reference to her. His Worship agreed that the statements should be put in without being read, and noted with counsel's objection. Witness said he read Mrs. Eyre's statement and Phillip Eyre's statement to Thorn, who then made a statement. Mr. Singer objected *.» «ue part of the statement being allowed in, but his Worship ruled that as the whole statement was in accused's handwriting it must all be put in. THE ACCUSED SILENT. After further police evidence, Mr. Poynton left the Bench and the Coronial inquiry was resumed. Mr. Hunt then said that for the purpose of the inquiry he proposed to call Samuel John Thorn. Mr. Singer: This k most unusual. I think, in the circumstances, it is hardly fitting that the Crown should a9k Thorn to go into the box. ■■ If he is compelled to do so, he will decline to answer any questions. I think it is almost without precedent that at the