TRIAL

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1921, Page 5

TRIAL

BACK-BLOCKS TRAGEDY. MAN KILLS HIS MATE. ACCUSED ADMITS CRIME. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Wanganui, Last Night. • At the Magistrate’s Court to-day John ’Kinsella was charged with the murder of I George Gordon at Mangamahu The Icoronial inquiry proceeded simultaneously. Cecil Addenbrooke, a farmer, said that lon July 22 he saw accused about 6 p.m. coming down the paddock with a man named Gibson. Kinsella said: “Go and ring up the police; I nave cut George’s head off.” Witness replied: “Surely you have not done that?” Gibson said: “Yes the head is off all right.” Witness went to the whare and saw deceased bring just inside the doorway in a pool of blood. Witness telephoned for the police, who arrived later. Deceased used to have a “booze up” occasionally, and was fond of it. Kinsella, when sober, was quite a decent chap. Kinsella was drunk when he informed witness of the tragedy, and kept telling him that he had chopped George’s head off. He could walk, but net too straight. He appeared excited, and said that Ceorge lay down on the floor and asked him to chop his head off. ’ Gibson was very drunk, and was tumbling down half the time. Kinsella became hysterica! several times and started to cry. “WHY DID I DO IT?”

James Campbell, a roadman, employed by the Wanganui County Council, said he had known accused about four and a half years. The latter worked about the Mangamahu district. Witness also knew deceased. On July 21, about 3.50 p.m., Kinsella came along the road on a horse. Accused had a bottle of whisky, and witness and Gordon each had a nip. Gordon gave Kinsella os, and ‘be latter went away in the direction of the hotel, which was about 300 yards away. On that occasion both accused and deceased were sober. Next morning witness called at the whare and found both accused and deceased in bed, and’Gibson did not come to work. About 11 a.m. Kinsella came along the road and said that “he was dry and was going down to have a drink.” About half lan hour previously witness saw Gibson going for the mail. They returned together and both were sober. Gibson had a bottle of draught beer and witness had one drink. At 6 p.m. Mervyn Addenbrooke asked witness to, come up to the whare. Kinsella said to witness: “Hullo Jim; come on up to the whare; I have chopped the head off the old ——Witness replied; 'Go on; you are only fooling.” Accused said: “It’s right.” Cecil Addenbrooke said: “Well, I'm sorry for it, ’but I must do it.” Accused said: “All right, go and ring the police up.” Previously accused had said: “He told me to chop his head off and I done it.” When they got out on the road accused got a bit excited and kept repeating: “Why did Ido it?” He was crying. Kinsella was sober right “through the piece.” They gave him one drink to “keep hjm right ’ until the police came, and he did not try to get away. Gibson was “pretty full”; he could stand, but that was about all. Kinsella and deceased were friendly, and they used to work as mates at one time. A ROWDY NIGHT. William Gibson, a farmer, of Ngamatea, i said he w r as the mail carrier between there i and Mangamahu. On Friday he met Kin- I sella at the Mangamahu Hotel and they j had three drinks, and after dinner they ! had three more drinks. Witness bought ( two bottles of beer, and when they got to ; the whare he found that Kinsella had two i bottles of whisky. The beer was consumed ’ going along the road. They were both 1 sober when they arrived at Addenbrooke’s I place. Witness went to the whare where Gordon was lying on a bunk and appeared ' to be sober. Witness could not recollect | how many drinks of whisky they had at the whare. They were singing, but after that he remembered nothing. His Worship: What is the last thing you remember?

Witness: The singing. What time was that? I have no idea. Where were you? By the fire, sitting on a form. Inspector Fouhy: Where were you when you woke up? Standing in the doorway. What time was it, day or night? I don’t know.

Proceeding, witness said that he saw the deceased on the floor. Kinsella said: “He asked me to do it, and I have done,, it.” Accused added: “Go and ring up the police.” Witness did not remember any more until the police came.

Mervyn Addenbrooke, a farm hand, of Mangamahu, said he lived at the whare, occupying the back room. On Thursday, July 21, he went to the whare about 8 p.m. Accused and deceased were there; the former was in bed and the latter was walking about. Up to 10 p.m. Gordon had about four whiskies and Kinsella had about six. Witness did not get any sleep, owing to the singing that v/ent on. About two o'clock the next morning deceased got out of bed and started playing an accordeon. Witness got up the next morning at six o’clock, and he found one- whisky bottle was empty and the other had about half a nip in it. Accused and deceased were then in bed. Witness went to the whare about 6 p.m. and saw deceased’s body. COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. William B. Bunbery, licensee of the Mangamahu Hotel, said Kinsella was at the hotel on Friday about noon. He was joined by Gibson and they had three beers and a soda, before dinner and three more afterwards. Witness sold Gibson two bottles of whisky and Kinsella two bottles of Sandy Macdonald whisky. Both were j quite sober. Gibson had three short and three long drinks, whereas Kinsella had | all short drinks. t Senior-Sergeant T, Bourke said the po- | lice proceeded to Mangamahu in response i to a message they got from Mr. Addenbrooke. Kinsella informed them that Gordon lay on the floor and asked him (Kinsella) to chop his head off. Accused I added that he got a fright when he saw the blood. Accused further stated that Gordon had asked him to cut his throat and that he (accused) had run the back of a knife across it. Gordon felt his throat and said: “You have made a bad job of it.” On the way to Wanganui in the car accused said: “Poor old George: he was my pal and I won’t be able to go to his funeral.” Witness considered that Kinsella was drunk up to the time that he was locked up. The Coroner found that deceased was killed by accused, John Kinsella, and Kinsella was committed for trial at the Wanganui Supreme Court on August 23.