A TASMANIAN CRIME.

Taranaki Daily News, 9 November 1922, Page 10

A TASMANIAN CRIME.

THREE MURDERS COMMITTED. SUSPECT WOUNDED AT CAPTURE. The murder of three men at Swansea has horrified Tasmania. When some children visited “Old Deafy” Duncombe’s lonely hut on the morning of October 10 with a gift of a pound of cheese, they found the table spread as if for tea, and the old man sitting at it with bowed head. Through the right ear ir -1 emerging from the eye was a gaping passage made by a charge of shot, and “Old Deafy” was dead. A few strewn belongings pointed to robbery, and the attending crime. The children ran from the place in fear and spread the story of what they had seen.

Before the Hobart police had arrived the fear gradually spread that another crime had been committed. Thomas Carpenter, bark stripper, did not return to hi® home at the usual hour in the evening. As time passed the anxiety of his relations was communicated to his mates, and a search party was organised. They followed a rough track three miles to tha top end of Sawpit Valley, where they arrived at about 10.30 p.m. Here a gruesome discovery awaited them. Lying at the foot of a wattle tree,, his barking tools around him, and leg® slightly doubled, and a large shotgun wound in the back of the head, was the missing man—dead. About 3 yards away was the corpse of the faithful half-bred eollie which used to follow him to work.

Next day Trooper Henderson was detailed to manguard at Duncombe’s hut, relieving Trooper Burke. He was accompanied to the spot by several local residents. On arrival there he remarked that he wa® without his revolver, but genially declined the loan of one, although it was several times offered to him. “I’ll be all rigJit.” he said. Probably the assassin, concealed in the hut, listened to the conversation.

“At about 6.23 this morning Trooper Butler and myself,” said Mr. P. Gray, “were on the recreation ground, and we went to the shed to see if the murderer was hiding there. A® we returned we heard a shot. I remarked. ‘I reckon that is another one gone,’ but in conversation that followed it was agreed that no doubt it was someone shooting rabbits. After a time four or five of us decided to walk out to the hut to see how Trooper Henderson was getting on. We arrived at about 9 o’clock. I saw what appeared to be a coat lying at the gate as we approached, but when we came up we found it. was the trooper. He had a bullet wound through hi® left side. His handcuffs were ly : ng beside him, and ther wore signs of a prolonged struggle. Stretching about 20 yards down the path was a wide stain of blood. Possibly he was shot before the struggle took place.”

Next day the search for George Carpenter, suspected of the crimes, wa® commenced. He was located in a deserted hut. and after a fusilade of shots, during which a police constable received a wound in the arm from a ricochet bullet, he was captured. He had been wounded in two places.