SHOCKING TRAGEDY IN KING ST DUNEDIN.

Temuka Leader, Issue 234, 10 February 1880, Page 2

SHOCKING TRAGEDY IN KING ST DUNEDIN.

Dunbuin, Feb. 7. A dreadful tragedy occurred in King street this morning. A home as Lincoln Cottage, and situated tween Union and St. David streets, was occupied by a family name! Hayes' —consisting of father, mother. son, and daughter. It appears that one of the sons, who has been in the employ of R. T. Wheeler, of this city, has beer, suffering from ill-health, and that'this so preyed on his mind that he had become insane, and had to he confined in the Lunatic Asylum. This,.in turn, is supposed to have preyed upon the mind of the father, Attwell Hayes, a contractor. He came home apparently all right last night, but this morning, on waking nm. he proceeded to cut his wife’s with a table knife. After succeeding m this, ho made for the children, with the intention of murdering, them also ; but they ran out into the garden, where -he followed them, and succeeded in inflicting some wounds on the son. • Not succeeding in catching either of them h w,-ver he returned to the house. At this stage a neighbor named James Giiks, a greengrocer, was attracted by the screams of the children, and throwing down the bundle be was carrying, he rushed into the house, and found Hayes in the act of catting his own throat* This he prevented by taking the knife from him and laying it down to att nd to Mrs Hayes, who was lying in the room. Whilst thus engaged, Hayes seized the knife again, and ceedod in severing his windpipo before Gilks observed that he had again got hold of the knife. It appears that there was a lodger in the house also, and that Hayes, on coming in from, the garden after attempting to catch the sou and daughter, made an attempt to murder him also. The; boy who is not seriously injured, is about 12 years old while the girl is much cider. The son who is at present in the Lunatic Asylum is 22 years old. The eldest is at 0 maru. Hayes is about 50 years of age,. nd his wife was 40. ° Feß. 6.

The first ac omits regarding the’ , case o murder and suicide were exaggerated as rega-ds the attempt of Hayes to murder his two . chi , clren"lin(l his * lodger after cutting his wife’s • throat. Ho made no attempt except on his wife and himself, in both-of. .which lie succeeded but too well. The facts are, that the lodger, whose name is ; Trenwick, was awakened at 6 a.m. by screams. Oh proceeding to the Iwdroorii he found Mrs Hayes still alive, but at the last gasp, sitting on the bed with her throat terribly cut. Hayes was in a chair in front of the looking-glass drawing a razor across his throat. Trenwick, with the assistance of the two children, got the razor from Hayes, a v.l then ran into the street to give an alarm.. A man named Gillks and A warder from the Hospital came, and met Hayes, who got excited-on seeing the lodger, exclaiming that lie was the cause of it all ; the lodger then went for a doctor, and Gilks went for hi* wife to aid Mrs Hayes, leaving Hayes to the care of the warier; from whom ho g<t loos ■, and got a carving-knife, and . completely severed bis wind-pipe, died in a couple of minutes. Mrs Hayes was dead ere Gilks re-appearod on the scene. Trenwick anil others say was not the remotest cause for jealousy, as would apper to be the cause hy Hayes accusing Trenwick of Doing the reason ; the whole affair, therefore, IS presumed, to be due to a aUeok of insanity, from which two of his song had previously boon confined in th® asylum, and which, it is s |,hou<xht t preyed on his mind. An mpicst will be L'd to-morrow: ‘ > -