THE MURDER OF A GIRL AT LYTTELTON.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1882, 14 January 1875, Page 3

THE MURDER OF A GIRL AT LYTTELTON.

The correspondent of the Auckland Star telegraphed thelbljqwing additional particulars to those forwarded by the Press Agency regarding the circumstances which had transpired subsequently to the finding of the body of the murdered girl-:— - . ■■: v ; ;;^; ;.;. ■ - Another man, named John Mercer, was arrested yesterd y morning on suspicion of being the murderer of the girl Isabella Thompson, JHta arrived per Wild Ware from Auckland, and shipped as cook on board the Cleopatra. He has been engaged as cOok and steward on several coasting craft, arid was discharged from the shooner Canterbury on Saturday, but wasrecommendedbythe captain to Captain O'Brien.of the Cleopatra. Whenhe went off to fetch his clothes from the Canterbury he appeared to be in a very excited state, and threw overboard a quantity of ship's stores and other articles, Mercer went ashore from the Cleopatra not later than five o'clock in the evening, and did not return till ten o'clock on Sunday r morning. He was arrested by a detective on Monday morning at six o'clock on a charge of wilfully destroying property, on the schooner Canterbury, and on searching his swag a pair of bloodstained trousers were found, also a jacket in the same condition. He explained this circumstance by saying that lie had killed a sheep at Wellington. Further examination allowed his hands to be full of gorse thorns. Some of these were-extracted, and will be examined under a microscope and compared with thorns from the gorse bush in which the body of the unfortunate murdered girl was found.

There are no signs of violation on the L^dy of the pirl. is reported to have" escaped from tbe Buller, being wanted there am a charge of indecent assault on a little girV

1 lie post mortem on the murdered girl was held at the Morgue, by Drs Eouse and Macßonald, whose evidence was taken at tlie inquest yesterday afternoon, which is not yet concluded, but was adjourned till the 19th instant. Captain Kussell, of the schooner Canterbury, gave evidence that he saw Mercer in company with a 1 little girl at shortly after five p.m. on Saturday. He identified the body of the girl as the one he saw with the accused,

James Allan, mate of the same vessel, gave similar evidence, and added that he saw Mercer a few minutes before the six o'clock train started for Christchurch, and particularly noticed him, as he seemed excited, and kept his coat buttoned up and his hands in h;s pockets. The thoins extracted from the prisoner's knees and hands were proved to be gorse thorns, ■■ TT Mercer seems quite callous. He explains the thorns by saying lie had pimples on his knees and hands. The roan Osborne, who was arrested yesterday, has been 1 discharged, as the police ar« confident they have now got the real offender in Mercer. Osborne had not been convicted for x-sipe, but for indecent exposure.