MURDER IN TASMANIA.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3827, 5 June 1891, Page 2

MURDER IN TASMANIA.

The murder of a lady reported by cable the other day was a most cold bloodod affair. Mrs Ogilvy was the wife of a J.P. living near Richmond, i and was about fifty years old. She accompanied her husband in a buggy to the gate on the highway parsing i their residence for the purpose ot opening the gate for him, as his horse 1 was restive. There they parted, Mrs ' Qgilvy remarking tji&t she would gather some mushrooms on her way 1 back to the houso. Mr Ogilvy returned during the afternoon, but did ' not take alarnj at his wife's absence, as hp thought she had joined her daughters, who had gone picnicing. When the girls came home they said they had seen nothing of their mother, ftpd Mr, Ogilvy called on the neighbours to search for hei. This they did for the greater part of the night, but it was not till the following day that the unfortunate woman was found in the creek on (he property, one side of her head having been bjowu away by a' gunshgt. The body had been partly dragged and carried three chains from where blood stains were seen and thrown into the stream. A man of twenty-one years pained Cooley was ar;ested for the crjmp. Although of outwardly ordinary appearance he must be possessed of a brutish natnre. Two years ago he was convicted of a criminal assault upon a woman, and had just been released from gaol when he was again arrested and charged with a similar offence and was out on bail. The papers do not say so, but the inference is that Mr. Ogilvy had been on the bench during the preliminary proceedings, and that the murder was done in revenge for Mr Oitilvy's action as magistrate. The coroner's jury found an open verdict. Qooley went out rabbit shooting that morning with companions, but left them shortly before the hour about which Mrs Ogilvy was probably shot. A gunshot was heard in the direction of the scene of the murder, which was near a rabb't warren, about the same time, but most convincing proof ef all was the fact that some scraps of paper wadding were found on tlio spot, and that the rest of the paper—a written Freuch exerciso was found in Coolcy's pocket. In this respect the crime is liko tho murder of Hawkins by the Italian, Chemis, near Wellington two years ugo. Cqoley was perfectly unconcerned after he was arrested.