MURDER CHARGE

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 29241, 11 October 1940, Page 6

MURDER CHARGE

SOLDIER ON REMAND AFFRAY IN ENGLAND DEATH OF TIMARU PRIVATE LONDON, September 24 Private Eric Andrew Clark was charged at Maidstone Police Court with 'the wilful murder of Private Alexander Lindsay Meikle, of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, between September 6 and 7. The charge was a sequel to an affray, Meikle being fatally wounded. He was aged 35 and lived at 186 Church Street, Timaru. Clark, who was arrested after an all-night search by the Home Guard and soldiers, was charged at a special sitting of Maidstone Police Court, before the Mayor (Alderman Sir Garrard Tyrwhitt-Drake), the deputy-mayor and an alderman. Chief Constable Vann asked for a re mand, adding that he was in touch with the Director of Public Prosecutions. Evidence at Inquest The coroner’s inquiry was held by Mr C. P. Whitehead, who sat with a jury. The coroner explained that Meikle had died apparently as a result of a stab wound. He proposed to take only evidence of identification and medical evidence. Lieutenant Richard L. Haines, New Zealand Expeditionary Force, gave evidence that he was in charge of the company of which Meikle was a member, and had known him since January. Dr. P. J. Gaffinkin, police surgeon, said he saw deceased early on the Saturday morning. A post-mortem examination showed that Meikle was a perfectly healthy man. He had a punctured wound above the right collar bone which passed right down through the apex of the lungs to a depth of about four inches. He had bled profusely, and that was the cause of death.

On this evidence, the coroner adjourned the inquest until November