The Gatton Murders.

— — ♦ PABTICULAES BY MATT,, Sydney files to 30th ult. to hand per Aorangi contain additional particulars of the horrible crime and its surroundings. A race meeting was held at Gatton on Boxing Day, and wa*s attended by the Misses Murphy and their brother. They had arranged to attend a dance in the evening, but as the arrangements in connection therewith fell through, they left Gatton for home in a dog-cart at 10 p.m. What transpired after they had got some distance from the township is not known, but as the party had not reached home by 8 o'clock on the following morning, some little uneasiness began to*be felt by the parents.

Eventually Mrs Murphy despatched her son-in-law to Gatton to make enquiries. On his way along the road he noticed the s track of a cart having gone through a slip , panel off the main road. Following the ''_ track, he continued on till, after he had passed through about a mile of wattle ;i; i scrub, he came across the dead bodies of s the two young women and their brother. c The horse, which had been shot dead, lay a short distance off. . Both girls were lying face downward g with their hands tied behind their backs. There were several marks of violence upon j their bodies, and it was evident they had ' each been outraged before death. Norah jj Murphy had a leather strap round her L throat, and had probably been choked, g The brother had his skull fractured with s some blunt instrument. The place where the murders were committed is a very lonely spot. It is on the . side of a barren mountain spur, at the ,_ foot of which there is a chain of billajj bongs or water-holes. It is somewhat puzzling to understand how the dog-cart c was driven to the place where it was found, as the ground is thickly covered , with wattle scrub, and even in daylight £ it would be no easy task to drive a vehicle over it. At the time the tragedy was g enacted there must have been fairly height a moonlight, but the fact that the murderers j. — it is generally conceded that there must jj at least have been two — selected this out-of-the-way spot for their dreadful deed s infers that they were men thoroughly 3 acquainted with the district. Evidently g they knew exactly where they were going to with their victims, and the probabilities g are that the crime had been carefully B planned in the most deliberate and cold1 blooded manner. j The Murphy family are highly respected 3 in the neighborhood, and it is not supposed " that either personal ill-will or robbery was r the motive for the attack. Young Murphy 3 was a general favorite and an absolute ' teetotaller. He was a big, powerful man, sft lOin in height, a thorough bushman, [ and an excellent horseman. Those who , knew him best are of opinion that he must either have been stunned or killed outright < before either of the girls was assailed. In i fact, there is a theory current that the ' blow which proved fatal to him must have 3 been delivered on the road, and that the j young women also must have been reduced ' to a state of unconsciousness before the cart was taken through the slip-panel and j across the wattle scrub. l On the other hand, many people are of ( opinion that by some inexplicable means , the unfortunate trio were induced to drive • off the main road, and that the crime was } perpetrated where the bodies were found. t The fact that both the girls had evidently , struggled desperately for honor and life is ' also inconsistent with the theory that they had been rendered unconscious. Both ' were robust young women, particularly the , elder, who is said to have had a very fine ' figure. Their clothing was very much [ torn, and their limbs were scratched and , bruised, and exhibited marks which ' appeared to have been caused by finger i nails. The elder girl had a deep cut over the ". left eye, which penetrated to the bone, and ' which had evidently been caused by some \ sharp instrument. The skin was torn from J her wrists, and the hame strap had been ; taken from the harness and fastened round , her throat so tightly that it alone would have caused her death. , Both girls had been struck from behind. ( The blow which ki'led the younger must { have been delivered with terrific force, as the brains were protruding, the skull having been smashed in. Near at hand \ there was found a club, which was no doubt the weapon used. It is a piecS of i 1 hardwood, 3ft in length, 2in thick at one ; 1 end, Sin at the other. It was covered with , J clotted blood, with,some hairs attached. A small white pocket handkerchief which no \ doubt belonged to one of the girls, was also found close by. The police also came [ . across the shell of an exploded revolver cartridge of 380 calibre, which was pro- ] bably used to kill the horse. A farmer who resides in the locality lias i informed the police that on Monday night | he heird screams, which apparently proceeded from the vicinity of the spot where the bodies were found, and another man '. states that he heard a sharp report like that of a firearm. On Friday it was telegraphed that there had been no fresh discovery that morning, . but late on Thursday afternoon the trackers, while quartering over the ground near the slip panel in the fence, came across a heavy hammer, and also a small riding switch. They also found indications, in the shape of tracks behind the stump of a tree, which led them to the conclusion that at least one of the murderers had lain in hiding at that place for Borne time. The presence of the hammer, 1 together with these indications, is regarded 1 by the police as conclusive proof that the ■ diabolical deed was as deliberately planned ! as it was carefully carried out. So far as ■ can be seen they did not use the hammer, | for there are no stains on the head or haft : of it, but the fact that they had provided 1 themselves with such an implement seems 1 to show clearly the cool and methodical ■ i nature of their dreadful preparations. 1 j The police are busy working on the ' I slightest clnes. They believe that, as the ' I residents areljeginning to tell what they ■ r know of little incidents prior to the murder, 1 they will get important clues. They have taken possession of a revolver which was found on & man who is a stranger to the district. It is alleged that the revolver is of the same calibre as the cartridge case ' found at the scene of the outrage. ! The opinion of everyone in the neighbourhood is that the outrage on theje particular girls was deliberately planned, because on the night of the murder Miss Low rode past the scene along the road shortly before 9, and saw a man standing at the slip rails, while shortly after that a Mrs Carroll rode past, and also saw the man, who made no effort to interfere with either Miss Low or Mrs Carrol]. The police boiled down the body of the horse in search of the bullet which killed it, but when, the mail left had not succeeded in finding it. It is now reported that the animal was shot first, and that its throat was then cut. On the day when the victims were buried flags were flying half-mast all over the town, and about 1500 persons attended the funeral. The ceremony at the grave was painfully impressive.