CRIMINAL SESSIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume V, Issue 1376, 8 July 1874, Page 2

CRIMINAL SESSIONS.

THIS DAY*

Before his Honor Sir G. A. Arney, _£t., Chief Justice, His Honor took his seat at ten o'clock. | - , __ANSLAL TGHTEB. Heremaia Paapu, a native, was arraigned upon an indictment charging.him with the manslaughter of Timoti, another native, on the 26th of March last, at Marerau. Mr Brookfield prosecuted on the part of*-' the tJrown, and Mr Joy and Mr MaeCdrmack - | defended the prisoner. Mr Brown acted as interpreter. The prisoner on being charged with the crime answered that he killed the man, but' he was then insane. William Kemp, a settler in the district of , ; the murder, deposed that upon hearing of the murder he went to the whare, and saw '»■•.' the dead body, and recognised it as the body* -,;, of Timoti. There were wounds in the body and between the right eye aid ear j there : M were also wounds in the back, caused he should say by a tomahawk. He never spoke to prisoner about the murder. To Mr MoCermiok: When he saw t_tQ body he understood that prisoner was in the : bush; it was nine o'clock in the morning -' when he saw the body ; the native was.. | killed he understood at three o'clock <&'% the previous day. He knew a native woman J named Moki. He had known the prisoner . for a number of years. He always considered him sane. He had heard that occasionally the prisoner had exhibited symptoms of insanity. He did not see the prisoner again Until he . was on his trial. Thete are four families of - Maoris living in the settlement where Timoti" was murdered. There had been a native inquiry into charges of improper intimacy of Timotx with prisoner's wife. To Mr Brookfield: He had had dealing! with prisoner' on several occasions, but never did he observe any signs"" of insanity in his manners. He should think that prisoner knew wha£_te waa about when he committed the murder. ~ » '_ •&L Ataraeta Moki, a native of Marerau, WM. ■'• sworn and deposed that she knew Timoti; , remembered when he was killed. She get-- . up early that morning and had something to eat. Two of the men went to work in the bush, and she was left alone in the house with Timoti. She then went out to ; ; work at a place about two chains away. She .:r presently heard a noise-—a rumbling kind of noise, but no voices—coming from the whare. ' When she reaohed the housa the prisoner .'| rushed out and jumped over the fence, but did not speak. She looked into the house $ and saw Timoti lying dead, as she thought, on the ground. She was afraid, and ran ,|; away and fetched Joseph and Henri, and I told them that Heremaia had killed Timoti. "*7 They went in and poured water on Timoti, : who staggered up aricLfell and died. To Mr MacCormick: The whare belonged to her. Timoti had slept there the night before. It was not his home. He was aV!,3| visitor. >It was Faapu's home. She and m ': Henry slept in a whare close by. Paapu J was not in the settlement when Timoti came, a When Paapu jumped over the fence he'ran . 4 into the bush and came back at -night. She did not see him the next day. She believed v he was insane at the time he killed Timoti. He was mad afterwards. He lit a fire at the top of a hill. Some people wen|, to him, bub he would not come down fron_ the hill. She believed him mad. His actions were those of a madman. He was very restless. He would not stay in one y place. He was always mad. He was once jj tied by his hands and feet by his brother/ with a rope. This was some time before the •; murder. Paapu was a quiet, harmless nrau when sane, but terrible when mad. She did not see the tomahawk at the whare where Timoti was killed. ~ Mr Brookfield informed the Court.that there were great difficulties to contend with ~ in this case. It was not known until the . / Monday before last that the prisoner would ] give himself up, and two of the native wit- ; nesses positively refused to come, to give evidence; as they had given it once. , ; Taniora Kowhiti, also a native of th*: MJne '^U settlement, was sworn, and stated that he *^ knew both prisoner and the murdered man. 1 He saw Paapu two days after the murder, »1 but he did; not say anything about it. .He : Sj was present at the enquiry into the conduct I of Timoti. He made a statement on the 27th •• » March before Mr Williams, the Resident j Magistrate, and the :depo?ition wm read over to him, which he signed in,the presence of IMr Kemp. * * -