A WOMAN MURDERED.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 167, 15 July 1907, Page 2

A WOMAN MURDERED.

COItD-BLOODED CRIME. yiCmrS HEAD BATTERED IS. -£. MAN ARRESTED.

SYDNEY, July S. A shocking disco-very -was made this morning at a house attached to HardDian Brothers' biscuit factory, in Saxahstreetj Jbkunore, Sydney. Mary Maenamaia, a widow, 73 years of age, was found in her bed dead, with, her head shattered in and a strip of calico torn from a sheet wound round her throat. iliood was splashed about the walls and iuxnituxe. Tie chest of drawers and iboxea had been ransacked ±n search of .booty. The unfortunate victim was the iwi&ow of. ihe late Senior Sergeant Macnamara, and was sole occupier of the iionse in "which slie was found. So far jhere is no cine to the murderer, but the poiice have obtained a number pf ifinger prints from the boxes. It would seem as if, after the 'woman liad been done to death in the room, she tad been lifted and placed within her bed and the blankets drawn over her. She wiia a sister of Mrs. TtaTftman sen., £he wife of the proprietor of the biscuit factory, and w£s caretaker of the premises. She occasionally cooked i or eertajn of the employees. She had considerable property left her on her husband's death, and -kept a good deal of money in her bedroom, which was on ;the first floor at the rear of the. house. On Sunday nighi iha-watchman made ■hia usual inspection of the factory, and, finding everything correct, handed the 'keys to (Mrs. Macnamara, who then went into her room. THs morning Dr. Hardman, son of the proprietor of the factory and nephew of deceased, did not see his aunt about as usual, and proceeded to the back of the, noose to look for heriAll .was quiet, and he concluded that ■Mrs. Macnamara could not have left her tied. He- ■walked.along the verandah outfii'de hjer room and -was surprised to see a broken pane of glass in one of her doors. The door, however, was locked, ; and another in the passage inside the ihouse. was also secured. There were no ■signs that a stranger had heen in, so the floetor went back "and, putting his arm through the broken pane, unlocked the door and walked to his aunt's bedfeide. She did not answer him when he called her, and he felt her limbs and found that they were -cold. Fearing that - she was dead, he turned down the bed clothes, and was horrified to find that the old lady's head and face had been smashed almost beyond recognition, and that a strip torn from one of the sheets Sras tied tightly around her throat. , The Newfanm" police were informed, pTiri the officers of "the Finger Print Department -were summoned. They arrived promptly and secured a number of telltale finger prints from a dusty boxes and other places.. The police discovered eeereted in a box 30 sovereigns. Bobbery. must have been the m&fciv-e winch acfcu-. the" murderer. He evidently knew .the movements of the watchman and ftf the woman. ... The terrible smashes about tSe head. Srrust have been inflicted by a very hardl instalment. The fingers were clenched, "and" the~left hand bore -wounds which

Twers- evidently sustained in an effort ■&o ■ward off the -blows. A man named Nicholas Baxter, 62 years of age, who was until recently lemployed. for upwards of six years at Eardruan Bros , , factory, was arrested 10-day, and charged with tie mnrder. JEhe circumstances leading up to the arrest of Baxter are somewhat curious. Early in the day the Bnrwood police locked hi mup on a charge of drunkenness. On Ids 'being searched a -watch ami two brooches, together with a bloodstained knife and two pieces of candle were found on him. At this time the ißvLrwood police had not been apprised pi the murder, and -when questioned as io where -he got the articles of jewellery, Baker said he would take them to his Irampy and show them his plant. The police accordingly took "him out, and he seized the opportunity to bolt. He' Twas quickly caught, and as his story seemed to be made up,- he was returned .to the cell News of the murder then came "through, and the articles oi jewellery were subsequently identified as belonging to -the murdered ■woman. The tlood-etained knife, and the blood found under his finger-nails led to his being charged with the murder. Baxter has b. wife and tw-o children, and resided the scene of the murder. f .. r' BASIEKS-COKEESSION. Later in the day Baxter told tie police how he entered the house, and concluded with a full confession of the murder. He returned home,"after a short absence, but did not nter his own- house. He passed along the yard, and by climbing to the (roof of an outhoose built against the factory wall, it was an easy matter to reich up a few feet ,still higher, and then drop over into the factory yard. !Ehe locality was very dark, and Baxter, stealing along the outskirts of the buildings, reached the small double gates leading to the house near the office. Both doors leading to Sirs. Macnamara's room were securely locked. One opened from the hall at the foot of the staircase, and the others stood facing the Email verandah overlooking the factory, yard. The watchman was somewhere about the factory on his rounds, and | Baxter pushed his bludgeon through the glass in the double doors outside. He placed his hand through, tamed' the gitt.f'h back, and was beside the sleeping .woman. Whether he" first of all murdered the woman, or was disturbed in iiis search of the boxes, and then committed ths murder lias not been told. Ihat Mrs. Macnaznara was found beaten about the lead, and with a strip of sheeting round her throat, were subsequent facts. Baxter left the room by the door tie had entered, -walked' along the verandah, and then opened an unlocked door, and was in the halL He passed out by the front door of the ibouse, as was shown by bloodstains • there, and went away to Homebush Bgain.

About eight hours later he was arJrested in Bridge-road for drunkenness.