MYSTERIOUS TRAGEDY ON A FARM.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 161, 9 July 1910, Page 15

MYSTERIOUS TRAGEDY ON A FARM.

a. SHBVANT GIBL'S i>BATH. verdict of wii/Fui arfebid. ' b - 'Remalrkaßle evidence was given 1 " at tie d inquiry at Burton-on-TDren* concerning the a death of iClara Durose (15), a domestic 'ser- a vant/employed at Eolleston Park Faiin, ± on the, estate of. Sir Oswald Mosiey, Bait j On the minting of April 4 the gifl iwae found unconscious on the floor of <Ehe refrigeratihg j (room with a pnnctared >wonna on theitop of g •the (head, and,idled on .the way to Burton jj Infirmary. The. police, : cegarding the cir--' a cmnstances as auspicious, induced *he Coro- j ncr to adjourn the inquiry from, time to a time, pending. ithelr investigation, and It ■wis resumed on May 26 by, Q&x fr. 52: iAuden, s about 20 witnesses being in attendance. ;.; . Dri 'Enchanan, boose surgeon at the Burton Infirmary; who ihad made a post-mart em examination, assisted toy Dr. (ELolford, said A tliere was a Blight oval hole on the right side of the forehead, going through the bone: a in ex downwjiTd, toacfeward and iuT\ r -irtl direciHon, and extending inwiurda to an Inch or ah inch and a-half, while "iiie base,of the skull was splintered and pierced, in his opinion, the injury must ihicve iieen caused s by a very sharp, liard and pointed. instru- * ment. .. ' ■'". . ... ; •' The Coroner: Such as a pitchfork?— Wi- ' ness: Xes. He had visited ,i3ie' itarm, and f found nothing, there likely to cause such . a wound. It was Impossible ioT the hurt to ■have been, self-inflicted or even accidentjiUy caused toy a fall, except the fall 'happened to be a peculiar one and on a iprotxadlng Dr. Holford expressed elmilar opinions. • 3 lAlice Barns, the wife of a labouTer resid- ' ing at King's Bromiey,. said she received a ' 1 letter from the deceased girl, her sister, on .' Mafiai 14, in which she complained that it ! ;was "all hard work ,, at her place, aiid that ' she was harshly treated by the farm lads, < adding that she liad given notice to leave. < Her sister liad also complained that Mr and i MrS WrathaU had treated her very badly,, i and that '.--"-. SHE WAS "AFRAID OF THB MiSStte." Mrs iElies Wrathall, the mistress; said the giri had complained to 'her the night before her death of having -been etrnck and pushed ' down by one of their lade named Frost, n and the iatter the next morning admitted 1 the truth of the statement, saying that 1 Durose was always "chewing" at him, and ' that jie should stand it no longer. On tlii? morning of the occurrence she iheaid her J daughter Mary finding fault .with the girl '■ about some washing-up water,.and a little : later, while In "the breakfast iroam, Cyril i Eeroard; a young farm pupil, came rushing . in,; saying that-Clara (the deceased girl) • iad tumbled and hurt herself. Witness i immediately went to -the dairy, oilid found : the girl lying oh ier back unconscious; with a quantity of blood under 'her'head; She had beard no scream or sound of any.kind: She had discovered a letter in Clara's tiedroom, and w-hen lier daughter iis-r/ knew of this She was -very angry, and said she • •would give Dnrose a good talking to. She knew <>f no threats egainst Dnrose; nor : were they ahtagpnistic to her. She had always done iher duty Ijy ithe girl; in fact) she had exceeded it • Cyril Bernard, the young farm pnpil who , found the girl, said she lay oh her back in the lower dairy, , with one foot on thi spindle of a chair ;and her head two feet from the steps. He called to lier, "What's up, Clara?" but received no answer. There was some biobd under her, head. Aiitoongli he passed and repassed the dairy just pre- ' viously; ho saw no one but Durose moving about .there. He had Jieard something of the quarreiiing between the farm lads and Durose, but he knew nothing of any threats. Thomas 'Wrathailj son of the occupants of the farm, spoke to seeing the'boy .Frost Bive Durose a "bit of a push," iafter wihich' she fell, on the night .before iher death, the girl having been impudent to the boyi 5 ' On the dnorning df her death, although Sic and. Frost were together, they had nothing io say concerning . Tie Coroner: You know:more a&oiit liiis business than you are telling usj ; bid yon not tell the superintendent ithat Frowst a"d Durose were never frienflly, and that Ffosi cahstantly threatened the , I ONLY ik-EARIi MM THREATEN HER^ ... . "ONOB. . Mary Wrathallj the farmer'e aanghter, admitted speaking sharply jto Durose concerning some Tvashing-up water wMch the giri ought not to have taken, and said she tfieri .went straight" up to £he piggeries', and so oh ito the top dairy, where ehe learned that Ci-ara had fallen do#n . and hurt Herself* She ran and dropped iher 'basket : . '." She Coroner: Was there afiy 'bidod Sphere you dropped your BasketJ-T-^No. She Coroh-er: iHow do yoii account for there being blood. on -ffie fiadkett—Witness said she did hot Know that itiiere *as any Wood on it, and that the receptacle lay ■where it fell, for two days. She <wae -very much upset when she heard of the oiHcur : •rence, and when she was led to bellete ,that ,"t , oor Hoiieft" (Frost) Was likely to be.arrested,'she said, "I kh'oW he MA not done it. I am siire he is inhoxient." She said this hecausS Frost did all lie bould fotfthe girl wieh she was fotind. She knew that in the letter fotind in the girl's bedroom ithere Appeared the sentence tfiat she (Dv- 1 ■rose) "was trbAtSd like 'A dog. ; . Robert Frost, the farm lad already ferred toj admitted the. evidence as to ,iis quarrel with, the girl oa the: evening before : the morning of her death, and iw'en.t on to say that ie 'had no fork with Shim when . he the dairy where the girl ;was found on ihis way to iwater the ibeasts. He did not go up or sly anything.to her. It was not more than five minutes afterwards that Jie iheard what had happened. Then be did everything he conid to Jieip. o>he Coroner, .in summiiig up, said the evidence clearly. showed that the girl was • murdered* It (was apparent that ehe was . out of favour witE most of the •household, and the only possible verdict for the jury was.one of "Wiiful murder against some person ior persons."unknown. This course •would give 'the police opportunity to make , further inquiries; and obtain additidnai erf- . dence'as to .who.committed the crime* \ After 20 minutes' absence the jury re- J iturded a yerdia; of "Wilfui murder against ( some person or persons unknown;"