DELVING DEEPER.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 12, 15 January 1929, Page 9

DELVING DEEPER.

ELSIE WALKER INQUEST. REMOVAL OF THE BODY. "GROSSLY WRONG," SAYS CORONER. fit nn;r: comment later. Flntvly but -fari-hingly the mystery of tbp dp.nh of K!-io Walker, the 17-year-oM girl frnin I'.i pamoa, who was found dead in the M-ruh near Tamaki on the

evening nf Oi-fnhcr .">, is being probed. Thi* nioniin/, iho fourth day of the inf|iir->t. ilipit were no out-standing fpiiluri"! in tlip c\ idpiK.'C, most of the mnrnintr *-itriii;r bo;dlt devoted to a deemption r»f tlio finding of the body an<l its removal to the morgue.

Tlicrr \.l - some sharp comment by the coronrr ;tlmuf, the removal of the body, an<l lir stuti'fl 111. he would discuss the matt it Liter.

Mr. V. l<. Hunt, S.M. is the coroner, and Mr. V. I!. Meredith, Crown Prosecutor, h r-oiiilui'tin™ proceedings for the police. Mr. E. H. Xorthcroft is appearing for the Bayly family, from whose home the dpnrt girl disappeared, and Mr. DouplnM Mowhrny represents Mr. Charles Da Rpnzy Walker, the father of Elsie Walker. *

l>. K. P. Spencer, of the Auckland Hospital stall", suid that ho happened to he jit. the, public morgue on the night of October •">. Hc> saw the body of Elsie Walker. Police officers asked him howIon;? the body had been dead and he said about three or four days. He noticed mni"k-< on tho loft cheek, which iippeaicd to bo bitos. His examination was quitn unofficial. There were two police officers present. Some Petrol in the Car. Butler, a motor parage proprietor of Papiitoetop, staid he took the Bayly car from whore it was abandoned to his £!irape. He did not make an examination of the car, but noticed that there was "a fair pood drop" of benzine in the tank. The car was in good order and started as soon as witness put his foot on the starter.

Cross-examined by Mr. Northcroft witness Haid that three detectives had visited him while the car was in the garage. He thought there was about an inch of petrol in the tank. Lad Finds Body. A lad of 11 years, James Morris Thompson, who lives at Panmure, said lie had a "bunny" nest in the scoria paddock opposite the Knox Home. On the night of October 5 he had gone to the nest and on the way home he had i*een a girl's foet sticking out of some scrub. She was lying on her stomach. Hβ went for his uncle and brought him back to the spot.

A labourer in the Public Works Department, Stephen Carter, of Panmure, said that the previous witness was his nephew. The lad had told him that a pill's body was lying in the scoria paddock opposite the Knox Home. That was about seven o'clock on the eveninp of October 5. The distance from his home to the spot where the body was found was about a mile. With witness was the lad, aged 11, and his brother, aged 24. Witness had trouble in finding the girl. He had to hunt round for about a hundred yards. The body was lying face downwards. He called to her, got no response, struck a match, found there was no movement and went for a constable. The girl was lying with her head pointing one way and her body the other. Her head was in a hollow. There was no indication that there had been any struggle. No scrub was broken down and none was deliberately placed over her body. Might Not Have Been Found. Mr. Hunt: You would never have seen it if the feet had not been sticking out?

Witness said that when he arrived back with a constable he lifted the girl l>y the feet and the constable got hold of the shoulders. The constable lifted the girl's head by the neck and witness ? aw * hat there was a hole in her face, ihe body was then put back in the same position. Later the constable, an undertaker s man and witness went to the body again, after they had rung up detectives from Knox Home. Witness •nd the undertaker's man drew her out ot the bushes. He did not see any blood on that occasion. They turned tie body over on her back and lifted »«l^ t0 , the roffin< He did not notice any blood stains on her clothing. The w7A°»7 m^ t which she was wearing was buttonpd up. Witness then went to the morgue with the constable and waited until the detechodv h^T 1 * Whpn the ? a ™ved the nS'nh ,1™ t stri PP cd - T h e y found a a^lw I* c ' ke, : chief a "d eome letters in when ih 7\ ° n th * &** underclothing bod? TW hi Ct^ ee Btartedto S *"P thf nSt JJ u od was on a certain garUS Th m ?iH wore ncxt t0 h" * f \ e blood was dry. Alter the body had 'been stripped, to riin" TT* ° Ut With the P° lice °««>r ß toi shour them where the body was found. inJ h . en " Ot,ced blood on the ground. It B P wll F, aml did not a PP ear to be «7h?ru d ' With witness were ConJ J C^ ,lln ;- two detectives and another *7? m h ? d "l not know. There waa further which attracted his at-

"Body Thrown Into Scrub." Under cross-examination by Mr. witness said that the clothes on the body when he first saw it were not disarranged. They were in about weir normal position. Witness thought the body had been thrown in, not dragged or pushed. When he first examined the body, it was quite limp. *>he appeared to have a swelling under ™e eye and her nose was full of blood, as though she had been bleeding at the nose. °

4 , Mr ; Hun t: You did not notice that uw dress was roughed up in addition to the apron ?—No, it was not.

"Bring Body to Morgue." .Constable Collins, of St. Helier's, in fi £ * doacription of the position of tne body, said that the legs- from the tnighs down could be seen sticking out °i the bushes. On the first visit to Die body, witness had a look round to fee if tkeix- was anything which would indicate suicide. His opinion in the nret place was that it was either suicide °r that the girl had died from natural causes. When witness rang the detectives, he wae told to bring the body into the morgue. Witness went to the morgue and arrived there at the same time as the bodv.

The constable corroborated much of the evidence given by Carter. "Was there any money or watch found on the dotbins?" asked Mr. Meredith, -

"No. Only letters and a handkerchief."

Mr. Meredith: Was there any sign of brush or scrub having been broken and thrown over the body when you found • none. The opinion I formed was that the girl had simply crawled into the scrub and lain down and died. Mr. Hunt: You did not know she was a missing girl?— No. Mr. Noithcroft: It would be very difficult to throw a dead body into that position without breaking down bushes? —Yes. It would be almost impossible to get into that position after death. The Coroner's Questions. Witness said that he had got in touch with Detective-Sergeant Kelly and he then said that it was his opinion that the girl had died from either suicide or natural causes.

Mr. Hunt: And you came to that conclusion after an examination at night with an electric torch?— Yes.

And why did you not make a report to the coroner, may I ask?—l left it to the detectives, sir.

Do you know that you should not have moved the body without the authority of a coroner?—l understood from my regulations that the body had to be taken to the morgue or dead house within three miles.

Mr. Hunt: Did. you? Well 111 read your regulations to you. Mr. Hunt then read out the clause concerning the removal of dead bodies.

All this time the Superintendent of Police, Mr. Wohlmann, was talking to Mr. Meredith, who eventually suggested to Mr. Hunt that he make some comment.

Mr. Hunt: Yes, I will later. Not just now.

"Grossly Wrong." There was a pause, then Mr. Hunt said: I think it's grossly wrong. Sensible people would have left the- body until daylight instead of trying to make examination by torches at night. Somebody should have been put there to guard it and a careful examination should have been made.

Evidence of the removal of the body was given by Frederick Coppin, a motor driver for an undertaker. They had torches, but they were not as strong as they should be. When he first saw the body it was well in the bush. There was no bush actually placed on the body and the bushes did not appear to be broken down. To his mind the position of the body "looked very doubtful." He had a good look round and thought it was rather mysterious. It did not appear that the girl had crawled in. The position was not natural. He got the impression that the girl had been thrown in. Other people had been there before him and the grass had been trampled down so that he could not say whether there had been any struggle. Thought Blood Was Damp. Witness did not notice any blood about the clothing until he got to the morgue. He thought the blood was slightly damp because it was a distinct red. If the blood was dry it would have lost its deep red colour. He saw these marks on her underclothing. The stains hardly looked as if they had been there long enough to dry. To Mr. Northcroft: It would be an awkward job to throw the body of a girl of seven stone about. From my own experience of handling bodies I think I could place a body in the position the girl was found without breaking the bushes.

What was it about the body that made you say you did not think the girl had crawled there?— Just the general look of the body. Witness further stated that at the time he saw the body he had said "It looks rather bad."

Detective's Inspection of Body. Detective Waterson said on the night the body was found he received instructions about 11 p.m. to go to the morgue. The instructions were that a body was there and detective investigations were necessary. Among those present were two doctors. The body was lying dressed on the slab. Witness examined it for signs of injury. He found the face very badly beaten. It had the appearance of having been knocked about. The left cheek was missing and the angle of the jaw was badly injured. An eye was swollen and the hair was much covered with blood. Apart from the arms, the rest of the body showed no signs of injury. There was not hat, but the body was fully dressed, with an overcoat buttoned up. There was no money in the pockets, but two letters and two handkerchiefs were found in the pockets of the overcoat. •

Pieces of the clothing were produced, including a fragment of silk, which appeared torn or cut. Initials G.N.L.8., those of Godfrey Bayly, were seen on a handkerchief found in "the pocket. Blood stains were observed by witness on the skirt. Hβ was sure the stains were there before he removed the clothing from the body. The clothing was all damp and had to be dried next morning in the sun. The stains were pointed out on the Saturday morning to the chief detective.

(Proceeding.)