MYSTERY SHOT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 134, 8 June 1932, Page 8

MYSTERY SHOT.

TIMARU MURDER CHARGE

HERMITAGE PORTER'S DEATH

CHEF BEFORE MAGISTRATE

WHAT HAPPENED IN BEDROOM.

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.)

TIMARU, this day

William John Thomas Whalley, married, a chef at the Hermitage, Mount Cook, was charged before Mr. E. D. Mosley, S.M., to-day with the murder of William Wogan, a porter at the Hermitage, on November 5, 1931. Wallis George Williams, photographer at the Hermitage, said he was in the backyard on the evening of November 5 when he heard «, shot. It was about G. 5 p.m. Ho walked into his own room, and saw nobody on the way. He was in his room long enough to change Ins boots and socks before Whalley came in. "Bill has shot himself. Go to Bill, were Whallev's first words. Witness said he followed Whalley into the kitchen and then to Wogan's room. Wo"an was lying between a table and a settee. His'back was against the wall and his hands were by his side. He had nothing in his hands, and witness did not see any rifle.

"The attitude Wogaii was in suggested that he was put there," declared witness There was blood on the settee and on Wogan's face. Whalley had then said something about deceased shooting himself accidentally. Witness left the .room, and on his return Whalley suggested shifting Wogan on to the bed. Elms, the licensee, came in and asked what had happened. Witness said Wogan had been shot, and the three men lifted deceased on to the bed. The Crown Prosecutor: Did you then notice any article you had not seen before ? Would Not Swear To It. Witness: I am not going to swear to it, but I think accused took something from the bed. Richard William Dingwell, engineer employed at the Hermitage, told his story of the evening of November C, which was on similar lines to that told by the previous witnesses. He added that he twice heard Whalley speak of Wogaii sitting with the rifle between his knees. The Magistrate: I am not going to accept a statement which witness is not prepared to swear to. The Crown Prosecutor: That was not the answer I anticipated. Witness: Then I saw nothing new. Witness said the matter had been discussed by the staff that night. Accused then said Wogan had been sitting on the settee with a rifle between his knees. Whalley had said he was going out of the door when he heard a shot. Witness said he had known deceased over a year and had never seen him out shooting. Charles Digby Elms, licensee of the Hermitage, said Wogan had been porter at the Hermitage for a year. Whalley had been there six months. On the evening of November 5, witness continued, he heard a shot just after six o'clock. He went outside and saw accused, with the last witness, going into Wogan's bedroom. Witness followed and found Whalley and Williams lifting the body of Wogan. A wound above Wogan's left ear was still bleeding. They put the body on the bed. Witness picked up a rifle from the settee and found it unloaded. Witness, at the request of the magistrate, placed the rifle on the settee as he found it in the dead man's room. Arrival of the Constable. Resuming, witness said he replaced the rifle as i»e found it. Later on the same evening Constable Mackintosh arrived. He was shown the room untouched. Elms described the position of the furniture. Witness added that he had never known Wogan to go shooting. Douglas Standage, general manager of the Mount Cook Tourist Company, living at the Hermitage, said Wogan spent the afternoon of November C playing tennis. He next saw Wogan on his bed at 6.10 p.m. He felt his heart and thought he detected a slight flutter, which stopped immediately he examined the wound. The hair was not affected, and there was

no burning. Witness also described the room and disposition of the furniture. He saw accused with the rifle. He was working the breach and said, "We don't want any more accidents."