DONE TO DEATH.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 276, 21 November 1932, Page 7

DONE TO DEATH.

BOY OF EIGHTEEN,

WEALTHY FATHER ARRESTED.

MYSTERIOUS SYDNEY CHIME,

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

SYDNEY, November 17. Last Thursday morning about 4.30, a maid in the service of Mr. Nathaniel Govett, the wealthy owner of one of the many luxurious homes on Bellevue Hill, was aroused by a sudden cry of fear or pain. Slipping out of bed she opened lier door and saw a beam of light coming from the room occupied by Philip, the son of the house, a boy of 18, who had just left school. As she watched, the boy himself staggered through the doorway, his face and head streaming with blood, and behind him, though dimly, in the half darkness, the maid saw the figure of a man.

The terrified woman cried aloud, and the boy, though shockingly injured, could only murmur, "I don't know." The household was roused and a doctor was summoned, but he could only say that there was little hope, and though there was some talk of an operation, jjie boy, who had lapsed into unconsciousness, died before any effective steps could be taken to- prolong his life.

This tragedy was sufficiently horrible in itself to arrest public attention. The boy had a brilliant career at Sydney Grammar School, but the old father— he is now 81 —had refused to allow him to enter a profession, insisting that he needed him at home. So young Govett lived in the big house on the hill with his aged father, the old man's unmarried daughter, and a' sister-in-law. From the time he left school till the end of his life, he was his father's constant companion, driving him about in his car, and apparently the two were bound together not only by relationship, but by strong personal affection.

At the outset, it was difficult to suggest any motive for such a crime. Among other things, the police had to take into account the fact that no robbery had been attempted, and that two vigilant watch-dogs, sleeping on the verandah, had raised no alarm. A careful search of the grounds resulted in the discovery of the weapon—a -sharp hatchet, blood-sta.ined, concealed in the grass. And then on the heels 'Of tragedy came a most dramatic sensation—the arrest of old Nathaniel Govett.

Born in New Zealand. It is, of course, impossible to sift the false from the true among the many rumours 'by which the case is already obscured. But it seems that poor young Govett's life has been darkened by tragedy' since his infancy. He was born in New Zealand, when Nathaniel Govett was 63 years of age; and when his mother returned to Sydney, the story goes that "the wealthy old man pledged himself to care for the child, and give him his name." The mother died before the child could speak, and the father fulfilled his promise. Philip Govett grew up in this home of wealth and comfort accepted by all as Nathaniel Govett's son and heir.

The old man's wealth and his expectations seem to have played some obscure part in this strange tragedy. Old Govett was a retired school teacher, arjd having saved some money he had increased it greatly by speculating in real estate. He had also received two substantial legacies from Home, but young Philip also had expectations from his ipother's side of the family, and it was believed 'that he was entitled to a considerkble inheritance on reaching the age of 21. It has been suggested that this expectation may have some bearing on the crime, if it can 'be shown that any person was likely to benefit financially Iby the boy's death. 7

Father at Funeral. Nathaniel Govett was thus arrested, and at the inquiry he presented a sad and tragic spectacle. Old and feeble, extremely deaf, a lid clearly 'bewildered by the rapid course of events, he seemed barely conscious of his surroundings. He was remanded for medical observation, but his counsel asked that he might be allowed to attend his son's funeral, as "a very great affection existed between father and son."- And so, when the funeral cortege started for the South Head Cemetery a crowd of over 1000 surged round the car in which the old man sat, beside a detective. "He looked neither to the right nor the left," we are told, "and he did not speak. He showed no sign of sorrow." And he watched the coffin lowered into the grave with the same impassive gravity, turning away to comfort his weeping daughter. Until the inquiry reopens, the general public will hear little more of this tragic story. But in the meantime, strange rumours are afloat, pointing to possible developments which may conceivably throw light upon this ghastly crime from quite a different angle. For the past month on Bellevue Hill detectives from Waverley have been trying to track down and arrest "a sinister figure who has been terrifying the neighbourhood." Two women, employed in the house of Dr. Foy, next door to Govett's, have seen this prowler, and they both describe him as thin-faced and cadaverous, with wild and staring eyes. Whenever he has been seen he has bounded away into the darkness with great agility, and his appearance and actions certainly seem to suggest that he is, as the residents in this quarter believe, a dangerous maniac. The police have laid several traps for him, but in vain, and he is still wandering at large in the locality. The Govett residence is separated from Dr. Foy's only by a low hedge, which anyone could leap over or break through. Is it not conceivable that poor young Govett has been murdered by a homicidal lunatic, wandering aimlessly through the night? And is it. possible that the shadowy form that the maid saw in the gray light of dawn when young Govett staggered' from his room was not, as the police 6eem to believe, his father, but this maniac murderer?

These conjectures must await confirmation. or rejection later on, but in the agitated state of feeling into which people in this locality have been driven by this startling tragedy, it is not strange that they should recall that the . Saywell murder —one of the most ghastly mysteries in our criminal records —is still unsolved. Over fix months ago Victor Saywell, one of the weathiest and best known members of our sporting society—was attacked in his luxurious home on this same Hill, and the murderer who battered him to death also injured Mrs. Saywell so severely that she is paralysed, and &^ u £rssL"i£s »- associated. m