THEORIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 144, 20 June 1934, Page 8

THEORIES.

DEFENCE POINTS. MANY ALTERNATIVES. THIRD PARTY SUGGESTED. POLICE METHODS ATTACKED. Again attracted by the long address to the jury in dcfenco of Bayly, crowds gathered early this morning outside the main doors of the Supreme Court, and once the people were inside they followed the words of counsel with intense interest. Accused's wife, Mrs. William Bayly, .Mr. Frank Bayly, and hi* father-in-law, Mr. Thomas Palmer, were seated in Court. Mr. Northcroft, resuming his long address this morning, reminded the jury that yesterday he had devoted much time to a criticism of the Crown's case as presented, and to a, reference to the evidence, both inanimate and spoken, which appeared to him proper to bring under their notice. "The suggestion of the Crown is that Bayly made efforts to distract the police from his criminality by complaining, on the'night of October 25, .when he went over to the police camp, that a stranger had been 011 his property," added counsel. "If he made such an attempt, well, it was a very poor one .at concealment after burning. He must have, known that very soon after that he had ample time to complete the hiding of material, if lie did conceal any' at all. If Bayly scattered it over his property, as the Crown alleges, then he would, know where it was and jthat he was under grave suspicion. He could have gathered it up at night or Eorae other convenient time and hidden it in-the lake or any other suitable place where there -was 110 possibility of it ever being found. ■ "That, gentlemen, is' the outstanding view, yet we have this fantastic suggestion of the Crown. It is hard to conceive even a child or a lunatic developing such a conception of the mind. When Bayly went to the police camp and complained that a stranger ' was 011 his property that night and that his dog had caught a dog which accompanied the stranger, what happens? The Crown places a sinister interpretation on this by suggesting that Bayly was preparing for an answer for the finding of the guns. Would he leave the guns there J. single night if he knew? If he had the faintest suspicion that the police wer's likely to come upon the guns, clearly he would remove them to a place where they would never be found. It is extraordinary how the .police make these innocent matters look sinister. How would the dog get to Bayly's place unless it came there with someone. A farmer did not abduct another farmer's dog. On the view of the police or the Crown, Bayly must have gone to Wright's place, if it was Wright's dog, and brought it back for the purpose of putting up some story." Sneak Thief About? Mr. Northcroft pointed out that Bayly did not suggest that someone was hiding material 011 his property, as one might have suspected if the Crown's theory was right. What did he say? He told the. police that there must be a sneak thief about. Counsel said the only reason for discussing the dog and man incident was to place before the jury, not what the Crown suspected and suggested, but what really occurred, and upon what the jury should decide. Bayly never at any time suggested that the visit of the stranger to his place that night had anything to do with the planting ,of material on his property. "We do hot suggest for a moment that it was Mr. Wright who was there, and there is 110 evidence that the dog was Wright's dog," continued Mr. Northcroft. "The Crown asks you to believe the innocent transaction to be a sinister one and asks you to act upon it as another circumstance in the chain of , circumstantial evidence against my client. My only duty in this case is my duty to my client. It is even necessary for me to ' criticise my dearest friend. I make no ; personal attack on any police officer. Rather my attack is on the inefficient 1 methods of the police, particularly on i the way they went about their work on ! this case. We at the Bar have many ' friends in the police force and we have 1 every justification for the highest ad- j miration of the police, many of whom ! are our friends." 1 Methods of Investigation. "Might I, irr the most general way, < indicate the only two possible methods < in which criminal investigation of this i kind can be carried out ?" continued Mr. 1 Northcroft. "The first is to pursue every inquiry available, examine every piece of 1 material and every piece of evidence with an open mind, and having done that, see where it leads. There is another way, and_ that is to look for a suspect, and, 1 haying found one, look for clues and evi- , derice as will connect him. And that is what was done in this case. False clues ... at first point to the person IrV assuino did the crime, are :s?"owed." . k.

Counsel again referred to the story of ilrs. Steven's, who had said that 011 the morning following the alleged crimes, she saw Bayly going down his 1 paddock 011 horseback, and later returning on a sledge. With all honesty, counsel suggested that ilrs. Stevens had imagined that she saw Bayly because it fitted in with the police theory. The same could be said about Herbert's story of seeing the smoke around Bayly's cowshed. False material such as- that could be built up when the police had reached out into the community for support for their theory. Others, too, could help to build up a false case while all this was happening. In the meantime the person who was ireally responsible for the crinic was able to use wrong sccnts, make his escape if necessary, or place false clues about the person whom the police suspected at the time. If those observations wen; justified, Mr. Northcroft invited the jury to see what the police, had to say about their theory up to that stage. There was not the slightest doubt that suspicion was attached to Bayly. Some sledge marks, which lie suggested weiv entirely innocent, were found down by tiie boundary fence. Some blood markj had been found 011 the wheels and framo and there was the grotesque story of ill's. Stevens about seeing Bayly come out of the paddock on his sledge. 'if the police were pursuing their investigations scientifically, without any preconception, they must have known that the story of ill's. Stevens was entirely wrong, because 110 sledge marks in that paddock where Bayly was supposed to have come out were fount," declared Mr. Northcroft. "Yet, still the police brought that > story as evidence." • . V Elaborate Search. Counsel next dealt with the activities of the police at Bayly's place 011 Thursday, October 19, Although they had 110 warrant • they carried out an' elaborate inspection. They dragged Bayly's sheep dip to sec if a body was concealed there, they took boards off Bayly's sledge and they took his hat. Bayly had explained there were paint marks 011 the hat, but the detectives had disbelieved him and had .chosen to think that the marks were blood. So, 011 the Thursday, it was perfectly clear thai, the police were trying to build up a case against Bayly. They did not go and search the dips of other farmers, or examine other sledges, or the knives of other settlers* They concentrated all their attentioir on trying to build up a case against Bayly.