FATALLY SHOT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 44, 22 February 1937, Page 9

FATALLY SHOT.

ELDERLY MAORI.

DAUGHTER INJURED.

PATUMAHOE TRAGEDY.

SON ON MURDER CHARGE.

An elderly Maori was. fatally shot and his daughter seriously injured at Patumahoe about eight o'clock last evening. The tragedy took place in their four-roomed whare 011 the Waiau Pa Road. Patumalioe.

The dead man wa« Mr. Toko Whakaia, aged about <0, one of the best-known Maoris in the district. His daughter, Mrs. Ete Toko, aged about 30, was severely injured through being struck on the head with a heavy iron kettle. Her condition this morning had improved. Later in the evening the police arrested a son of dc-ceased, John Toka, aged 26, on a charge of murder. He wg« taken to Auckland at an early hour this morning, after having been lodged for the greater part of the night in the police cells at Pukekohe. Mr. Whakaia wa« shot in the middle of the back with 3 single-barrel shotgun, while the kettle, vrhich injured the daughter, was shattered. When the police arrived they found her lying on the earth floor of the whare. Police Receive First News. The police received their first information from Mr. W. E. Johns, of the Patumahoe Hotel. Immediately Sergeant J. T. Cowan, of Pukekbhe, communicated with Dr. A. T. Begg, of Pukekohe, and proceeded to the whare accompanied by Constable F. T. Wakelin. On the way there they saw three Maoris on the roadside, one of whom was John Toka, who accompanied them back to the scene.

Dr. Begg and the police found that | Mr. Whakaia was dead and that Mrs. Ete Toko had regained consciousness. I She recognised John Toka when he I entered the room. Sergeant Cowan and | Constable Wakelin subsequently arrested Toka on a charge of murder. He was j immediately taken by the constable to j Pukekohe, Sergeant Cowan remaining until the arrival of the detective party from Auckland. After the police had made an extensive examination and wide inquiries, they came to the conclusion that the deceased had been shot from outside the building, the charge passing through the thin walla of the whare and entering the middle of Mr. Whakaia's back. The walls are made of a substance like paper mache, and apparently the gun had been held right up against the outside of the wall. Anyone outside could have seen where the deceased was sitting because there was a window just above where he was lying.

Tragic Story Told. A tragic story was told by the other members of the family who had taken refuge with a neighbour, Mrs. E. A. McAlpine, about 200 yards away. There had been no warning of tragedy. The shot was fired and Mr. Whakaia fell. Mrs. Toko made a desperate effort to obtain possession of the weapon. The gun fell to the floor and was picked up by one of the children, who ran with it to Mrs. MoAlpine's house. Mrs. Toko was then struek on the head with the kettle, and fell to the floor beside her father. Though badly hurt, she realised enough to lie still, feigning death in order to avoid further injury. The party of detectives from Auckland was under the leadership of Chief Detective S. G. Hall, anil they took statements from a large number of Maoris. An inquest was opened near the whare before Mr. C. K. Lawrie, district coroner, the inquiry being adjourned after evidence of identification had been taken.

CHARGE OF MURDER. ACCUSED BEFORE COURT. There was a large attendance of the public, including a number of Maoris, in the Police Court this. morning, when the accused, John Toka, aged 24, described as a farm hand, appeared in the dock charged with the murder st Patumahoe on February 21 of Toko Whakaia. Detective-Sergeant A. G. McHugh applied for a remand until next Monday. Toka was in the dock less than a minute. Dressed in a blue suit and black ahirt, open at the neck, he stood with hia hands folded in front of him while the charge was read to him. He was not represented by counsel. The magistrate, Mr. W. R. McJ£ean, granted the remand.