FOR TRIAL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 69, 23 March 1937, Page 8

FOR TRIAL.

MAORI LABOURER.

CHARGE OF MURDER.

STATEMENT BY COUNSEL The statement that the defence on both charges when Johnny Toka, farm labourer, aged 24, is placed on trial at the next sessions of the Supreme Court would be one of insanity was made to Mr. Wyvern Wilson, S.M., in the Police Court this morning by Mr. F. W. Schramm, counsel for the accused, when Toka was committed for trial. Toka was with the murder, at Patunirthoe. cm February $1, of his father, Toka Whakaia, and with the attempted murder of his sister, Mis. Ete Toko. The father was shot in his whare, and Mrs. Toko, it is alleged, was badly injured on the head with a kettle by accused. Mr. V. R. Meredith, Crown Prosecutor, conducted the prosecution. Fourteen of the 28 witnesses to be railed for the Crown appeared yesterday. Attempt to Borrow Gun. The first witnesses this morning were four farmer* living in the vicinity of the Toko whare, who testified that .the accused had tried to borrow guns from them about five days before the tragedy. He had said that he wished to kill a pig with a lump on its shoulder. In reply to a question by Mr. Meredith, one of the farmers, Robert Kirk Membury, said he had never lent "Johnny" a gun before, but he had lent the deceased one.

Harold Samuel Carter said that on ihe Tuesday before Toko Whakaia wae shothe lent the accused a single-barrelled shotgun to kill a pig—a boar. He. also gave him a cartridge. "Johnny" had tried to borrow the gun to shoot rabbits about three weeks previously. Witness had. refused to lend the gun because it was not on his place. David Stanley Shaw, farmer, of Patumahoe, gave evidence that he had given a young sow to the Toko family in January. The, animal had a lump on its shoulder which would have spoilt it for "Had Often Quarrelled." The Toko family had often quarrelled, said George Henry McAlpine, a neighbour, and Polly Toko generally came and told him about the quarrels. On Sunday, February 21, about 6.6 p.m., Mra. Toko and several members of the Toko family had come across to his house and told him that Johnny had shot his father. Polly was carrying the gun (exhibited), and he had taken possession of it. The police sergeant stationed at Pukekohe, Sergeant J. T. Cowan, said he had been informed of the tragedy on the night of February 21. On his way to the whare lie had picked up three Maoris, one of whom wae the accused, and had taken them with him to the scene of the murder. Witness described in detail the appearance of the whare, and the j positions in which the deceased and Mrs. ■ Ete Toko were lying. Mrs. Toko was conscious. The only light came from ' torches carried by himself and Constable , Wakelin. The injured woman asked if her brother wae there. Someone said ■ "Yes" v •■« ■ ' ■■ • ' 9 *Sm "Toko saife«plrt let him touch me; his hit me wrfli the kettle." "$h AocvsM Calm. "She nodded in the direction of the deceased and said, 'He shot him,'" said Sergeant Cowan. "I said: 'Who shot him V and the accused answered: *I shot him."*. r\_ j Sergeant Cowan said the accused ap-1 peared quite calm. When he was | searched, a 12 gauge cartridge was j found in hiti pocket. v

Constable F. Wakelin, also of Pukekohe, described the appearance of the whare, and identified a curtain with a hole in. the bottom as that which had lieen -over the window of the whare. There Was also a hole in the wall behind, he said. Describing the conversation, of Ete Toko, he repeated the words of Sergeant Cowan,, adding that; Mr. Cowan 'had asked the accused the whereabouts of,the gun., The accused replied that his sister had.taken it. Witness asked Toko where he had obtained the gun. The accused replied that he' had borrowed it from Harold Carter to shoot rabbits. Asked when he. had borrowed the- gun, accused said, "Two days ago." - . "The accused then said, 'We were always fighting,*" continued Constable Wakelin. "Later I retrieved the gun;", The investigations conducted by the police were described by Detective-Ser-geant A. B. Mciklejohn, who was called to the'Whare on the night of February 21. He said that he picked up a number of pieces of the broken kettle between the deceased's head and the kettle. He had taken possession of an empty cartridge* piecesof the wall and the curtains from the kitchen window. Gregory Gerald Kelly, arms advisory officer for the Police Department, detailed various experiments be had carried out with the gun produced, also the results of his. examination of shot and shell. He considered that when thei fatal shot was fired the mouth of the gtto Would be three, Inches from-the,wait Witness had been unable to get an accidental discharge when testing the' gun.. ): ,-, ; •_; ...,. r... .. . pp' | ' This concluded the calling of evidence and accused was committed to the Supreme Court for trial.