DENIED BY POLICE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 147, 23 June 1945, Page 6

DENIED BY POLICE

ALLEGATIONS OF TORTURE MAN ON MURDER CHARGE O.C. SYDNEY, June 20. Allegations of torture by an accused man were denied by the police at the Malvern Court (Melbourne), when Thomas Croft, 39, mechanic, of Redcliffs, was committed for trial on a charge of having murdered Herbert Thomas Norwood, assistant stationmaster at Carnegie, on October 1. 1934. Croft, who reserved his defence, pleaded not guilty. Mrs. Olive Gray, one of the,,three honorary justices, retired from the Bench during the hearing of the case, when Mr. J. Galbally, who appeared for Croft, charged her with having shown bias.

Detective Donelly denied that Croft was blindfolded and handcuffed with his arms behind him when being questioned at Russell Street, He also denied that an appliance was put on Croft's head and then screwed up so that it caused him pain. It was untrue that Croft had fainted during questioning or that he had said, "I will sign if you take it off my head." "I have never seen anything like the gear you mention. We do not use torture methods at Russell Street," said Detective Donelly, appealing to the Bench against Mr. Galbally's line of examination.

Detective Donelly said Croft told him that he did not want to go to Carnegie to shoot Norwood, and did not deliberately shoot him. He went there to get some money. When he was trying to reach for the cash bag the gun caught in the grille and went off. He then ran. He did not know that he had shot Norwood until he read the papers the next 1 morning.