A NEW ZEALAND BARRISTER CHARGED WITH MURDER.

Press, Volume XL, Issue 5860, 25 June 1884, Page 3

A NEW ZEALAND BARRISTER CHARGED WITH MURDER.

tnOSe ASSOCIATION TXLBOSAJI.J

AUCKLAND, June 24.

The "Herald's" London correspondent writingunder date May 9th, says the sensation of the week has been the arrest of Hugh

Shortland, son of Dr. Shortland, of Auckland, upon the very serious charge of having murdered his wife either by poisoning her and then placing her body in .a pond, or else by inflicting blows upon her head that led to her death, but tie whole ■ease is' so peculiar and co mysterious that I send you a foil account of the affair as compiled by the •* Western Morning News," Plymouth, of May Bth, which says the leadon paptrs give some very extraordiaary statements about the affair. The following is a fall and connected account of this great mystery.:— &A discovery o£ the myaterj which surnranded the death of Mrs Hugh Shortland has been deepened by the discovery made jesterdaj morning of Shortland in his aiding at Modbury. On Tuesday morning of last week Mrs Hugh Shortland was found drowned in an ornamental pond in the ground* of her father, W. Percy Dimes, of Oldstonej Blaekton. On the following day an inquest was held by the Jtepuiy Coroner, Mr T. Edmonds, <* Talastoe, and at the inquest Mr Dimes etated vat Shertland was on his way to Sew Zealand, and a letter was produced perporbeg to h&Te been posted by him , «t Briodisi. It was obserred that there """J** xo -Doefcmazk on the -.envelope, but "*t was explained in a letter by » statement to the effect that the «wer was enclosed in a packet to his *"*tor at Plymouth who forwarded it to

Blackfeon with, this explanation and other statements, such as that Mr Shortland and his bride parted on affectionate terms. The matter was allowed to pass, and the jury returned a verdict that the deceased was found drowned, but there was no evidence to show how she came in the water. Nothing further transpired until yesterday morning. In an out of the way back lane, at Mbdbury, there is a tannery belonging to Messrs Ashley and Just, now opposite the inside folding doors, there is a secluded cottage owned by them, and occupied by one of their workmen named Byder. who subsequently informed the police that Shortland was staying at his place. Police Constable Duneford apprehended Hugh Shortland at (Ryder's house at half-put nine yesterday on suspicion of having caused the death of his wife. It may be, perhaps, remembered Mr Hugh Shortland and Miss Laura Dimes were married clandestinely at the Registrar's office at Kingsbridge on the Bth April. He is about twenty-fire, and she wae twentytwo. She rode into Kingsbridge unattended, except by a groom, and was married in her riding habit. The parents were much averse to the wedding, and she and her husband married to part, it was said, he to go to Mallet's Hotel at Ivy Bridge, and she to her father's house at Blackton. On 10th April, two days after the marriage, it was said at the inquest they had an affectionate parting, on the understanding that business called Shortland to New Zealand. On the 10th April Byder saye Mr Shortland came into hiding in his house at Modbury, and not a syllable transpired respecting his whereabouts from that day until yesterday. He arrived there under cover of darkness about half-past ten at night, and although several people had been to Ryder's house in the interval no one seems to have caught a glimpse of him, and no suspicions of any kind eeem to have been aroused. It is remembered now that when Mrs Byder in a tradesman's chop in Modbury heard of the death, of Mrs Shortland she seemed peculiarly horrified. She went immediately and bought a paper and carried it home to Shortland, who now seemed like a man shot. He: appeared so " knocked down" that he hardly eat anything for days, nor had he, she says, hardly eaten anything eince. Byder was himself away that day, and when he returned he was shown a notice of Mrs Shortland's sad death by Luscombe, an innkeeper, of Modbury. Byder expressed [ concern, and offered Luscombe a penny if he would cut the paragraph out and give it to him. This Luscombe agreed to do, and Byder went home with it to Shortland. Somewhat to his surprise, he found his son already there, in conversation with Shortland, and Shortland, who was much affected, turned round to him and said, "I know all about it." "Look here," said Byder, "you'll have to get out of my house at once." " I could not possibly do it," Shortland replied. " Why, the police would have mc up for murder," and he protested against going with considerable warmth. Byder strongly affirms what of course is of immense importance t* the issue, that Shortland never went outside his door from the time he entered it on the night of the 10th April. There is considerable reluctance in Modbury to believe that Shortland is in any way criminally concerned in the death of his wife. The marriage was evidently an unhappy one, and it is thought possible that it was agreed Shortland should go into hiding and should feign to be in New Zealand in order to see whether the lady'a father would get reconciled to the step his daughter had taken. Following on this, of course, comes the theory that Mrs Shortland having to bear the brunt, of her parents* displeasure, and perhaps finding out that in marrying such a man as Shortland she had made a grievous error, had put an end to her own troubles. Yet on the other hand it had been pointed out that there is room for suspicion in the fact that on the day the poor young lady met her death she hurried home for a drive, and had her horse put up, changed her drees, and then went out again as if to meet someone. -

Hugh Eutherford Shortland is a member of a highly respectable family, established at Plymouth ove? fifty years, he being the son of Dr. ShorUsnd, nephew of the late Counsellor Shortland,' of Lipsom House. On Monday, April 28tb, Mrs Shetland, who was still residing at her parents*, house at Oldstone, went out riding and returned soon in the afternoon, and after removing her habit and changing her dress she left the house for a walk accompanied by a collie dog, which was a' frequent companion and which she was in the habit of taking Ito a pond in the grounds to wash. She did not return, but her absence seemed to cause very little alarm to her relatives. Mrs Dimes stating she thought her daughter might have seen her husband and gone away with him, if, as she seemed to regard as possible, he had deferred his journey. In the evening Mrs Dimes went to the pond, thinking Mr Shortland might be walking about the grounds, Still she saw nothing of them, and there the matter restedfor the time. Next morning Elizabeth Lucraft, the wife of a man in thejemploy of Mr Dimes, went to the pond and found the body of Mrs Shortland standiogupright in the water, with her hands in front of her body, which was about three feet from the bank, and the water just covered her head. The woman at once informed her husband, and Mrs Dimes and Lucraft, assisted by another man, moved the body from the water.

[Cable messages announc3 that the charge against Shortland broke down.]