THE WESTPORT MURDER.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 13427, 20 May 1909, Page 5

THE WESTPORT MURDER.

TRIAL OF WILLIAM CONNELLY

THIRD DAY

The trial of William Connolly, charged uith thr niiude: of Ernest John Dourko, at, WV-μ port, on May Bth, l<loß. was resumed before Mr Justice I)onnist<>n at tho. Supremo Court yesterday morning. -Mr T. W. Stringer, K.C., conducted the rabO foi the Crown, and Mr A. C. Hanlon, with him Mr Donnelly, appeared for the prisoner COXTINIWTIOX OF THE CASF FOR THE DEFENCE.

j The examination of John JJuttar !?fan£i COnS ' " ab ITSU,,Icd ''V Mr Witness dor ailed what occurred at Cookery s Hoiol « n the mornin- followme Bourke-s death, when HallWn <b- i wnbt-d an assault he had marl,, on somconp tho nri»..-imis fvp,,in a . JlaD.i----iu-n and ; mlewn «„ that oocr.Mj.n. ! on thoir rlothos trom the fdlmv (Con-' nelly), who ,vs, pullis, 3 down tlu- Vhut- I tf-r S ot t tho fi>b n,,'n dn,V witness s attention to tlio fact that tlicv ; hnd blood on their clothe. Witness had dt'scnlKd t| u , assault, and I that },o had finish,.,] by safin I s " t - ! tlrd that -—I don,'"for'him/' lfalii-nf-n, in rppiy to witness, had sai<l that i th« man b.o Jiad assaulted was a l»i-rr icllow than wnnevs. Halliru-n had aKo stated that lv , d A|)df , r . t , |! , l;if] , at tnu theativ the previous night, coir- ' n. at b ,>. m . ami havins -v I β-w l>.m. at th.> Empiro Hotd. Wit- ! ness later on i! 10 19th. arrested Halli- ! lion for havmp; un-Cu-tomed tobacco. Hoi »mf nVV\" S '7-" a,lt Cul, " n «"'"•» HaJli- . drarj-o of murder, and «ay,. evidence on this i'oint substantially to the same effort as that of tho .servant. io Mr Strinper: Hallinen and Audrrso., had startod talkin . hpi ;7 ,Ca . " s to where th-y had been O p thoiiiKht oi tho Bth. Witness l, a "d „" asked thorn where they had been Witness had made- some enouirie> in We' - ! sell tobacco and had been unable to find any trace that ho had. Witness had enqjnred at tho Empire Hotel Hallineus. statement that ho and An" <!ereen had had a drink there at 8 30 £'W !, V Sth; ho had "<'t enquirwl at tlip theatre. This closed tho case for the defence.

REBUTTIXfJ EVIDENCE. Mr Stringer stated that tlir evidence Up proposed to call in rebuttal was to show that Hallnu-n and Andersen w,ro not and could not have been nt ilu- slif d at tliotini" mentioned, as ho would \na\o they wore elsewhere. He called evidence as follows—Ola I Hallincn stated that he was a Hussion l< nni, and on May last was a seaman on board the Canonus, which ve-ssel he .joined in April, inoS. ]J,.'lrid been seven year* a , M -a .and had bee, between hi teen and sixteen months h New Zealand. On May Bth witness and Andcr.sen went to Cox's Hotel about o p.m., and .stayed there till about SAo After going back to the ship and washing and chancing themselves, they went to Pearce's fish shop and had something to oat, Ihey got to tho shop about < : 30 p.m., barmy shortly alter seven o clock met Haakonson/ th<, cook on he fakora \\itness asked Miss Pearce to go to the theatre with him, but sho was unable to go. Tho throe mc:, thru went and had a drink. Witness then got his oilskin which he had left in the ish shop. A 1 three then went to the theatre which they reached about 7.06 p.m. lne doors were not open. When the doors were opened ho bought three one shilling tickets. Before "tho pertornianco commenced Haakonson and Andersen went out and had a drink witness harms refused to accompany them. They were away five or ten miiiutes, and returned and sat besido him, and remained there till tho curtain went tin and tho performance started He had seen in the theatre Miss Pearoo and another girl that ho subsequently earned was named Nellie Faulkner; there was a gentleman with them. Ho also saw a boy named Christensen The three ol thorn had been in in* theatre about halt an hour before the curtain went up At the interval the 'throe wont to the Empire and had a drink f,nd ,£l"° saw ' thrpc nicn «ff the Cmomis—lliompsoti, Kobb, and Stair Arter having their drinks they returned to tho theatre, and after the performance thov went back to the 'Empire, where the three men o/f the Canopus were still They then went to Lennies, and whilst there they heard creaming from Pearce\s, and "on roing o.it they round that a man (whom ho now knew as Connelly) was attempting to pull tho shutters down. Witness had got hold of Connelly and chucked him into the street. He had never s-een or spoken to Connelly Previously. In the struggle Connelly's, coat came off. and witness helped to put it on. and whilst conic so witness 2 <>t blood on his hand and clothes, and he had sanf to Mrs Pearce- "See, the. nut all )hod nn mc " They ihen went into Lennie s, and the barmaid (said to him • 'on. have been halting," but ho had exHfuned how the stains camo on his clothing. He was quite clear that the barmaid did not to him about the stains before the- row in tho fish shop. On their way to the Canomis :hey met three men. and lie hnd askrd _horn )[ they belonged to that steamer One* ot them said: "Shut no, voii square-headed !" Witness' 'had Knocked this man down and the other ran away. When they s ,,t on tl'o wharf some men wanted to -them and witnesr> had asked them to wait tili lie put his oilskin aboard. When 'iie returned an officer!off tho Talune intert fered. On the nirht of May Bth witnev? had not been in Oualter's or the QC.h Hotel. The ti-ht ho had described was the one witli the men when witness and the other men were on their way to tho ship. At that tirrK> witness could not speak English as well *": F?.™:} d nmv -- " ,,f l he used the word ' Kicking to mean hitting. He had not illustrated with 'his feet the act of kicknic. He did not- hear Cookery say anything about a lame man. On the Sunday following Bourke's df ath, tlio gaoler and Connelly came to where' witness was locked m>. and Connelly had said that witness was the man who hnd pulled him away from the fish shoi> window. W itness'had drnwn Connellv's attention to tho blood on bis (witness's) clothes, and Connolly snid: "I stand for th-it lot/ or "That's mv blood." The only previous time that W (witness) had been in trouble was in shields, hncland. when he was arrcsrtd Aiul fined le.s Jd for having been drunk, he thought, but ho had not been drunk

To Mr Hnrdnn : The- first time witness had given evidence in the present mattor was in the rerjitry pro^..o r j, nrTS nf Westport apaiiTst"Connellv. Witness had not ?iven evidenie- on his o.vn behalf at Nelson when stnndin<: hi.s trial for the murder of Bourke.

feit that you were a perfectly innocent man ? —Yes; -o I am now. Can you tell mo why you didn't 20 into the witness-box at Nelson:' J didn't know anvtliintj about the Cou-t, atid I had a lawyer for mc. and he didn t put mc in the box. I "rould not move myself away from the dock- I lnd to stay where I was i>ut.

Did you exprei.-s a doire to be allowed to .say that 3*oll were an ni man, aid you wanted to tell tho whole truth about it. 1, —They asked from mc nothing, and 1 could not sp->ak when evervb"dv spoke. Continuing,Vitr.ess stated that the time fhey had the first drink at Lennie's was about 7.50 p.m., and between 8 n.nH and 8.10 p.m. ho was sitting in the theatre. Andersen and Haakonson were out between five or ten minutes—they were out of the thfatrc from 8 till B.lo'or 8.15 p.m. When he went to Lennie's after the theatre, there were no noticeable stains on his clothes. The stains seen by Miss Harcourt and the other witnesses were seen after the fish shop row Fi%-e or cix drinks would not make bin> drunk, and he could remember what I bad taken place.

\> her. you £<-t drunk you are pretty toiid oi tiguiiiig.' —it Mimt'hocly's iond UKMi i am iouci with then). (Laughter ) Cont.niiMig. witness stated thai he had never seen or spoken to Conneliy before the fish shop row. The reason w'iiiioss had tried to get Connelly aiviy troii) the police man when he was under t arrest was that t-oinctim.es a policeman. ■ «!H.n } 1/? .irresuxl a .sailor for dr.inkenI lv.'Si. handed him ■over to another sailor I wii;j uiitlertook to take the- drunken i* no to iiis shi]>. Jic Jiad hi*, the steward off the lalune with his fist and knocked him oown. Cockery had not faid anything to him aHou't tlio tall man with the dark moiista/.-b". Didn't CVjckory walk up .md down, showing how the man limped:-—lie ni.glit h;»ve tjc-cn walking then.' lor liim- ; h< , n<-vpr thowed v to mc. Con tinning, witness .-tated that l>? had not ?aid in Cockery's that he had ■■.setlled" or "dor.* 1 for" anybody. Why do three witnesses *wiy thai you did:- , —They are ionking for a feather in thrir cars. As to lm ing r''.!;"d l:\s U> illustrai.' kickin.u. witness stated that the passage at ( was too narrow to do it in. if he had clone so he might have kiioelved Constable Buttar down. '.I ho three v-i;nesses who gave eviflone* , a» to the blood stains on your clothes at LomiVs. are they lying?— '1 hey made a mistake in the .start and ■ won't give in. And the three witnesses as to what oeeurred at Cockery <? —They are lookiiig lor a foather in their cap. th.'y tnld untruths so that they might get a leather in their yaps!'-— I Y<'s. I

D-d these mou toll these at Nolsoi; wlk-ii they know that your life an<l Andersen's kfe wore at stake?— Certainly. To Mr .Stringer: At the Xt-lson trial he- had loit matters to the two lawyers who woro representing him. At Nelson had started to explain the whole thing to the Court hut had boon stopped by the Judj,.?. who had said that it was too late. Haakon Haakotison stated tliat he iVy- a , Xonvc S ia "> and on May Bth, 1..0:>, he was a steward on board the barque lakcra, at Westport. His evi<lciu'o was. in .substance, much on the san.p lines as that of Hallinen. Prior to leaving the theatre with Andersen to have their first drink at the Empire. wane*.; asked a man what the time was. and was told that it was ten minutes pa*r eight. Henry Christonseii was sitting alongside witness in the theatre. Witness had not seen the row between Hallinen and the steward off the Talune, as witness had stopped at tho corner. Except when witness wont out with Andersen tor a <innk. h<. had never left Hallinen on the night- of May -Sih. At the Nelson trial witness could not speak English very well, and Lad to have an interpreter. To Mr ilanlon: H.> was a fellon--<-o;uitrymnn of Andersen's. He had prosecuted Connelly for perjury. Mr Xi (Dona 1.., solicitor. Westport. had taken him to Andersen in gaol for the purpose of gelling Anderson to interpret what witness wanted to tell him. W it ness had not previously stated that he had gone to the gaol To talk with Andersen about where they were on the ni-ht ol the murder; if re had said k lie did not understand it. He fixed tin* time that he first met Hallinen «nd Andersen on May Bth by the fact that ho asked' the captain, "before ho (witness) left his ship, what, the time was, and was told that it was 7 o'clock and it was about five- or seven minutes alter that lie met- them at the Union Jiou-J. He had not seen any blood on flallinen s c othes outside the theatre. He had stated in Wostport that after the row in the fish.shop neither Halliuen nor AiM.crsen nor himself had gone into Lennio's Hotel, but it was a mi,ta:ve, ond ho could not say whether th.» mistake was made by himself or by the mterpreter. Hallinen had told ' him It 1 v a ir BOn Z ,ack to Lennie's Ilotel. Halhnen had told him this outeiue Lennio's Hotel. Witness could not remembL-r whether he fi aw HnSinSi oomo back from the hotel "■ aumen r<, Mr Stringer: H e had twice seen Halhnen and Andersen in gaol at \Wport and on both occasions Mr hift^pSin? 0 XOnVeSian C — J Margaret Shaw, boarding-house sTh !> °[ ( )nS e6 l tP ° rtj Said thafc on M-y 'Jth, 1908, she went to the theatre, and, when walking along to tho theal tro she glanced at tho Post Office clock and noticed it was three or four minutes to eight. «io arrived at tho theatre somo five minutes later and weno and sat in the shilling seats. She did not then know either Hallinen or Andersen Just as sho took hei seat she heard some rather Joud foreign talk behind, and, looking round, she saw the man sho now knew to be Hallinen. There was only a few txx)pl» in the theatre and the play wafSte In startmg. Ivy Peareo u-as in tho theatre, sitting a few seats in front of m ll , , ! 0 ** 3- lSlle could not sw "ear that Hallmeu went out early in the ovening, but they all stood" up. She did not see him or tho other men go out at the interval. She was present at tho hsh-shop row, being attracted by Mrs Pearces screams. She saw HaliHion take hold of Connelly, and heard Connelly say he was only a lad of 18 and wasn't frightened of HalliW Hallinen retorted that he was a EusS!an Finn, and that h o was 22 and that ho wasn't afraid of anvbod'v in U estr>ort

lv Mr Hanlon: It was between twenty and twenty-iivo minutes past Pight when the play started. She gave evidence at Nelson in defence of Hallinon and Andersen, when they wore convicted.

Alfred Lonis Webber, breworv employee, Westport,- said that on tho evpn.ng ot May Bth, 1903, ho was at a shooting giillory with a young man n=imod Green. Ho went there, at ten to eiyht, stopped about ten minutes, and then wont to the theatre next door Ho knew Anders,,. Hallinen, and Hankonson by .sight. They came in' O the. theatre about five, minutas pa«t $. V hen HaaKoiisoH and Andersen went out before the pertornianee betran the doorkeeper «a y « one ot them his 'p Pli : kmte and scud that as he had no paLs t k< kiufo would do as one. Witness saw the man return and hand back the kniie. A\ ncn witness went into tho theatre when the music started the three men were sitting in front of" him and continued to so sit until tho val about nine o'clock. He had noticed no status or mud on either of the men as they passed him in the porch. To Mr Hanlon: Witness had noi beard, until brought before tho lower Court prior to the Supreme Court proceedings in 1 jokitika, that Bourke had been killed about eieht o'clock on the nitfht 01 tho Sth. He first told Mr McDonald tint he had seen the three men at the theatre; that was after the Supreme Court proceedings at Nelson He was not sure then that tho men on trial were tho same men he had sren at the theatre, though iie believed that they were. He fixed the times with regard to the tbreo men at the theatre by auov-ins-To Mr Stringer: He knew that the time ho got to tho theatre, was ten minutes to vijjht.

Bill Karooz stated stated that he ro-.-ided in Westport, and acted as doorkeeper on tho occasion of the performance- of the Howard Vernoii Company in the theatre on May Bth. 1<X)8. He remembered giving t\vo men a pocketknife as a pass; they had brought it back.

To Mr Hiinlon: He could not say if til* l two moil wore foreigners. Jvlward Beswick, who on May Bth, 1908, wa» a shopman at Anderson's store in West port, stated that he was on one of the doors at the theatre that nisrlit taking tickets. The sale of tickets commenced at five minutes to eight ; ho had ascertained that by consulting his watch. The performance that night was 25 minutes Jate in starting. At 8.5 he , saw HaUinen, Andersen and Haakonson with one shil-

ling tickets. lie was on the 2s door, and sent them on to the one .shilling place. He had .seen them on the footpath outside the theatre between a quarter and ten minutes to eight. To Mr Hanlon : He knew at the time ol the Nelson trial that his watch was five minutes fast. At 9.15 the three men presented 2s tickets to him, and were admitted to the 2s portion of the Louse Ivy Poareo stated that she was sixteen years of age, and remained at her father's fish shop till about ten minutes to 8 o'clock on the night of May Bth. The three men came to the shop about 7.30 p.m.. and stayed about a quarter of an hour. One of them asked her to go to the play, but she refused. After they left.she put on her hat, and, with Muriel Lennie, went to the play. When they got to the porch they had to wait, as the doors were not open. Whilst waiting she saw Connelly, who spoke to her in the porch; someone was waiting for 'him. and she now knew it was Murray. Nelly. Faulkner joined witness and her friend. Witness saw the three men in the shilling seats, and they exchanged smiles. After the play she returned to the shop. Connelly camo in and would not sit down, and struck her. Her father put him out, and Connelly put his hand through the glass door, and then tried to take down the shutters. There was blood all in front, of the place; she got some from him on her apron. To Mr Hanlon: She did not know when the three men entered the'theatre or when they left it; she was simply guessing. She had told Detective McIlveney that so far as she knew about the matter the three men might have rrf'cn at Ayres's hotel about eight o'clock on the night of the murder. Lily Pearce, ten years of age, sister of the last witness; Henry Christensen, thirteen and a half years of age; Cyril Thompson and Peter Robb, seamen' on tho Canopus, also gave evidence substantially to the effect of that given by preceding witnesses. Robb gave details of Hallinen's fight with a steward off the Talune on the night of the murder. Mr Hanlon said, in reply to his Honour, that he had no further evidence to offer. The Court rose at 4 p.m. until 10 a.m. to-day, when counsel will address the jury, and his Honour will sum up.