FOXTON FIRE.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19726, 17 September 1929, Page 15

FOXTON FIRE.

FURTHER revelations. i.t NBIIOT WOUND IN ONE VICTIM'S HEAD. rtSSSS illOi UWO* TEt KOftAlt.l PAI-MKH> I'llN N., September 16. investigations into the Hiiuatuiig' lire tragedy are bringing farther revelations, I%* latest indications seems to support th<- murder theory but many suggiitiotw !■!•« still being advanced. Disclosure* oi n.'*<>at significance havo been 8..U B ..U by the police. There is uhnost delimit evidence that one o* t' l " victims waa shot. Conclusive pnn'i was obtained that the round lu,I„ ill til.' hiwo of the skull found in Wrifil t', ; -hi was not attributable to j, '.ijiVt Imi to a twelve-gauge bli.it- . m lli" weapon found i» the ruin# mm ti.»t rMlilire arid th« hole could have Ix-vti ■ n ised by the discharge of it » smiil.tr ruu. An even stronger feature •» the hole must have been (■•uMHi 11v ;t nun discharged at a dwtaiK'f* "i a few feet owing to the Hwiat ter of the perforation. The lead found in the skull is understood to bo shot which melted together with thf li'Ht, but is still distinguishable. The womvd could not have been selfinflicted : Hie mystery in: Whose hand fired the gun? The fact that one of the victim# of the tragedy was shot seems to tie t'gtahlished practically beyond doubt Nothing haa been disclosed to indicate whether the other inmates of house perished in a similar manner owing to the incineration of the bodies bting «' complete. A cartridge bearing a percussion nark *w found in the ruins, but it is tatpoa»tb)< to say how long ago it waa frtd- When the ruins were first •xamined it is understood that three group!) of bones were catalogued. Among the remains discovered were those of four adult males, «ipht bodies in all, within a radi us of eight to ten feet. It in reported that the remains of Wright ana Thompson were found close together, and, according to the poiioe. it is impossible to state which tm® was »hot Tho leinains of Mr* Wright completed the group All were a certain space from the l**i. WestJake waa found in the living room and the three children were huddled togather in their room, the baby being in Wright's room. The potioe stated that they are qnit* satisfied from the position where the remains were found that Thompson ooeopied the same room as Westlake. A significant feature is that the body •f neither w:i« found where the men are presumed to have slept, but considerably apart. The remain* near the exit of the dwelling which at first were supposed to be Thompson's, have been definitely identified as those of a dog. The opinion is held by the police that •1) the occupant* of the house perished. The failure of any of the inmates to •scape certainly is a feature calling for comment. The ruins of the homestead hav«- Ix ii subjected to a rigorous search and the asuei have been put through a sieve. The polity have never ceased to conduct exhaustive investigations. The remarkable intensity of the tire is evidum »-d by the fact that it turned for fifteen hours. It is understood there is nothing to indicate that another person was involved. That aspect is considered to be extremely unlikely. All the occupant® of the hmiM» ha-ve been accounted for. It is understood that the police will !• able to bring evidence at the inmi«wt indicating that the wnaina of Ijght persons wtm found. ■ It is proVfM» that the enquiries in hand will V» eomplcted in less than a fortnight h is lfuriK-d that a strange thing was fts presence of n long, shallow trench MINI ono corner of the house. It aspired to have been dug about two Jjn previous to the fire._ but the reaIM b not apparent . It is stated that ttuw is an interesting explanation of till singular thing.