THE PIHA FIRE CASE

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22717, 23 May 1939, Page 10

THE PIHA FIRE CASE

Supreme Court Trial

Begins

PROSECUTOR’S

ADDRESS

Jury Visits Piha And

Cemetery

CP*ZM ADSOCUTIOK TIMCZAU.) AUCKLAND, May 22. The trial began in the Supreme Court to-day of Gordon Robert McKay, aged 43, alias Tom Rowlands, a woo] and hide dealer, and James Arthur Talbot, aged 38, a labourer. They were charged with improperly interfering with a dead human body, that of Patrick Henry Shine, at Auckland on February 10, and witli wilfully setting lire to the dwelling house of Florence Jessie Thomas, thereby committing arson, at Piha on February 12, ’They were further charged with conspirii.,.,, by deceit, to defraud the fvnilu o i.ue and Citizens' Insurance Company, Ltd., Sydney, of £25,500, by representing that McKay was dead. Mr V. H. Meredith, with him Mr N, 1. Smith, appeared for the Crown. Mr W. Noble defended McKay, and Mr J. Terry defended Talbot.

.Before the jury was empanelled, Mr Justice Fair announced that during 'die trial the jurors would be kept together. He said that the hearing was expected to last four or live days. The accused pleaded not guilty. “This case has created very “lively public interest with the result that active newspapermen have published a gieat deal, even including rumours, which may nut be correct;’ said Mr Meiedilh in addressing the jury. “I ask you to lay aside anything you may have read and base your verdict inti rely on the evidence given in tin’s Court.’’ McKay’s Life Policies Mr Meredith added that it would be well to bear in mind the association id. the two men for a number of years in Australia. McKay was mar- ) led and Talbot, a single man. had been an occupant of McKay's house for some years. Last year thev went to England, but before that, they went to an insurance company and ‘McKay insured his life for £5500 in addition to £4500 he already had. He took out a ,/j'Ch.er £15,500, making the total £2a,500. He paid .several hundred pounds to get the policies. In addition he had to pay further several hundreds to renew the policies on March 1 last They were whole life policies. Mr Meredith said that McKay and Talbot returned to Sydney from England on January 10 last. They arrived at Auckland by the Mariposa on February (i, live days after the premium on the Policy was really due and when the period of grace had begun. They were met, here by a man named Jones, wiio rented a double room. Mr Meredith next mentioned the death of Patrick Henry Shine, a returned soldier, who served with the Australian troops. He was a .smallish man, live feet seven inches in height. He died at the Auckland Hospital on February 0, two days after McKay and Talbot arrived. He died in a very emaciated slate. He had no natural teetli and after dealii the cavity of the mouth was packed with cotton wool. A death notice appeared in a newspaper on (he morning of Thursday. February 9. Towards mid-day, evidence would show, a stonemason at the Waikumele cemetery was approached by McKay, who asked where the “returned soldier" was to be buried. The portion of the cemetery whore he was buried was comparatively dose to the main road. The evidence would show that when young Shine, a sun of tlie dead man, was taking a wreath home on Thursday, the clay of the funeral, he nut McKay outside the house and McKay made inquiries about Shine’s teeth. The bach was taken on the night of Thursday, February 9. an advertisement of iiie funeral having appeared on Thursday morning and McKay had seen Shine, jun., shortly before the funeral on that day. Mr Meredith said that the bach at Pifia contained a garage, and evidence would show that. McKay and Talbot also rented a garage about a mile from the cemetery, It had no window. That night. Talbot fixed a new bolt to the garage. Next morning, the daughter of flu- owner of the garage looked through a crack in the garage door and noticed what looked like a bundle of sacking about five feet long and 18 inches or two feet ’nigh. It was stitched up. Mr Meredith described the movements of McKay and Talbot to and lyom the garage and the disappearance of the bundle. F.vidence would show, he said, that McKay had nine teeth extracted from his lower jaw and had no natural teeth in the (op. Destruction of Bach Describing the destruction of the bach at Piha. Mr Meredith said that ail who witnessed the lire would say that when they lii'.sl saw it, the lire was in one place—in the bedroom. When Talbot was running about calling lor assistance. the fire had not progressed very far. Some witnesses would say they could strongly smell kerosene. There was kerosene and benzine in the bach, but it was stored down below in a portion of the bach Which was not on lire.

Mr Meredith detailed Talbot’s statement to a constable concerning the loss of his friend, McKay. Talbot, said McKay had £2OO in Australian banknotes which had been destroyed and that he himself was left without a penny or clothing. Mr Meredith said that it would be shown that Talbot had lefl a good deal of clothing at a rented room in the city. In the debris of the fire was found a wire mattress with human bones on it, and a signet ring found which war. identified by Talbot as a ring worn by McKay. A further statement was taken Iroin Talbot later, in which he said lie had communicated witli McKay's relatives. On February 17. Talbot made a long statement to Detective-Sergeant Trethewov. Mr Noble; Will your Honour or my friend indicate that those statements by Talbot do not implicate McKay, who was not present when they were made. His Honour; They do not appear to he admissible as evidence against McKay. The jury will understand. Mr Meredith, that you are relating them simplv against Talbot. Mr Meredith agreed that this was so and read a statement which outlined Talbot's associations with McKay in Australia, their trip to England, the decision to come to New Zealand, the renting of the Piha bach and the subsequent fire. Analyst’s Tests The arrest of McKay was described by Mr Meredith, who then proceeded to describe tests made by the 'Government analyst with ashes and other debris from the Piha fire. He further indicated that Dr. Walter Gilmour, pathologist, would give evidence about the bones found at the fire, and his conclusion that a whole body had been burned. The doctor had also made the,

significant discovery that some partlyburned cotton wool was still adheimg to th. palate of the skull, indicating that what had been burnt m the fire was a dead body, which had been laid out for burial. Briefly outlining the charges, Mi Meredith said there was the fact that McKay was heavily insured. The proinium was due on February 1, and the policy lapsed unless a substantial sum of money was paid by March 1. ‘’These two men come to New Zealand,” continued Mr Meredith. “They hire a car. and they go to Piha and to Avondale, where they hire a garage in a side street near the Waikumete cemetery. McKay made inquiries from voung Shine about the condition of his father’s teeth. The body is exhumed in the night. The following afternoon they hired the garage. You have the evidence that they asked the owner of the garage if it would make anv difference what time they came in. They said they might be late. “After they left the garage there was no car and no bundles in the garage but a shovel and sack were left behind. It is definitely established that the clav found in the garage was similar to the clay which came fiom Shine's grave. There was the digging of the grave. The body was exhumed. “Then, after leaving the garage they aupear at Piha, where they are seen bv residents, '"hat night we have the fire, and from the time of that file McKay disappeared, and is not seen until he is found by the police wearing a beard He then says he is horn Rowlands.’ He has to be identified by someone from Australia. Some of (lie main acts have been done by McKay. and some by Talbot, Why is the garage hired? To drop something in, it will be alleged.” Motive Discussed It was quite clear, said Mr Meredith, that a dead body had been burned on that bed ••( Piha. Once the jury had come to the conclusion that the two accused removed the body from its grave, the question was what were thev going to do with it? It must be destroyed" or something done with it. A. person did not take a corpse out to Piha to recuperate with after having his teeth out. Shine's body was destroyed that night in the burning of the ‘house at Piha. Mr Meredith contended. It had to be destroyed. The next question was. could there be anv motive in this case. Motive might‘be found in the huge insurance policy which was going to be payable to someone on McKay's death. What object could there be in exhuming a bodv, committing arson, and destroying‘a bodv and then cabling immediately to Sydney information about a man's death? There must be the object of gain to someone. Referring to the conspiracy charge. Mr Meredith said that perhaps the intention to carry out the acts had been formulated in New South Wales, but conspiracy was the acting in concert or combination of two people to do something unlawful, and so long as that combination existed so also did conspiracy exist. Mr Noble rose to say he disagreed with the prosecutor's interpretation of conspiracy. His Honour said Mr Meredith was making submissions, and if his submissions turned out to be incorrect, Mr Noble would have an opportunity to draw attention to that fact. Mr Meredith closed his address at 2.50 p.m., when his Honour announced that ii had been deemed advisable for the jurv to visit the garage at Avondale' the bach at Piha, and the Waikumete cemeterv. That would be done this afternoon. The trial was then adjourned until 10 a.m. to-morrow.