MAN AND WIFE FOUND DEAD

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25179, 9 May 1947, Page 6

MAN AND WIFE FOUND DEAD

AUCKLAND TRAGEDY POLICE BREAK INTO HOUSE (P.A.) AUCKLAND, May 8. Two days after they were last seen by neighbours, an elderly man and his wife were discovered dead in a locked house at 37 Epsom avenue, Epsom, to-night. The woman had died in her bed from severe head injuries, and her husband was found hanging from a rafter in a nearby washhouse. Th® victims were: Mrs Rosalie Ida Hall, aged 51. William Edward Hail, aged 65, a retired farmer. Relatives . of Mrs Hall became alarmed to-day at not hearing from the couple for some days. When they visited the house they found the doors locked and, concerned at the apparent and unexpected absence of Mr and Mrs Hall, they informed the family’s solicitor. He advised the Newmarket police, and early to-night Senior-Sergeant F. C. Harrison went with relatives of Mr and Mrs Hall to the house. After smashing a window Sergeant Harrison' entered the dwelling and discovered the bodies. There was no disorder nor any sign of a struggle. A search 'of the fiveroomed bungalow revealed the body of Mr Hall in the washhouse which opened off the back porch of the house adjoining the kitchen. Fully clothed except for his boots he was hanging from a rope, secured to a rafter 12 feet above the floor. An axe rested against the table. Before his retirement, Mr Hall was a farmer in the Matamata district. He was married to Mrs Hall about 10 years ago when they took up residence in Epsom avenue. There were no children of the marriage; but Mrs Hall is survived by a son and a daughter of an earlier marriage..