GUILTY OF MURDER

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26265, 9 November 1950, Page 3

GUILTY OF MURDER

Hannan’s Trial Ends VERDICT AFTER 17 MINUTES

(Hew Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, November 8.

The Chief Justice (Sir Humphrev O’Leary) to-day sentenced Uo Sylvester Hannan, aged 50, * labourer, to life imprisonment uilh hard labour for the murder of Frederick Andrew Stade. The tore brought in a verdict of guilty after a retirement of 17 minutes. The body of Stade, a nightwatchman at the Wellington Railway station, was found at the station soon alter 1.18 a.m. on August 10

Asked if he had anything to say Hannan said: “It’s not much use saying anything, your Worship.” His Honour said: "I’m afraid it isn’t in the state of the law at the present time.’’

Saying that there was only one penalty for murder as the law stood. Sir Humphrey O’Leary then sentenced Hannan. He added“ln my opinion this was a particularly cruel and vicious killing of this man. ’ When the prisoner had been removed. his Honour thanked Mr G I Joseph, defence counsel, for taking the assignment to defend the prisoner Mr Joseph, he said, had been assigned to the case by the Court. It was always helpful to the Court if a prisoner was defended, and skilfully defended, as he was by this counsel.

The thanks of the community, his Honour said, were due to the police authorities for the speed of their investigations and the skill and care with which they had presented the case. The community was very fortunate in having such competent and efficient officers.

The members of the jury were excused jury service for five years ' Mr W. H. Cunningham was the Crown Prosecutor, with him Mr W. R Birks. With Mr Joseph for the defence was Mr D. S. Costle. Evidence by Dr. Phillip Patrick Lynch, pathologist, was given for the Crown when the trial resumed to-day. Dr. Lynch said he was at the police station when Hannan was examined about 4.45 a m. He saw spots of blood on Hannan s face. They appeared to have been caused by a fine shower of blood. He also noticed w-hat appeared to be a bloodstain on Hannan’s hatband. More bloodspots were found on Hannans coat, trousers, and shoes There was a small piece of hairy scalp on the right trouser leg. Examination of Hannan’s clothes revealed bloodstains and on the shoes a small piece of “fat" mixed with blood. Tests showed the stains to be human blood. He did not attempt to “type’’ or "group” the bloodstains They were not suitable for such axamination, said Dr. Lynch. Dr. Lynch said examination of the iron pipe had shown that in the concavity of the curve in the bar there was a brownish-red stain. He had scraped off a portion of the brown material, and in it there were scales of skin and human blood. He believed that whoever attacked Stade must have had blood on his shoes and trouser legs.

__ T Defence Case Opens Mr Joseph, opening the case for the defence, said the evidence called on behalf of Hannan would show that the wrong man was in the dock. The first witness called for the defence. John Eric Norman Cook, principal warder at the Mount Crawford prison, said that Hannan weighed lOst 41b and his height was sft 64in. Grant Leo Gascoine. a law clerk said that he was sft 6.‘,in tall. It took him 16 minutes to walk from the Hot Dog Cafe in Parish street to the railway station at a faster than average pace.

William James Percy, a radio technician, said he occupied a room next to the washhouse at 1 Vivian street. At 2 o’clock on the morping of August 10 he heard a noise in the laundrv thefe He saw e man with one foot in the bath. The copper and califont were going. The man. Price, wore a Hue overall suit. Next morning there ras clothing, including pants and turts. on the line. He could not sav ifthere were over-garments. Price was fcnping. He was using a stick when the witness last saw him. Frank Cecil Ford, of the Wellington gas works, said he engaged a man named Price as a handyman in June. Price got in the habit of bringing his washing in and putting it on the lunch table. One day he was asked to take it off. He got in a temper and picked up a chair with the intention of hitting the man over the head, but did not do so. He limped on a stick when he left the gasworks. Hilton Frederick Ewart, a waiter and cook at the Hot Dog Cafe, said that the accused came into the cafe at 12.50 am. on August 10. The witness served him three to five minutes after he arrived. He was not carrying anything. The witness had mentioned to Hannan mat Hannan had a dirty face. It took Hannan about 10 minutes to eat his meal.

Witness Cross-Examined Cross-examined by Mr Cunningham, the witness said that he first volunteered the evidence this month. Hannan was a customer in 1947, but the witness knew him only as "Bluey.” He did not look at the clock when Hannan came in. but he knew the time because he worked to a routine. Hannan would have left at 1 a.m. or a little "ter. The witness admitted that he had had several convictions for dishonesty over the last 15 years. Re-examined by Mr Joseph, the witjess said that nothing had been offered to him for giving evidence, and he had told the truth. Three witnesses were recalled at the tequest of the jury to ask how they had fixed the times they were at the Jation. Thomas Eric Forde said that he looked at the concourse clock at I «a.m. when he entered the station. Alfred Alexander Beatty said that the Jtock showed 1.12 a.m. when he entered. John O’Connell, driver of the 115 a.m. train to Johnsonville, was ’tefinite that it was 1.9 a.m. by a clock when he saw Stade talking to another man.

This ended the evidence. Mr Joseph said that if O’Connell heard a man about sft lOin tall having Jn argument with Stade at 1.9 a.m. JJtte must have been two men on the [tetion between 1 a.m. and 1.20 a.m. JJte killed Stade, but it was not Jtennan. because he was not on the at 1.9 a.m. Hannan’s action in speaking to a constable on the wharf was not that ■Jjjmurderer. His attitude when ques“°ned was that of a man upset at the that he committed a murMr Joseph suggested that Dr. Lynch ; L into a trap in thinking that havSgot a man at 4 o'clock with what PPeared to be blood on his clothes was the man they wanted. Thereter inquiries, if they did not cease, £T eas ed considerably. Crnn? re L Was an absence of motive. The Hant n . suggested none. To blame it must show he was at the ted o, w hen the crime was commitin Blood on Hannan’s face, the abon °* blood on his scarf, and spots hkj? trouser s were consistent with 3 «ceuing nose. Sum™ Jnd ? e Sums Up t^„r2 I P£. u P- his Honour referred to said of Ewart’s evidence, and *av nr ' Crown was entitled to J? a man who had offended that to a a re hable witness. The case hantiLi ? -j Xenl depended on circumneceiara Vld D nce - but this fact did not There y detract from its weight, that iHir no motive - but it was known ng was often wanton and Free’s evidence of seewhen the train left and of c. e } l<ience that he saw a said a at 1 9 a.m.. his Honour another „ Possible that there was Ulan. Mby d,.*?, tllat the Crown s case was S’! a’ddery.i . srn of Us evidence and * discing of . an alibi - An al ‘bi should * least inth„ a , an ear b’ opportunity. ’WWunptv h f ® 10wer . Co,lrt - ‘o give an X tor inquiries to be made.