NO TRACE OF LA MATTINA
Disappearance “Baffling”
(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, April 12. The disappearance of Angelo Antonio La Mattina, aged 26, from the Auckland prison, has completely baffled police and prison authorities.
Mattina, an Italian, is serving a life sentence for murdering another Italian in Wellington in 1957. He was missed at the gaol yesterday morning, and there has been no trace of him since.
“It is quite a mystery,” a senior prisons officer said today. Police and detectives unsuccessfully investigated a number of suspected sightings during the day. “All reports are being checked,” the search director (Inspector Norman Thompson) said. All buses, trains and outgoing traffic were being watched. The delay in establishing that La Mattina was in fact missing is the subject of a Justice Department investigation. The Inspector of Prisons (Mr I. J. D. Mackay) confirmed that he was sent to Auckland to find out why it took nearly four hours to find that La Mattina was absent.
Mr Mackay is also investigating security in the prison. It was not until the prisoners who caused last night’s disturbance returned to their cells this morning that policemen and prison warders were satisfied that La Mattina had escaped from the gaol.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19600413.2.111
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29179, 13 April 1960, Page 16
Word Count
204NO TRACE OF LA MATTINA Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29179, 13 April 1960, Page 16
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.