Accused For Trial On Murder Charge

Press, Volume C, Issue 29421, 25 January 1961, Page 14

Accused For Trial On Murder Charge

lAew Zealand Press Association;

WELLINGTON, Jan. 24. William Potae Aspinall, aged 40, a shearing contractor (Mr R. Stacey) was today committed to the Supreme Court for trial on a charge of murdering his cousin. Henry Hokiora Dewes, at Wellington on December 23. At the preliminary hearing in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court before Mr M. B. Scully. S.M., Dolly Dora Dewes, a widow, of Christchurch, said that the dead man was the brother of her late husband. For the six months before Christmas she lived in Christchurch with Dewes. Just before Christmas she visited the mother of Dewes and then arrived in Wellington on December 22. She was invited with Dewes to stay with the Aspinalls for a day or two. Dewes was related to Aspinall. On the following day about 5 p.m. she and Dewes went ito the Western Park Hotel 'where Aspinall joined them about 5.30 p.m. The three of them left a few r minutes after 6 p.m. and took back to Aspinall’s flat four flagons. Dewes had had too much to drink but Aspinall “wasn’t bad.” The witness said the men had no more to drink at Aspinall’s. Told of Death She later went to bed. leaving the men in the livingroom and was subsequently woken by Aspinall who said her brother-in-law was dead. She went into the livingroom and found him lying on his back. There was a bruise on his face and blood was on the floor. Aspinall and his wife were in the room. She had not heard Aspinall and Dewes arguing before she went to the bedroom. To Mr Stacey the witness said that Dewes was very powerfully built and at times behaved violently, particularly when he had had drink. Frank Yokarty, a bus driver. said he attended a party in Aspinall’s flat on December 23. Dewes was “full” and •happy.” There was some pushing between Dewes and Aspinall, and Dewes was lying on the floor but apparently unhurt when the witness left. When the witness returned an hour later he found Dewes lying dead near the fireplace Ruston Charles McGill, an ambulance driver, said he was called to the flat. Both the accused and the previous witness said there had been a fight, and he arranged for the police and a doctor to be called. Dewes was on tne

floor, and he could detect no pulse or breathing. Detective Constable J. W. Stuart produced a statement which he said Aspinall made at the C. 1.8. office. The statement said Dewes was “as full as a bull.” became argumentative. and started hitting Mrs Aspinall. There was later an exchange of blows and Dewes fell and hit his head against the fireplace. “I gave him several • blows round the face. He was unconscious. but knowing Henry as I do I decided to make a job of him, otherwise he would have slaughtered us. Looking back on it now I am sure Henry died when he fell and smashed his head.” the statement said. Phillip Patrick Lynch. a pathologist, who made a postmortem examination, said he attributed death to repeated heavy blows on Dewes's mouth, face, and forehead. The immediate cause of death was a subdural hemorrhage, accompanied by a considerable element of shock. Dewes was in an advanced state of intoxication when he died. It was possible an old injury had contributed towards the hemorrhage.