Wild Scuffle For Seats At Bradley Trial

Press, Volume C, Issue 29469, 22 March 1961, Page 15

Wild Scuffle For Seats At Bradley Trial

(Rec. 10 p.m.) SYDNEY, March 21. A wild scuffle developed at the Central Criminal Court this afternoon before the resumption of the Bradley trial after the lunch break.

About 130 persons mainly women, tried to push past four policemen and Court officials to get into a public gallery, but by the time 70 were inside, the gallery was full. People yelled abuse when officials would not let more in. This morning, people began queueing before 7 a.m„ but there were no disturbances because Court officials opened the doors early to avoid a last-minute rush, Graeme Thorne’s mother, Mrs Freda Thorne, several times broke down and sobbed during the trial today—the second day of the trial of Stephen Leslie Bradley, aged 36, on a charge of having murdered eight-year-old Graeme on or about July 7. The prosecution has claimed that clues that came to light when Graeme’s body was found pointed to Bradley as his kidnapper. The boy disappeared on July 7, a few minutes after leaving home on his way to school. His father earlier had won £lOO.OOO in a lottery. Sergeant Lawrence Thomas O'Shea, of the Bondi police, said that at 9.25 a.m. on July 7. he went to the Thornes’ home. Mrs Thorne and three other women were standing in the doorway. Telephone Conversation While he was speaking to Mrs Thorne, the telephone rang. Mrs Thorne picked up the receiver and, after listening for a few seconds, handed it to him. ' Sergeant O’Shea said a male voice, with a slight foreign accent, said: "Who's that?” “I replied: T am her husband.’ The voice then said: ‘I have got your son. I want £25,000 cash before 5 o’clock this afternoon’.” Sergeant O’Shea said he replied: "How am I going to get that much money?” The voice said: "You have plenty of time before 5 o’clock. I'm not fooling. If I don’t get the money before 5 o’clock. I’ll feed the boy to the sharks.” Sergeant O'Shea said he asked the map how he would get in touch with him and

plenty of time before 5 o’clock. I'm not fooling. If I don’t get the money before 5 o’clock. I’ll feed the boy to the sharks.”

Sergeant O'Shea said he asked the map how he would get in touch with him and

y was told: ‘Til contact you.” it As Sergeant O’Shea was ■t giving evidence, Mrs Thorne, c sitting in the Court, began to 0 sob. She was comforted by s her husband. ® ‘‘Put Money In Bags” Detective-Sergeant David Valentine Pauli, also of . Bondi, said he was at the ’ Thornes’ home on July 7 " when the telephone rang at ® 9.47 p.m. D "I said *hello’ and a male voice said: ‘ls that Mr ’• Thorne?',” the witness said 1 “I said ■yes.’ He said: 'Have - you got the money’.” “I replied ‘yes’ and the 1 voice said: 'Put it in two ’, paper bags’.” Detective-Sergeant Pauli i said he told the person to wait a minute, as he wanted s to write the instructions e down and not to make any y mistakes. The person said - something indistinguishable and the telephone was hung i UPr Other witnesses told of a finding Graeme Thome’s r school case behind a monu- _ ment on the Wakehurst parkway in French’s Forest. As a g police witness was identify- . ing the case. Mrs Thorne y stood up to get a better view ,■ She then sat down and imB mediately began to sob. S Finding of Body David Wall, a company representative, of Seaforth. „ said he went to the vacant e block of land opposite his p home at 7 p.m. on August 16. . He had to strike matches be- . cause it was very dark and under the overhang of rock B he saw a bundle. It was a t rug tied by two comers. The g knots were very tight, and he could not undo them until - after several attempts, whilst > striking matches to see. t A neighbour. Hector k Coughlan. arrived with a torch. He was then able to undo the knots and unfold o the rug in three definite movements. e Wall said after the first 5 fold he could still not estabI lish what was in the bundle, e but after the top section was y unfolded he saw what appeared to be hair. After e unfolding the bottom section, j he saw an arm, a pair of i grey shorts and part of a leg.

“I pushed my son back to prevent him seeing more. I told Mr Coughlan it was a boy’s body,” Wall said.

Cause of Death

A Government medical officer. Dr. Clarence Ernest Percy, said he saw Graeme Thome’s body on the vacant block at Seaforth on the night of August 16. He had not made a detailed examination at that time, but on the following day, with an assistant. Dr. Laing, he made a full post-mortem examination.

The body, which was In an advanced stage of decomposition, was fully clothed, with the exception of the right shoe. There was a scarf tied around the neck, with the knot under the right jaw. The ankles were tied together with string. There was a patch of abrasion on the right side of the neck, a wound upon the back of the head, with an underlying fracture of the skull, and bruising at the back of the skull. The lungs and upper ear passages showed scattered surface haemorrhages.

Dr. Percy said he considered death had been due to the head injury or asphyxia. or a combination of both. “Good Force Needed’’

He told Mr Knight a boy of Graeme’s age had “rather springy bones in the skull ” A “good force” would be necessary to cause such a fracture.

He said the haemorrhages which indicated asphyxia were dotted on the surface of the lung and the upper ear passages. The haemorrhages occurring about the larynx indicated to him asphyxia "by some mechanical obstruction.” This could mean “throttling, covering of the mouth or blockage of the upper air passages.” He would not expect asphyxia of this type to be due to a confined space. Neville Atkins Browne, an advertising executive, of 4# Osborne road. Manly, said he went to live at his present address on July 30. He had an upstairs flat and. at that time, the Bradleys were living in the downstairs one. They had a dark blue Pord sedan and yellow Goggomobil. On September 25, in the three Sydney Sunday newspapers, he saw a description of a 1955 blue Ford, and a description of a man. He went to the front window of the flat with a newspaper in his hand to compare the description with Bradley’s Ford, but it was not there and he had not seen it since. Film Found Browne said that on October 9 he was looking around the outside of the flats when he found eight pieces of 35 mm. film, directly below a window of Bradley's apartment, and behind a bush. He recognised Bradley and his wife on the film. Browne told Mr Knight he telephoned the Bondi detectives and told them of the find. George Wittman, a guesthouse proprietor, said he was married to Mrs Bradley in Hungary, in 1943. They had a son named Peter, and migrated to Australia in 1949. They lived in Melbourne until 1956 when he (Wittman) came to Sydney alone. Soon afterwards, he divorced Mrs Bradley. Rug Recalled Wittman said that before his divorce, he knew Bradley. The Bradleys, in 1955, had a child named Robert. A friend of the Bradley family named Fogel gave the Bradleys a blanket, as a present, to celebrate the event. Wittman said Mr and Mrs Bradley later came to Sydney themselves to live. A rug (produced) was similar in pattern and colouring to that given to the Bradleys by Fogel. He last saw it in the children’s room at the Waverley home. The Bradleys moved to Katoomba and then to Clontarf, he added. He could not remember seeing the rug at their Clontarf home. The hearing continues tomorrow.