STEWARD'S DEATH Police Evidence Of Inquiries In Ship

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30364, 13 February 1964, Page 14

STEWARD'S DEATH Police Evidence Of Inquiries In Ship

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, February 12.

Evidence by an acting-superintendent of the Fiji Police was heard in the Magistrate’s Court at Wellington today in a charge of murder on the high seas preferred against John Vincent, aged 20, a deckhand on the New Zealand Star.

Vincent is charged with the murder of the vessel’s chief steward, David Alan Rowe, between Panama and Christmas Island, on New Year’s Day.

Mr R. D. Jamieson, S.M., was on the Bench.

William Wallace Thomas Caldwell, of the Fiji Police, said that as a result of a cable from the master of the New Zealand Star on January 14 he boarded the ship with a police inspector at Suva on January 23. On the vessel were 12 passengers and a crew of 68. including the master. All the passengers and crew were interviewed. In Rowe’s cabin there were small splashes of what looked like blood on the deck head and wall above his bunk.

He searched the cabin Vincent shared with Martin George Willis and found three radios and a taperecorder. There was an aerial leading from one radio. On January 22 he interviewed Vincent at the police station in Suva. “Violent Denial” Caldwell said Vincent, after the interview, said he was prepared, to sigh the notes if they were put into proper statement form and on the way from Suva .to Napier was handed a typed statement, which he signed. Caldwell said that when he asked Vincent if he was a homosexual, Vincent became agitated and thumped his desk while making a denial. Vincent said he was not a homosexual. Re hated them.

Caldwell said he put it to Vincent that the reason he hated Rowe was because Rowe had had homosexual relations with him.

“He did nothing to me. Re might have tried, but I told him to cut it out and he left me alone,” Vincent had said. Vincent had said he left a crew party about 10.45 p.m. on New Year’s Day to go up to the funnel to look fot some more aerial for Willis’

radio. He denied he had earlier told the captain he had not left the party. Vincent had said Willis had discussed getting more aerial with him. He had gone for the aerial at night because he would get into trouble for taking an aerial wire. He did not find any that night.

Vincent had told a detective he could not recall telling a seaman who had accused him of the murder to be careful. He said he had not been to Rowe’s cabin on January 1 or any day after that except when “sitting down" outside the cabin. Remark to Crew

Vincent had denied he had ever told other members of the crew that, “the killer would not strike again because the person who had committed the murder had got what was in him out and fettled the score.”

On January 28 at Napier, Caldwell said, he had taken a statement from a seaman on the ship, Melvyne Morgan.

Next morning he told Vincent that he understood Vincent had admitted to Detective Inspector A. B. Tate that he had told Morgan he “filled in and killed" Rowe. Vincent denied he meant what he had said. Vincent admitted saying it, but said he had just been pretending to be a “big shot.” The hearing was adjourned till February 18.