Preliminary Hearing Of Manslaughter Charge

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30939, 21 December 1965, Page 3

Preliminary Hearing Of Manslaughter Charge

(New Zealand Preet Aeeodation) INVERCARGILL, December 20. Nine witnesses were called by the prosecution today at the lower Court hearing of a charge of manslaughter against Barry Gordon Grant, aged 26, an Australian.

The hearing is before Mr W. M. Willis, S.M., in the Invercargill Magistrate’s Court. Grant is charged with the manslaughter of Terence James Burnett Ryley in Esk street, Invercargill, on November 21.

Four more witnesses will be called by the prosecution tomorrow morning. Mr P. M. Galt, of Invercargill, is appearing for Grant. Detective-Ser-geant E. R. Tyson is prosecuting. Terence David Allen, aged 22, a workman, of Blenheim, said he knew the accused, Barry Gordon Grant, as Barry Taylor when they were both working for Morrison-Downer-Fletcher at West Arm. On Friday, November 19, they came out from West Arm and went for a trip round Central Otago. They went to Invercargill and left again, but returned the following day, Saturday, when they booked into the Don Lodge Motels. The witness and accused went to the Cecil Hotel for a few beers and left at 6 p,m. for the Las Vegas. They stayed there about five hours except for about 30 minutes about 8.30 or 9 o’clock. They drank beer, champagne and wine. While they were in the restaurant they talked, drank and had a couple of dances, the witness said. They left the restaurant after they were approached by “certain people” who started arguing. Witness could not remember what the argument was about

Allen said the argument terminated when he and the accused were asked by the waiters to leave. Witness said he

backed the car out of the park, and saw that the three men they had been arguing with were standing on the footpath. “Apparently they said something and we got out of the car and approached them. They started fighting. There were five of us fighting—accused, myself and two other people with the deceased." The fight started on the footpath, Allen said. He did not remember who he was fighting. His white shirt was ripped and his coat pulled off. “I remember a voice yelling out that the cops were coming. We started for the car and I went back for my suit coat, then we drove back to the motel." His wallet, containing £l5 and the key to his motel room, was missing, Allen said. Dr. M. A. Menzies, attached to the neurosurgical unit at the Dunedin Public Hospital, said the deceased was admitted at 2.30 p.m. on November 21. He died while still deeply unconscious. No treatment was given, Dr. Menzies said. Dr E. F. d’Ath, a Dunedin pathologist, said he examined Ryley’s body on November 22. It was, his opinion that deceased died from a sub-dural hemorrhage, and a hemorrhage of the brain stem consistent with a heavy fall on the back of the head.

Dr. d’Ath said blood, urine and stomach content samples of the dead man were sent to the Government Analyst. No alcohol could be detected in the blood. There was .015 per cent of alcohol in the urine and .19 per cent of alcohol in the stomach content. Maureen Ellen McDougall, of Invercargill, a hostess and waitress at the Las Vegas Restaurant, said that Allen and accused had booked in for dinner on November 20. She said Allen and the accused had had meals at the restaurant up to half a dozen times before November 20. She knew the accused as Barry. There were three tables between the Ryley brothers and Allen and the accused. Two or three times in the evening she had had occasion to check the Ryley group on their language, the witness said. Later in the evening the five men were standing about a table arguing and she tried to make them all sit back at their tables. She did not know what they were arguing about. Witness said one of the Ryley group threw a punch which hit her on the shoulder. She thought it was aimed at the accused, who was behind her.

When she got them back to their tables, she asked accused and Allen to leave, witness said. This was because they appeared to be more sober than the others and she could talk to them, whereas the Ryley group was argumentative.

Allen and the accused agreed to leave and witness accompanied them down the stairs. They got into their car and drove away, witness said. She then went upstairs and stood beside the Ryley’s table. It was between 11.45 p.m. and

midnight. “I asked the wine waiter to clear the tables then and the Ryleys went out.’ She thought it would be five or 10 minutes after Allen and the accused left.

Witness followed the Ryley party down the stairs. She was with some people who had been sitting at another table. When she reached the path she saw two Ryleys trying to put another in a rubbish tin. A black car pulled up and accused and Allen jumped out. They ran along the street to the Ryley party. The Ryleys turned round and everyone started throwing punches. The five men broke into two groups, two Ryleys fighting Allen and the other Ryley fighting the accused. Ryley had the accused on the ground, then Ryley was

on the ground with accused on top of him, witness said. Accused was punching Ryley’s face and chest and after a few minutes the witness called out that the police were coming in the hope of breaking up the fight, Allen and the accused ran to their car and drove away. The witness then went to Ryley, who was lying on the ground. He had heaved himself up on one elbow, but he collapsed again. She knelt beside him and said “take it easy.” the witness said. She could see that he was. unconscious. James Michael Ryley, aged 21 brother of the dead man. said that on November 20 he went to the races at Invercargill with his brothers Terry and Patrick. Later, at the Las Vegas, witness saw some friends at another table and sat with them. His brothers joined him later. Witness said he “wasn’t very sober” at the time. He could not remember anything of subsequent events.