Rain hampers detectives in search for murder rifle

Press, 13 August 1976, Page 1

Rain hampers detectives in search for murder rifle

Twenty-five detectives were last night hunting the killer of a Christchurch taxidriver who was found shot dead in his cab al Bromley early yesterday.

The dead man had been shot twice through the head at point-blank range with a .22 rifle or pistol. He was

Walter John Chisnail, aged 38, married, with three children, of 216 Condell Avenue, Papanui.

Extensive inquiries led the police to two houses in the city late last evening, but no arrest was made. A security guard found Mr Chisnall slumped on the front seat of his car in Wickham Street, near Dyers Road, about 4 a.m. yesterday.

Detectives believe he might have been shot and robbed in another part of the city, then driven to the industrial area where the car was found. One shot had been fired from behind Mr Chisnall, and one from in front. The Blue Star sign on the roof of the taxi had been broken, and one spent .22 calibre shell was recovered from the interior. Late last evening searchers found a coin holder from the taxi in a vacant yard off Wickham Street, but efforts to find the murder weapon drew a blank.

Mr Chisnall was last heard from at 11.37 p.m. on Wednesday, when he

was directed by radio to pick up a fare from a telephone booth at the corner of Bowhill Road and Tonks Street, North New Brighton.

The caller's destination was Hills Road — about five miles away across the city.

The. street where Mr ChisnaU’s car was found was well off the normal route, a taxi company spokesman said.

The car — a white 1976 Toyota Corona — was removed from Wickham Street by truck with the body of Mr Chisnall still inside.

Special equipment was used to dry the bloodsoaked interior so that it could be examined today by forensic scientists from Wellington and Christchurch.

The police were following several leads late last evening, said the officer in charge of the investigation (Detective Inspector N. J. Stokes). He said the 25 detectives on the case would continue working throughout the night. An arrest was unlikely before morning.

“A few items were found on the road near the car, but we have no weapon yet," Mr Stokes said. He said the police were

seeking information about persons seen near the Bowhill Road telephone box on Wednesday night, and about the movements of the taxi. Part of Wickham Street was cordoned off yesterday as more than 30 uniformed police and detectives — many of them recalled to duty — began searching an abandoned dump near where Mr Chisnall’s car was found.

They were hampered by rain as they hacked their way through the thick scrub which covers the area.

Electronic metal-seeking devices were virtually useless because of the large amount of scrap metal dumped there in the past, Mr Stokes said. He said the search for the weapon would continue today.

Mr Chisnall leaves his wife, Janet, and three children — Andrew, aged 13, Sarah, aged eight, and Michael.

Yesterday was Michael’s tenth birthday.

“I never thought this type of thing would happen." said Mrs Chisnall, who was being comforted by friends and neighbours at her home last evening.