SUICIDE IN GAOL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1009, 27 December 1910, Page 4

SUICIDE IN GAOL.

5 . END OF A CLEVER CRIMINALS FEARED THE COMING SENTENCE. INTERESTING LETTERS. Christmas Day at the Terrace Gaol was clouded by tho discovery that one or the occupants of the cells had. taken his own. life dining the previous night. It appears that Warder Parkes, when making the round of the cells at 8 a.m. on Christmas morning unlocked the cell of a man liamed Bernard Alfred Gilford, and was shocked to see the lifeless .body of the' man hanging.by a rope from a ventilator in the ceiling. The matter was at once, reported, and Dr. Gilmer summoned, but he could only state that life was extinct Gilford was a married man, 41 years* of age, and his wife is believed to re'side in Australia. He was born in Dunedin.Jiut subsequently lived for a'great: many years in Australia before returning' to the Dominion. While on the other side, he got into trouble on more than.; one occasion, and served sentences of im-> prisonment. Some time after arriving in.''! •New Zealand, and after being employed i by the Wellington Gas Company, he wss> tried and sentenced to six years' im- i prisonment off thirteen charges of theft, •' breaking and entering, etc., and it waa 1 on January 31 last that he was. discharged. Since then he had been residing in Weilington, and, on December 13, as a result of certain thefts reported, a warrant was issued for his arrest. It was a full week, however, before the detectives effected his arrest, although on several occasions they had him in sight and pursued him. • Fear tures of his tactics were promiscuous drops from upper story windows, and his •unceremonious invasions into, dwelling, houses—in the front and out the backdoor—usually at the -end of fifty-yard dashes. On one occasion the police" actually, surrounded a house in which they suspected their man to be in, and antici- ■ pations of., a capture were strengthened when they noticed him make a surreptitious peep out of an upstairs window. But once again Gifford got clear away. He was eventually arrested near the G.P.0., about 5 minutes to 8 o'clock on the evening of Tuesday last, and at tho time he was wearing a false moustache and a pair, of spectacles. On Wednesday morning he was before the court, and was. remanded'until .Thursday next. Bjb was granted bail, but did not find the sureties and was detained in the Terrace Gaol. On Saturday evening he was locked'up at the usual time, and was last seen alive at 8 o'clock that night, when it is stated he was in bed. It is surmised that he afterwards got up, dressed himself, and took his life. It is not quite clear how he fastened the rope to the ventilator in the ceiling, which is some ■ 10ft. from the floor, but a ttieory is, that he had climbed on to a sheji in one corner of the room, and, while holding. with one hand to the bars of a small window there, had fixed the.rope with the other nand to the ventilator • about 4ft. away. He m,ust have then placed his pillow on ; the, stool, and, after fastening a. running noose to his neck, had kicked .the stool away, the stool and pillow being found close by. In the new wing of .the building the; stools were fixed to the wall of the cells, but Gifford was in the old wing, where the stools aro-not so fixed. Two letters were found on the' body, , both written in ink, on toilet paper. One of these was to; Mrs. —-, his housekeeper,. stating that he intended to take his life as he felt that he could not undergo the confinement that was pr6bably awaiting hini> _ He had carefully considered the question, and had been unable to arrive at any satisfactory conclusion as, to the cause of his committing the offences, as. he never attempted to dispose of,any of the goods ho "had taken. He stated, further, that he had no grudge against the detectives,'; who; liad merely done their duty, and confessed to being well treated by the prison authorities. Tho second letter was to a firm of ' lawyers, and purported to he a : will. He. requested the firm to see. that, any .property and money he.had .should, pass to . Mrs. - : —, his housekeeper. THE INQUEST. ' .The City Coroner (Dr. A. M'Arthur) held an inquest on Sunday, into the circumstances surrounding the man's death.. Dr. Gilmer stated that when summoned to attend deceased at the gaol, deceased had, been dead some time, and a 'deep depression of a rope- was round his neck. Death was due to strangulation. Sidney Georgo Millington, gaoler,' said ho received deceased on December 21 on remand till December 28. Witness last saw him alive at 11 o'clock on Christmas Eve in the trial yard. William James Parkes, warder, was orderly officer, and visited the night Watch, during the night at 11 p.m. and i a.m., but saw nothing unusual. Witness- found deceased hanging at 8.5 a.m. The rope he was hanging by was his hammock rope. Michael Keener, principal-warder, said he had the body, cut ..down as soon as the hanging was reported to him. The body was then rigid and pulseless, an,d the man had apparently been dead some time. .Witness had noticed nothing unusual in the man's manner on Saturday. He made no application for anything. About 3 .o'clock'on Saturday he was. visited by a female ' friend, and witness ndticed nothing the matter with him when placing him "back in the yard after the visit. Samuel John Attonborrow and Robert Temple Brown, who were on night duty, deposed to hearing nothing unusual during the night. .. William Thomas Leggett, prison clerk, visited deceased's cell at 8.15 a.m., and . found two letters on the .body—one to a firm of solicitors and oni). to his housekeeper (letters nroduced). ■ " " . Alfred Hammond, detective, Wellington, said he arrested deceased on December 20. He was then disguised. They had been searching for him for about a. week. There were about twenty charges of theft nending against him, three of breaking and entering and theft, and one of arson. He was discharged from gaol on January. 31 last, after serving a sentence of six. years. . A verdict of suicide by hanging was returned. A CLE PER CRIMINAL. Giftord was regarded by the local detective force as a clever, cool, and daring orirainal, but not a. man likely to resort to firearms. He was a- plumber by occupation, and was looked upon as an expert tradesman. He had announccd his intention of starting in business in Epuni Street (where he haa resided), and one of his cards contained the words "three years. plumber to the Victorian Government." He was sft. lira, iu height, and of athletic build. In ma youth he was-known as a good runner and a swimmer of no mean calibre, while in later years he figured in the cricket field. Well educated and well spoken, he was known to the gaol authorities as a good,' worker and a prisoner that gave ho trouble. ■ For the offences for whjch he received six years' gaol, the police, formed the opinion that in many cases he climbed to the upper storys of build-, ings w;hile the inmates were at meals below. In connection with the charges that were pending.against him, tectives had either found the stolen pro-, petty in his possession or traced it to his possession. The charge of alleged . arson was in connection with, the recent destruction of a house occupied by Mr. Hill in Wallaco Street. The detectivea ascertained that Jlrs. Hill left the housewith her husband's dinner at 11.10 a.m., and the alarm was given after midday. Gifford had been seen at the corner of Hanson and John Streets after 11.30 a.m., and two. gold watches that had been in the house were found on him, whileother jewellery was traced to his possession. The fire was believed to have originated near the gas meter. This led to the theory that Gift'ord may have seen Mrs. Hill leave home, and then entered the. house and after taking sundry articles, tampered with the lead pipe near the.gag, meter. ,