A CHRISTCHURCH TRAGEDY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1048, 10 February 1911, Page 6

A CHRISTCHURCH TRAGEDY.

[ ,-WOMAN'S MYSTERIOUS DEATH, jj- ' J;- THE DETECTIVES AT" WORK. ' i »■;,' — '—. "■!' i'\ (By Telcgnpn-rrcsa' Association.) I ■.■:,■!,. Chrlttehurch,. February .9. J ' The' victim of tho-tragedy' which is ' assumed to havo taken plnco in.tho right- | off Cashcl Street yesterday, niornf been lidentitiod as' the. divorcod f wifo" of. a local resident, who, after obj < taming a decrco against her, husband, re- ■ aumed her maiden name of Ethel Brad- < ' ley. Sho was about S3 years of ago, and * belonged to LvtteUon. At tho timo of her. death sho was employed in a domostio ' capacity at tho residence .of Mr. G.. T. Weston,' Mcrivale, although sho had'only , been thero two or three- weeks. Sho was * seen by a nephew in Cashel, Street, near Bttllantynts. at ,flve. minutes ,to eight 1 o'clock on Tuesday night, and cheerfully , acknowledged his "good night." Next K morning, at ten minutes past seven her dead body was found in tho right-of-way, } the appearances suggesting that, it had been dragged by the neck to the place 1 whero it was discovered. The post mortem iciealcd the fact.that the stomach con- ! tained poison of..somo description. Ino | victim comes of an old and highly-resspoct-cd. J/Utclton family, and she his two ' brothers, both occupying responsible mcr- ; " cantilu positions in this •cfty.-^JShe a i*> \ ' has a <=Wer. Her parents are both dead. t What is creating considerable discus- \ 6iun is whether the mark on the ground extending for thirteen feet -from tho 1 woman's head was caused by her being ! . dragged or not. In support of tho theory t * that sho was dragged are the. abrasions r on her face and under her jaw. ilr. V Svmes informed a reporter this morning I that tho marks on her -'neck and under I her jaw nro undoubtedly abrasions. .It \ might bo mentioned that,tho marks are f all on one side of the face. . I - Tho "police theory'is that'tho woman f took pcW hwwlf, and that some other •' petwn with her, in all, -probfWfr a mule, frightened and oxcitwl nt the deed, T . bad com eyed her to .tho spot where she 'was. found. 'The police, state that the I body was certainly not in the right-of-way y at 2 a.m., and that it must have been | placed there, probably after hfe ; was exu i tinct at i a.m. ■ • ' Relatives of tho young woman who were pern bv ri renortor, however, stoutly expressed the opinion that the.girl had been murdered. Thev state, that sho had ncrer g»en tho slightest indication, of ' being depressed or about to take her life, and had actually arranged to go with ono l of her brothers to tho theatre on wednesr day night..-Asked if the deceased had f any attachment, tho relatives replied 1 that they had their suspicions,-and gave details which, for,obvious reasons, can-

not be mentioned at this juncture. - . . Another accmointance of the deceased ': ; » doscribes her as of .comely appearance. ■ but says/that she was ever of a. morbid - 'and sulky nature, and confided very little to her relatives and friends, isno had for' some tirao ,bcen acting as liousekoopor to various residents in;the. city, and had only occupied her last position 4 about three weeks. , She was leaving today. Her employer first missed her yesterday morning. Her movements-are not known on Tuesday ' evening, tho last person known to have seen her .being ner nephew, who saw her at 7.55 p.m. . Tho local polico ' detective ■. force is [ bu«ilv investigating the circumstances ,' surrounding the case, much good work ' having already been done, particularly by Detectives Eade and Gibson, and it ' is probable that moro light will.be let 1 into the whole.matter in .a day or two. The woman's.hat is missing. It is_a 1 black one trimmed ,with ribbon. Its s - discovery might afford a clue., \ E The scene bf the affair proved.a powerful attraction for tho morbid-minded to-; I day, largo numbers of persons visiting the i line. Two men who wero : seen by a t constable in Cashelj Street no great dis-" ' f tanco from the scene of tho tragedy at > about I* a.m. yesterday, were taken to the Police Station this morning, and closely' interrogated, but were not further de-, talncd in connection with, tbo matter. • Tho man from whom deceased obtained a divorco is named John Farr'ant, and ' v is' employed as a steward on a steamer. •/. ' t The inquest_ has been . fixed • for toj * morrow morning. . ....'■. i "'lt' is "understood, that, the result of.the > , analysis of tho 6tomach of tho victim wfll i not'bo read.Vvfor tho inquest to-morrow. I and that so' far. the analyst lfas not found \ any traces of poison, but this is not final as it' i<s a'tedious process that has to be 1 followed "before, such" traces can-be dei tected. ~..., ', . .'•,.;. • :.., : - :'■',■.. ' ■'■, .. ' ...'■■'■ '•*.