EXTRAORDINARY CASE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3096, 29 May 1917, Page 6

EXTRAORDINARY CASE

CHARGES OF MANSLAUGHTER

EIGHT MAORIS ON TRIAL By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, May 28. The trial of eight Maoris—tive men three women—on charges of man--1 slaughter arising out of the death of a joung Native at Victoria Valley, near Jvaitaia, in August, 1913, commenced at the Supreme Court to-day. The male accused- are Eru Patuone Aperahama (father. of the. deceased), Hura Hohaia, : Heta Horiraa, To Koiii Hetaraka, and Itameka Mowene, tho female' acensed , being Bipeka Aperahania, Jlemairuu, te .Koni, 1 and Marama Horima. '. Mr. Tole, who appeared for tho Crown, •feaid that towards the end of ' 1913 a. ; rumour was spread among the Natives ; around Kaitaia that one Mitai'was missling, and the Maori Council of the dis- ; tract made inquiries of certain of tlio 'accused. The matter was dormant till (March last, when more rumours to the ieffect Mitaf was Head, and had been i buried in.the swamp led the Council to Ihold an inquiry, at which tho accused I were present'. Bru, after saying he did !Bot know, anything about the matter, 'admitted that his sou had disappeared "in a mo3t marvellous way." Hura also said he knew nothing about the matter. .Heta, after hesitating, said Mitai had 'died and been buried, and he hnd helped •with the burial. Afterwards Heta and Hura directed the Council and the police to the spot where a coffin containing a skeleton -was -unearthed, at a ,depth of about six inches. The skeleton, which was complete, had apparently been .wrapped in rugs. Later Eru gave an account of Mitai s death, and several of the accused made statements to the effect that they were sleeping at night in a whale when they were awakened, and Era ordered them to knock Mitai down: Mitai was then-standing up, but they got h'im v down upon the floor and sat •upon him. Some held his legs and arms, and one of the women (Hemairua) SEat on his chest. She was told if he struggled, to 'put all her weight en. This treatment was korjt up for 15 or 20 minutes, and when the accused desisted' Mitai was apparently dead. Some, at- . tempt was made to revive him, on the advice of a woman who was now dead, ■by placing rugs_ over him in order to induce warmth. Next day the body was .buried in a lonely spot in a coffin which Heta had made. The only explanation of the whole extraordinary affair, concluded Mr. Tole, was that Mitai was mad, aijd that he was making towards the home of children who were in a wha-re in which, the week before one of Te Koni's children had died; and there had been another fleath in the settlement, both of which might ' have in- . fluenced accused to some extent. Evidence was given by several witnesses on the'lines of Mi , . 'Pole's address.