THE WOODVILLE MURDER.

Evening Post, Volume XV, Issue 283, 3 December 1877, Page 2

THE WOODVILLE MURDER.

THE CASE AGAIKBT THE PRISONER. The circumstances connected with the Woodville murder were very fully brought out in the evidence given at the Coroner's inquest, which was held at Woodville on the SStftb elt< It appears- that the murdered man, Gteorge Oliandt, kept, in partnership with his suspected murderer,Thomsen, asortot laborers' boardinghouse in the locality. On 24th November several men were living tfifere, amongst others the accused, Hans Thomsen. According to the testimony of several of the lodgers, George Oliandt was in the hoUss that day, and after breakfpst he went out to the bush to split palings. He did not return during the day, or at tea-time, and some of the men who bad come back to their meals made inquiries *s to where he was. On the following day Thomsen went out, saying that he was going to look for the missing man. Half-an-hour afterwards a search-party followed < They came up with Thomsen, who, on seeing them, called out, " What a horrible sight !' r poin(iDg in a Certain direction. ,It is ominous that, done of the search-party, on looking in' the difec"tion indicated, could see anything. It further appears that the bush was thick, and that when Thomsen called out the body was actually 64ft. distant from where be stood, aud could not, therefore, have been visible to any of the party. One witness says: " When about 15ft. away I could only see the legs ; I had to go very close before I could see what the condition of tho body was; I saw a piece cut off the deceased's nose, his eye out of his head, and his mouth cut right across j he was lying on his back, with his knees drawn up j a dice box was on his breast* covered with blood j a match box was at the foot of & tree j when the prisoner lifted the body up he did net ap-* pear affected at the sight*; I noticed that the prisoner took a piece or candle from under the body." The sanio witness, on being crossexamined by the accused added: "I was close to you when you said ' What a horrible sight,' and I could not see the body > it was impossible for you to see the ' horrible sight' from where you were standing." Other evidence is to the effect that the accused admitted having been out the previous night, looking for Oliandt. The general tenor of the evidence is to the effect that while none of the other members of the seardi party could see tracks or other indications to 1 guide them to the place where the body lay, Thomson at once found tracks, and after twice passing the' right spot led them to the place where the body lay. There was no evidence that a struggle had taken place. The ground had no appearance of having been disturbed, and the delicate ferns were not even crushed. Other noteworthy circumstances were disclosed. Susan Davy, who cleaned out the room in which the murdered man had last-slept, deposed that there were spots of blood on the pillow. She further stated that' five weeks before, while she was living at the accommodation-house, a serious quarrel had taken place between Oliandt and Thomsen. Oliandt had washed up the plates, and asked Thomsen 'to wipe up for him. Thomsen refused. Oliandt retorted — "I wish I had never had anythiug to do with you." The accused man, Thomsen, then straightened himself up, and exclaimed — " You won't regret it long, you old b ." The witness adds that " he ground his teeth, and stared wildly. I thought it was his temper. Since I heard of the supposed murder I have been much upset, thinking of the. look and attitude of the prisoner at the time." The murdered man had stated to witness that he had a presentiment that something was going to happen to him. Another witness deposed that a strong dislike existed on the part of Thomsen towards the murdered man, which he more than once gave expression to. This dislike was, to a certain extent, mutual. It was also proved that on the Thursday, the last day on which Oliandt was seen alive, Thomson, the. accused, was seen in the afternoon coming from the direction inwhich Oliandt had gone in the morning to split palings. The accused was then carrying- some palings. Constable Farmer stated that he had found near the body a single leaf of the Free Methodist Quarterly Magazine; he found the next leaf of the magazine in Ollnndt's house. The medical evidence indicated that the wounds inflicted on the deceased had boen done by some such instrument as a billhook. As f (ready stated, the jury returned a verdict to the effect." that the deceased was murdered by Hans Thomsen,. and the coroner thereupon committed the prisoner for trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Gourt at Napier." <