ROADMAN KILLED

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 133, 2 December 1926, Page 8

ROADMAN KILLED

A GRUESOME DISCOVERY

MATE CHARGED WITH MURDER.

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.)

OPOTIKI, .This Day

A tragedy that has every appearance of a murder took place near Torere, about eighteen miles from Opotiki, yesterday afternoon, when a roadman named Jerry Williams was found by the police battered to death. The dead man's mate, John Sullivan, aged 50, was arrested and charged with murder. Tije two men had been working together for the past four months. Both were' in town yesterday morning, and when.taken to Torere in the afternoon both -s^ere intoxicated. On receipt of the news of tho tragedy tho police hurried to the scene and found "Williams dead in. some scrub. William's's head was terribly smashed, and part of the skull was missing. Blopd-stiined bottles were strewn around, sind half a dozen heavy sticks were alao blood-stained. Patches of blood on ;the road indicated that the murdered man had tried to run away. He had been finally dragged into the scrub. SulKvan had a bottle of whisky in his hand when arrested, and was talking wihUy. He said to iMr. Drake, the postmaster at Torero, "I've killed my mate," but denied committing tho crime when arrested. Sullivan was formally charged before two Justices of the Peace with murdering Williams. He was remanded for a week. Detectivb M'Leod has arrived from Gisborne, and is-, now inspecting tho scene of the musrder. Ho is accompanied by the local police.