THE PUKEKAWA MURDER

Evening Star, Issue 17489, 21 October 1920, Page 3

THE PUKEKAWA MURDER

THORN COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. IPeb United Pbbso Association.] AUCKLAND, .October 20. The preliminary trial of Samuel John Thorn (35), charged with the murder of Sidnev Seymour Eyre at Pukekawa on August 24, was resumed this morning before Mr J. W: Poynton, S.M., with whom Mr R. F. Webster sat as district coroner for Pukekohe, to return a coronial finding on the evidence as to the cause of death.

William Theodore Eyre, nephew of the deceased, stated that on Friday, August 27, he assisted to clean up deceased's bedroom, and found a gun wad under a chest of drawers. This he put in a basin of water, which was subsequently thrown into an open drain beside the house. Last Saturday, on noticing in the paper that evidence was given of a missing cartridge wad, he mentioned the matter to Detec-tive-seTgeant Cummings, who accompanied him to Pukekawa yesterday, where in the presence of five people he made a search of the drain and found the wad, which he produced. Detective-sergeant Cummings detailed at length tho result of his investigations into the murder on August 25. Witness, Sergeant Cowan, and Constable Thomson made general inquiries at Granville's, and ! they visited Thorn's camp at Granville's in the evening. They found a light in the | whare, and accused was in bed fully dressed, except for his coat, hat, and boots. He was apparently asleep, but a candle was burning bv the bedside, and a book was beside it. When roused, he sat up and said : " Good evening, Mt Cowan," to the sergeant. Witness told accused of the tragedy, and asked him if he was on good terms with the family. Accused replied : " Sid and I had our differences, but I got on all right with the rest." When asked why he left Eyre's, he said he had been given notice, as Phil had left school and could work on the farm. In reply to further questions, accused said he had" never written to Mrs Eyre in his life, nor she to him, and when asked what letters he had in camp he invited witness to look. Witness discussed tho. murder with the accused, who remarked that it must have been done by someone who knew the run of the place. When the motive of robbery was_ suggested, accused said he did not think that could be so. He said he had assisted Mr Eyre to put his bed in position. In reply to a suggestion that he and Mrs Eyre had been intimate, he said: "Have we? Who told you?" Witness said: "Where were you fast night?" and he replied: "I am hot going to say. I was not out." Witness said the question \vas_ whether or not he was in or out that night, and accused said: "Did anyone see me out?" Witness mentioned an unconfirmed report that accused was out. That report had not since been confirmed. Accused asked : "Were they talkins to me?" Accused said that Granville had left him at 5 p.m., and that there was no one to back his word that he was not out. They went across to Granville's house, where accused made a statement, and was told he would probably be wanted as a witness in the inquest. After his statement was made witness pointed out that his movements on Monday night, but not on Tuesday nieht, were in question. Again he replied : " I am eoins: to say I was not out." Asked by witness when he would put in the statement about it, he remarked : "Please yourself. I say I was not out." Next morning witness said he and Constable Thomson returned to accused's camp, where five working horses were examined. Four were shod all round, and one, "Major," had only hind shoes on. The shoes were taken off the horse " Mickey " by Constable Thomson. When witness put a rule on the shoes he remarked to Thorn: "These shoes correspond with tracks on the road near Eyre's place." The latter went white, but made no reply. Witness asked if anyone could have got Mickey off the farm, and he replied that he did not think so, as it was a hard place to get off unless one knew it.

Continuing his evidence in the afternoon, Detective-sergeant Cummings stated that on Friday, August 27. he tried the two front shoes taken off the horse Mickey in two prints on the road (near Eyre's) that had been covered with a. board. He found that the shoes, both off and near, corresponded exactly with the hoof marks. Witness stated that on the Saturday he saw Thorn again, and told him he had had statements from Mrs Eyre and Phil Eyre. He asked: " What does Mrs Eyre say about me, and what does Phil say?" and I was shown statements.

Mr Singer, who appeared for the accused, at this stage intimated that he contested the admissibility of parts of those statements, and objected to the publication of them until the question of admissibility had been decided by the Judge. The attitude that accused took up, stated counsel, was that he was not going to blacken Mrs Eyre's character by any reference to her. His Worship agreed that the statements should be put in without being read, and noted counsel's objection. Witness said he read Mrs Eyre's statement and Phil Eyre's statement to Thorn, who made a statement.

Mr Singer objected to one part of the statement being allowed in, but His Worship ruled that as the whole statement was in accused's handwriting it must ah be put in.

After further police evidence Mr Poynton left the Bench, and the coronial inquiry was resumed. Mr Hunt then said that for the purpose of the inquiry he proposed to call Samuel John Thorn".

Mr Singer: This is most unusual. I think in the circumstances it is hardly fitting that the Crown should ask Thorn to go into the box. If he is compelled to do so he will decline to answer any questions. I think it is almost without precedent that at the conclusion of court proceedings on a charge of murder the accused should be tendered as a witness for the Crown in a coronial inquiry. After further discussion, in which Mr Singer contended that the proceeding was most improper, Thorn entered the box. He declined to answer questions. The Coroner then brought in a verdict that tho death of Eyre was caused by a shot from a gun, which was fired while deceased was asleep in his bed, the gun having been fired by someone outside the house who was familiar with the premises. Mr Poynton then resumed his seat on the bench, and accused, who pleaded not guilty, was committed for trial.