THE MURRAY RIVER MURDER.

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 March 1911, Page 6

THE MURRAY RIVER MURDER.

ACCUSED’S VERSION OF THE

KILLING

[PER PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT.]

SYDNEY, March, 23, The accused in the Murray River murder case, Senkovitch, entered tho box to-day and gave his -version of tho killing of Eismond. He said that up to the time they camped at Bourke they had been good friends. On the night of the tragedy he awakened to find Esmond attacking him. Eismond held him round the neck nearly choking him. Senkovitch seized an axe and swung it blindly. He hit Eismond several times, till he fell. He (Senkovitch), then lan away, and when he came back he found Eismond dead. He. wrapped the body in the tent and flung it into the river. He next went back to Bourke. He denied that he ' had murdered Eismond 1 for his money. He took the money because it partly belonged to him, and because ho wanted to get back to Russia. It was no use to a dead man. He had been frightened to tell the police his story, as he thought that this being an English country no one would help him, this being because of the ill feeling between Russia and England. The Russian Consul-General gave evidence in support of the prisoner’s statement of the existence of bad feeling between Russia and England. W it~ ness said that the feeling originated at the time of the Boer War, and became still more acute during the Russo-Japanese war. Twelve policemen were injured at Clydachvale. A wagon of hay and tools shop were fired. The conflict lasted two hours.