WESTRALIAN TRAGEDIES

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 September 1928, Page 3

WESTRALIAN TRAGEDIES

LOVER RIJNS AMOK. PERTH, September 5. After terrorising the countryside at Bellfinch yesterday in an attempt to gain possession of a 16-year-old girl, Dorothy Cooke, daughter of a farmer, a young Englishman, Frederick Raveney, was*shot dead by thd girl’s father. On Tuesday morning, Raveney, after previous repulses by the father, visited Cooke’s home and fired several shots through the house and others at Cooke himself, who was working in a paddock. The farmer’s daughter was pluckily returning the fire with a rifle when a passer-by sent word to Bullfinch and a number of armed men. set out. Raveney saw them approaching and ran to a. neighbouring farm occupied by an elderly couple named Kelly. At the point’ of the revolver he demanded their motor car. Kelly refused,' and Raveney fired into the house. Kelly secured his son’s rifle and covered the young Englishman with ify.but he did not understand the 'mechanism, and could not fire. He r&it into the house and Raveney jumped, into, the car and drove away.- '* .. , The armed party who had come-out; from Bullfinch was, by this time, joim ed by Cooke, and- Raveney was intercepted. > ■ "' ’ » Driving the car with one hand and grasping a revolver with the other, h£, opened fire. and, missing one of the party, blazed away at Cooke while the car was still miving slowly. A mudguard grazed a tree and a? the car passed Cooke the latter and shot RaVeney dead.

* i-f ’ - < FOR WILD TURKEY. ; September 5. ; Mistaken for a r wild turkey in a crop of wheat, Thomas .McGee, ago 65, was yesterday shot by Weir, a farmer, of A tennis patty* wag ;trr progress at Weir’s farm,/and .'Mrs Weir noticed something moving) in thesis’op. She told her husband, who’ came a rifle, and, after-studying, th*A moving object about 600 yards -off, decided it was a turkey*.,'* , ~ ' i He took careful aim and fired /hree shots. The object fe.l lintoSfe'.wheat crop, and Weir and ,liis wife walked to the spot, whef'§ / they were horrified to find mortally wounded man.