TRACKED BY HOUNDS

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 July 1934, Page 4

TRACKED BY HOUNDS

SUSSEX GUNMAN AT BAY

LONDON, May 31.

The great man-hunt on the Sussex downs ended .dramatically early yesterday morning, the fugitive gunman, Leonard Rowland Hill, shooting himself with a. revolver as a parly of police searchers, led by a woman and her two bloodhounds'; closed in on him.

Hill was being sought for the shooting of Police Constable .lex on Monday morning in a pursuit, following a burglary at High Salvington, near Worthing. The hunt was carried on night and day, and shortly alter dawn yesterday, the police were notified that Myrtle Grove, a house near Storrington, had been broken into. Mrs Sadleir, of Stroud, wife of Mr Michael Sadleir, the novelist, and daughter-in-law of Sir Michael Sadler who had taken her bloodhounds to help the police, was taken to life spot in a car. Her hounds led a. fast pursuit for two miles to a spinney on the downs. Hill was seen, but before he could be seized he shot himself in the head with the last round in. his revolver.

He was taken with all speed to hospital, but died five hours after admission without recovering consciousness.

On. a table of the room entered by Hill at Myrtle Grove was a newspaper, with photographs of himself and the shot, constable. It is assumed that he saw this, and that it nerved him to take his own life. “[ am confident that he thought he had killed the policeman,” said Superintendent. Bristow, of the Worthing police. “There can be no doubt, about that, otherwise he would- not have shot himself when he knew he was cornered.” Hill was sentenced to nine months’ hard labour at Bedfordshire Assizes, in May, 1930, for burglary, and it was then stated ho had many convictions, including terms of imprisonment for stealing motor-cycles and other offences.