FIGHT IN BEDROOM

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22464, 20 October 1947, Page 4

FIGHT IN BEDROOM

GIRL ROUTS PROWLER AID OF GLASS DISHES A prowler attacked a young woman in her bedroom on Thursday night, but after a struggle he disappeared out the back door. The victim of the assault, Miss Joan Melville, aged 20, who lives with her parents in Waerenga road, Te K£uwhata, was alone in the house while the rest of the family was attending an aid-to-Britain meeting. She told the police that she went to bed about 8 o’clock and was awakened about 9.15 by a man bending over her in the darkness and striking her on the face and head with his fists. She grappled with her assailant, who was carrying a torch, and after a struggle sought cover under the bed, where she found a suitcase. From its contents she selected glass dishes and other weighty trinkets, which she hurled at the intruder, who picked them up and threw them back at her. The man eventually dashed out of the room and along the passage toward the back door. Miss Melville, who suffered abrasions to the face, climbed through the bedroom window and went to a neighbour’s place for help. Nothing was stolen from the house, but a light fuse removed from the switchboard was found on the floor inside the front door.