STEPSON MURDER CHARGE DENIED; COOPER COMMITTED FOR TRIAL

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22612, 15 April 1948, Page 6

STEPSON MURDER CHARGE DENIED; COOPER COMMITTED FOR TRIAL

(P.A.) CHRISTCHURCH, April 15. 'William Erie Cooper, aged 43, nurseryman, was committed to the Supreme Court for trial by Mr. 11. P. La wry, SAI., when the hearing of the charge against him of murdering his stepson. Leslie 1 James Boswell, aged 34 years, was concluded in the Police Court. , The accused, it was alleged, murdered the child at Clifton, I Sumner, on February 9. He pleaded not guilty. The hearing lasted for nine hours.

Detective R. S. Smith corroborated the evidence given by Sergeant A. R. Grant on what happened when _ they interviewed the accused. Witness

i The injuries to the right arm and | index finger could have been caused ’through the child attempting to ward | off the blows, causing the injuries. ! There were bruises on the upper lip land the upper teeth were loosened ! These could have been caused by pressure over the mouth, as by a hand 'or by the face being pressed on to the ground. The bruising round the injured parts and anoedema of the brain indicated that death occurred possibly some hours after the main injuries jwere received. This would be con- ! sistent with the child having received the main injuries near the road, ■ where the piece of bone was found, land with its having been dragged to a | point further down the track to where 'the body was found. Time of Death Witness said in his opinion death .occurred more than 12 hours before [noon on February 31 (when he made ! the examination) and not more than 36 hours before, that time. The injuries might have been inflicted some hours before death

said he took the suit and shoes which the accused was wearing at the interview and handed them to _ Dr. D. T Stewart, assistant pathologist at the Christchurch Hospital. Discovery of Body The finding of the body was described by Constable E. G. Dwen, who was a member of a search party on February 11. Dwen said he found the body about 11.30 a.m. while searching through dense broom near a standard wire fence about 30ft. from the Clifton extension roadway.

Witness said the body was lying face downwards. There was a broken trail of blood from the body to within a few feet of the road. Corroboration of Sergeant Grant's evidence concerning the visit to Sumner of a police party with the accused on February 10 was given by Detective C. P Burns, who said that the following day at the central police station the accused had told him:' "I want to get out of here. 1 should not be here. I shou-M be searching for the boy. You have nothing on me. You have not charged me with murder yet.” Dr. Stewart said he was a member of the police party which was sent to Cliiton hill on February 11 to view the

Describing the stone found a little distance above where the body was found, witness said it weighed about Ilb It was roughly wedge shaped. It was 5 inches long, 3 inches deep and H inches across the broad part. There was a jagged sharp edge opposite the bioad part. Repeated blows from the stone could have produced the injuries on the boy’s head. By examining the hairs found on the stone through a microscope and comoaring them with hairs taken from the head of the dead child witness said he was able to say that the two samples were similar and could have been from the same head. -y Bloodstains on Trousers Stains on trousers handed to him by Detective Smith suggested that blood could be present, but tests for the definite presence of blood were' negative. said witness. He had found bloodstains in the cuff of the right leg of the trousers. Several of the stains on the shoes he examined were bloodstains. Several areas of the trousers showed a high chloride content. This would indicate that these areas had been cleaned or washed with some fluid with a high chloride content. Sea water could have caused this higher content. Remarks made by the accused in his presence were repeated by SeniorDetective F. J. Brady, who was in charge of the police investigations. When witness had asked the accused if he would care to be present at the opening of the inquest on February 12, the accused had replied: ‘‘Are you trying to pin the murder on me.” “When charged with murder on February 18. the accused said: “Well, so I have got the charge of murder. Well. I still say I am innocent, and I still say I did not do it.”

body. He corroborated the evidence * of the previous witnesses concerning the position of the body. There was a considerable amount of blood under the face and on the right hand and some on the grass and ground. Witness identified an exhibit produced as a piece of stone which had been found in a spot just below the road. When found it had blood and hair adhering to it. A fragment of bone and a piece of bloodstained grass were also found nearby the same day. Injuries Described

Witness said he carried out a postmortem examination of the body. The injuries to the head appeared to have been caused by many blows by an instrument with moderately sharp, jagged edges Part of the instrument would have had a projection of about 3J inches long and not wider than some two inches. The skull had been completely broken. The main penetrating wound showed on the right side of the skull. The child would have lost consciousness very shortly after the blows were struck. The injuries to the face and neck appeared to be in the nature of abrasions and scratches,, such as could have been caused either by glancing blows from some instrument, or by the face or neck being dragged by some bushes or stones. These injuries would have been caused before death.