ALLEGED MURDER

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 11448, 24 February 1931, Page 6

ALLEGED MURDER

NATIONAL PARK TRAGEDY

COLSTON LEPORE SUPREME CO CRT.

(Press Associations HAMILTON, Fob. 23. The business of the new court building opened to-dav with the trial of Charles Colston, 38, a moulder, of Wanganui, fur alleged ltiuruer ao National Park on January 0 of Alice Hose Eloreuco Aodci son. 30. Air. H. T. Gillies, the Crown Pros- , c-cutor, outlined the. facts, describing McFarlano's taim whole the tragedy rook place. The house stood beside a • little read in the Upper Retaruke bush district, some miles from National Park. It was a desolate spot. Oti December 18, Colston, Airs. I.olipy,, Mrs. Anderson and tbrep childieu, accompanied bv . a boy nameu atovr, went to Upper Retaruke to enter an abandoned farm for cutting firewood. On the Saturday night a euse of wino arrived at the farm, and on the Monday another reached the house, and a third on Wednesday morning arrived at National Pane station. The adults commenced to consume the liquor, and by Tuesday morning, when the tragedy occurred, about LSI bottles bad been consumed. On the Tuesday morning there was an argument over some bottles ot wine which had been hidden. Colston was angry with Phyllis, Tolley, idlowed her with a gun, and tired at her . He was followed by'. Ernest Tolley with the avowed intention oi shooting Colston if lie shot his .since r. On returning to the house', Ernest Tolley found Airs. Anderson and libs mother fighting on.the floor. Jit; separated them, locking Airs. Andersen in a room. Colston later endeavored to force himself into the room. William Agustus Hulton, surveyor, Taumarunui, gave evidence of visiting the scene of the tragedy where he made certain measurements and a plan of ’ the locality and the house. The latter showed blood stains on the wall and floor of Mrs. Anderson’s room. The damage to the astragal was quite new. There were pellet marks in the wall l>ehind the window. These, were higher than the ones in the astragal. Owing to the angle al which the shot was fired, anything in Ihe line ol fire whlnn the room from a height of 4ft 1 iin to f> feet would have been struck by the shot. Dr. W. .T. Felllinm, of Raetihi, said that on the way to MnoFnrlane’s farm lie met a car in which was a woman’s dead body. . Tt was still warm. The woman had died from shot wound, and ho assumed that the shot had been fired from a distance of from 20 to 25-feet. Witness saw Colston that afternoon. He appeared dull and apathetic. [ Dr. E. Fisher, Taumarunui, who conducted the post mortem examination, described the injuries received bv Mrs. Anderson. The hearing was adjourned until tomorrow. Continuing, Mr. Gillies said Tolley knew Colston had the gun. and becoming alarmed. Young Tolley would

say that he broke the window with the butt of the rifle, and jumping out ran and hid in the bush. It would be shown later that a shot was. heard, and it was contended by the Crown that this was tired from outside tho window by Colston at Jits. Anderson as she stood up in the room in front of the window. Three shots were tired that morning, one fhe Crown held. wu.s fired by Colston | at Phyllis Tolley, one at Mrs. Anderson and one at the tyre of the motor ear belonging to Mrs. Anderson. The boy Storr in the meantime had galloped away on the horse to get the police. After remaining in hiding for a time young Tolley came out, and getting "the motor car drove m the direction of National Park station. On the way he picked up Colston. his mother and the little boy Fisher. The defence, said Mr Gillies, would be that the rifle went off durjjyt a struggle between Colston and Mrs Anderson. The position of the pellets in the woman’s face, and the fact that there were no powder

marks or burning on the face discounted this theory, while the pellets embedded in the centre of the wooden astragal of the window, showed that the shot must have been bred tiom outside. , . Afr Gillies said that earend experiments had been made by experts with shots fired at various distances from the window. These showed that at four feet six inches from the window a shot tired made exact > the same marks on the astraga. , _ crave exactly the same pellet pat tel n on tho pifM of n'ood OS was found | ■ Oil the dead woman s face m a po-i----tion six inches within the i • Afr Gillies intimated that he M no V propose to call Mrs. Tolley Hie four-vear-old child of Mrs. Anderson would say that “Uncle Charley ’shot his mother. Exactly what credence should he given to tl, e story oia child of such tender years vas a max to that rested entirely with the jury. Counsel read tlit law heaving on the Question of drunkenness, aud its relation to crane winch aid it down that drunkenness was no oxim .