NATIONAL PARK TRAGEDY

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 11451, 27 February 1931, Page 3

NATIONAL PARK TRAGEDY

ALLEGED MURDER OF MRS. ANDERSON EVIDENCE BY POLICE CASE FOR DEFENCE OPENED . CPress Associations HAMILTON, Feb. 26. . The fourtli day of the trial of Charles Colston, 38, for the alleged murder of Mi's. Anderson at National Park on January 6, was entered on to-dav. The first witness was Detective, John Walsh, of Wanganui, who had charge of the investigations. lie said five first person ho interviewed was Mrs., Tolly. lie then'went out to the scene

of the tragedy, accompanied by Sergeant Sivyer, Constable Parker, and the two boyS, Tolley and Storr. ’ ITe found a gun behind a woodshed. He searched for it there in consecfUfeiiee of what Mrs. Tolley told him. It had the. appearance of - having recently been fired. The tote-end of the gun wqs missing. .. • Hie witness described the house ns

a four-roomed cottage constructed of corrugated iron, lined with conger board. Tho place was very, scantily furnished, and the whole place was untidy. In Mr.s. Anderson’s room there

was a wire mattress, a home-made candlestick, a. kerosene case, and two suit eases. The window was broken and a cross bar and some of the glass was lying outside. He came to the

conclusion that the window had been broken apparently from the inside to the outside. There were some small pieces of the astragal inside the house. Ise iotttid in all 21 empty wine bottles. On the floor ware three pools oT congealing blood. There was also n spray of blood on the back wall. Next day, witness saw Mrs. Ander-

son's body at the morgue at Taumaru. nui. A black and white sketch made by Dr. Fisher was an. exact reproduction of the features and the shot holes. , There were no traces of burning or powder on the faceLater in tile same day witness interviewed the prisoner. He said to him: ‘Aou are to be charged with murder at National Park. You are not; bound to make any statetnent, but whatever you do say may be used iri evidence against you.” The prisoner did not make a statement. On January 8, witness again visit, ed the scene of the tragedy and recovered numbers of splinters of wood inside the room which fitted exactly to the inside of the shattered astragal. He also picked up u number ol' pellets. In another room ho found a man's clothing, and in the pocket of the trousers were three mullerito cartridges. On January 9, he agate visited the farm in the company, amongst others, of Mrs. Tolley. Tie was present when Mrs. Tolley picked up an empty nmllerite cartridge case near tho woodshed. The case was lying in a slight depression in the ground. The gun was lying against a. wall with a piece of wood over it. which, however, did not conceal it. Cross-examined by Mr. J. F. IV. Dickson, for the defence, the witness said Mi's. Tolley told him there were plenty of empty cartridges about tlm house. He searched, but could not find any. Mrs. Tolley recovered one outside the house. Mr. Dickson: She gave you every asistanco in your investigations? Tlie dectective (hesitatingly); Oh. yes. I should •think so.

Mr. Dickson: When did you take a statement from Mrs. Tolley —1 had several interviews with her. The first was on the day alter the tragedy. She then gave an explanation of the tragedy and complained of a bruise on her toe, due to the fore end of a gun falling on it in a struggle fur the gun.

Was it you who asked her: “'Which side are" you on? The accused’s, or your sisters?” No. Did you invite her io have her finger prints taken? —I told her it was entirely optional for her. The witness explained that he did not take a statement in writing from Mrs. Tolley at the first interview, because he knew this coidd be taken •at any time. He remembered what she told him, and that she had given a similar explanation of the tragedy to other people than tho police.

His Honor: When you found the gun was it empty? —Yes, and the barrel wa s dirty. Constable N- E. Parker, of Tq,uninr_ unui, said lie heard Sergeant- Sivyer ask the prisoner on .National* Park station: “Are you Colston ” The prisoner nodded, and replied:Yes.” The sergeant told Colston he would Tiave to detain him. Shortly 7 afterwards, witness. Sergeant Sivyer and the two boys. Tolley and Storr, went out to the farm. They looked for a gun, but could not find it. They found the fore end of a gun, however, outside the house. On the following morning lie found an empty cartridge case near where he had picked up the fore end.

Answering Mr. Dickson, the witness said apparently there had been no at. tempt to conceal tlie empty cartridge case or the fore end. The case, was, however, not easily 7 seen. His Honor: How far from the window were the fore end and the empty cartridge?—The fore end was about 7ft., and the empty case 9ft. Sergeant Sivyer detailed his inter, yiew with Colston on National Park station. He asked him if he knew why he was-being detained,, and Colston answered “Yes.” When witness inspected tlie body 7 of tlie deceased there were no signs of burning or powder on the face. On the outside door of Mrs. Anderson’s room were boot marks as if made by tho prisoner.

CASE FOR THE DEFENCE In opening tho ease for the defence, Mr. Dickson said the whole of the evidence had been circumstantial, .unless that of a child of four was to be regarded. The Crown case must be very 7 frail indeed if it had to depend for tho only direct evidence on the evidence of an iniant. It was audacity to bring such evidence forward. Colston was a returned soldier, broken by the war, and rarely affected by drink. Ho intended to show that in a drunken condition Colston clias. ed Phyllis with a gun, and later, fired at tho car. Mrs I Anderson - took tlie gun into her room. Mrs. Tolley followed her in and they struggled for its possession- Colston titered and endeavored *to separate them. Mrs. Anderson had hold of the barrel, and Mrs. Tolley and 'Colston held the butt of the rifle. Mrs.,?.Anderson’s hand slipped off the barrel and she etuiiililed back, when Uiq -gbn went off.

VICTIM’S SISTER TELLS OF V ( EIGHT TN • ItOOM. T "' . .: >AOGU^EU ! ;MANfENTEREr)'. GUN 'ALLEGEDLY -WENT OFF IN STRUGGLE. ■v.. 7 Lillian Edith Tolloy said'sho fra,s i a marrifed woman and had lived apart from her husband for I*2s -years. Sho hail lived 5 and Worked frith Colston since, 1925. - 'Describing the incidents' that occurred ait .MeEarlane’®’. farmi.witness said they intended .later to f go on to another farm, which Colston , was negotiating for. Fburfidifferentjffirins had been written to send a case-of wine.,Three cases .arrived in all. These were . not .‘paid for. The firist case was consumed between Saturday'night and 10 o’clock on- Sunday morning..'. CtoLton ”:.was "stunned” ’wheiv he. went,to bed. Ihe bulk .of the wine was .drunk- j>.V CpJstbu and her sister. On the Monday night. the second case' of -wine was" opened. -Colston went to bed , about 2.30. Ho' 'was ' very " slfUhlcNr T)ir Tuesday morning witness?.rosel) abojit b o’clock,', and -.took *them. in? a.| gup

of tea. On the Tuesday morning there was some drinking in. her sister’s room. Jade Storr, Witness and Mrs. Anderson had some, and Cols toil also entered, and had a drink. Witness told her sister not to give Cph ston much, ass lie 'frits gtfillg pig l kunting.. Cohstott niade soine paniHlcOs breakfast. Owing to Col 1 * toil's condition a little later, she remarked: “There will be no pigt hunting if Charlie lias any .hloft. She then went into lief sister’s too in and closed illb dOor from, til o' inside. Colston came along and kicked oil the door, demnndin .gwiiie. Witness finally opened the door, and her sis* ter gave him another drink. Witness ahtl Cblatoll Intel* front to the robin they had been occupying* frhefi witness bethought herself of a bottle of wine she had put thefio tlii tile Monday, night but it frits gO.nO; She asked C'ols.tOfij friio was sitting on 'a .bos Outside the house, if he had taken tlie bottle. He replied in the negative, but she could tell by his looks that lie had taken it. Phy-

llis, who was near by*, said .she knew whore the bottle was and produced it from beneath the house. Phyllis ran round the side of the house with the bottle. The next witness knew was lier sister leaving the house, and witness’s son Ernest leaving with a peurifle. Mrs. Anderson was saying, “Go after him frith a pea-rifle.” Witness did not know frliat it was all about and asked her sister not to solid: the boy after Colston. Witness and her sister then went round tlie side of the house, where they* had an argument over sending the :.ov after Colston. Witness did not l.now at this time that Colston had gone after Phyllis with a g*un. Continuing she said she went inside to see if the guu was there. Her sister followed her in and they bad a further argument in Colston’s room. Lying on tlie bed was a knife in a sheath. There was no attempt by* either her sister or herself to uso the knife, which must have boon knocked off the bed in the struggle. When Storr entered tlie room and tried to separate them her sister asked him to go for the police. Later Ernest Tolley managed to separate witness and lier sister, and took Mrs Anderson to her room.

W ituess then decided to go outside and seo what the trouble was. As she got to the side of tho house sue saw Colston coining over tin: back fence. She said “Charlie, what :uv you doing,” and before she readied him lie had fired into her sister’s ear. She had not beard a shot fired prior to that. She knew then that lie was praoticadlly out of his muni. She took the gun front him ' and placed it inside the porch door. Witness went to til id Phyllis. Siie had got as far as the fence when she heard a noise.. Her sister at. that time was in her room with Ernest. Witness oa hearing the noise, turned hack to the house, and as she got to the door she saw her sister just going into her bedroom with a gun. Witness made a rush to get the weapon. IVhen she reached Mrs. Anderson's room she found Ernest gone. She took hold of the gun, but her sister, being bigger than witness, got the better of witness for a time. Witness called for Ernie, wlien Colston came to the door. It was during the struggle iu the doorway between witness, her sister and Colston that lier sister stumbled and foil, and the gun went off. “Colston and I were in the struggle, and who pulled the trigger I don't know,” said witness. “It might havo been Colston, or it might have been me.” Proceeding,' witness said her sister fell as the gun went otf. Witness rushed forward and with a blanket from the fioor wiped the blood from i her sister's face. Her sister had, lidI Jen with her legs doubled under her. and Iter head in the corngr. Witness turned her round to get her legs I'roiii under her. When the gun fell after the shot was tired? it struck witness’ toe. Witness after moving her sister, picked up the gun and went ' outside. Sho placed the gun behind a wood shed and tJion went back, and taking the little boy Gordon, went as last as she 'could to National Park for help. The little hoy, during the struggle for the gun, had been creeping round his mother. His hand got caught, ' and witness at first thought lie had stopped a pellet from the gun. She had got within half a mile of the station when she heard a car behind her. She saw that tho driver was her son Ernest, who. stopped and picked her up. Colston was also in the ear. Witness remarked, .“My God. ishe's been shot in the face.” A little later they met Jack Story returning' from' the ( store.'- Witness asked him, '“Have you, done anything?” he replied “No.” W lien they* reached the station Colston alighted first, and Warder Glynn, who was already there, asked him: “Art you the man who is doing all tho shooting?” Witness answered, “There lias been no shooting; it was an accident. You cannot take him. He did’nt do it.”

Mr Dickson: Did you say she had shot herself?—No, I said it went off itself.

Witness' said that on the morning of the tragedy sho had only three small portions of wine.