TAMAKI TRAGEDY

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12603, 12 July 1935, Page 5

TAMAKI TRAGEDY

GIRL’S BODY UNDER BRIDGE. . INQUEST OPENS. DR: HEWER’S’ EVIDENCE. WITNESS CLAIMS PR rVILEGE. Missing letter. (Press Association). AUCKLAND, July 11 An inquest concerning the death of Mary Elizabeth .Raymond, years, whose partially decomposed body was found in the Tamaki River opened today,. Th c hotly was found Ivin- across a stringer under the Panmur© ln-idge. Attached .to one leg was a rope, and attached to th© other were 'two sacks and a, .piee© of canvas. Th© body iwa.s naked except for a piece of a cottcM singlet. A brother, Para f a Raymond, said that his sister loft her home at Te Puke last January. On Jun© 7 11 e carefuDy examined a body in the morgvio, a.ncl identified it as his ■sister. The next witness, a young woman, said she saw Mary Raymond in Q” Gcn street- at.about- 4 o’clock in the aiteinoon of May 1, standing in the doorway of a shop’ She was joined by a. man. The witness pointed to a man sitting in the court, and sa id he was the man. .She'saw the same man on June ID in company with another man, who also wn.s sitting in the oo«rt In reply to Detective Sergeant V alsh the witness said she had **o doubt that the man she saw with Mary Rn.'mond was thc man in court, na m ed Hewer. George Frederick Hewer, whose business he described as clcctre-thcr-a.pv, said he was a qualified doctor, hut not registered in New Zealand He was known as ‘Dr. Hewer.’ and his place of business was in Citr Chambers. The man whom t'lie previous witness had pointed ou t was his assistant, David Fulton Thompson. The witness said h© first knew, that Alary Raymond was missing on May 1. H 0 was told, that night by a . Mrs- . Wilson. Sergeant 1 Walsh; That wa.s the c| ay Mary Raymond disappeared? The witness • Yes. Why did Mrs Wilson So to you ?—P don’t know. After several mor e questions, Sergeant Walsh said to the witness: — ‘How long had that half-caste girl been receiving treatment from you bpfor© May 1.? f The witness; I claim privilege. You swear that will incriminate you ? —Yes. The witness said he was later visited by Miss Raymond’s brother-in-law, named Burton, and a man named Hughes but he Could not tell them anything. On A fay 3 a man named Dudley Bennett called on him saying ho had received a letter from Miss Raymond in which sli e mentioned that she had made an appointment with him (Hewer) on May 2. Sergeant. Walsh; Are you definite that, it was May 2 ? The witness: Quite definite. Did Bennett tell you what Miss Raymond wanted to see you for? Tho.witness-. Yes, he said it was for an illegal operation. GIRLS UNDER ASSUMED NAMES The witness said he then made reference to girls going under assumed names, and mentioned a. Miss Ifranei, a patient of his, whose description was near to the description or Miss Raymond. In the course of long questioning, the witness was asked if he, vita Thompson and Bennett, visited atl hotel one morning. He said he had. and that he there saw a- letter in which there wa.,s a reference to Mary Raymond’s appointment with him. Searganfc Walsh: Wha t amount of money was mentioned in connection with Mary Raymond? The witness: There w : as no mention of money. Asked if the letter wa s interfered with the witness said he left tho room for a few minutes, and when he returned, certain parts of fb c letter had been deleted. Th© coroner, Mr R, W. McKean, S.M.: Is this the letter that is missing ? £ organ t Walsh; Yes. During ih 0 questioning, reference was mad© fo a girl whom Hewer admitted was a patient of his. Hewer’s counsel objected, saying: ‘Tf Dpteetive Walsh is going to start on a fishing expedition about Hewer’s profession x am going to advise my client to claim privilege.’ After some discussion the witness Raid he had told Mrs Wilson that ho was treating a half-caste Maori girl, hut that sh 0 had gone ho m e before Mn. y I“NEVER SEEN MARY RAYMOND IN HIS LTFE.” Continuing, Hewer said that w ith the exception of Miss Francis, there Was n© girl who had been attending him during the year like Alary Raymond, whom he had never seen in his life. His only endeavour had been to seek to help those people who sce m ed to he in distress. An offer f« r the relatives to see -the girl Francis. had come from witness on May. L.Qn seeing the girl, th e relatives had been satisfied that she was net the girl they were seeking. They had expressed their gratitude to witness, and liad said they were satisfied that lie had had nothing to do with the missing girl. SOLICITOR. STATES LETTERS DESTROYED. ' X Alfred Hall ’ Skelton, solicitor, who said he had been q«tin<j I or several of Mary Raymonds (relatives and friends, including Bennett, said that iii the first week in June h 0 received some documents through.a man namod Hughes for Bennett. One letter, with parts erased, was picked up at witness’s office cvn the following morning. Witness still had a number of • Jh’eßO documents, but pome, including

two from Miss Raymond, had been destroyed. . Witness was instructed by Bennett to destroy all letters that might incriminate Bennett. On© of th© letters destroyed was smudged’ and signed ‘Alary,’ Another was iiy the same handwriting . and, ho thought, was als© signed ‘Alary.’ The coroner; What is the importance of thus© letters ? Detective-Sergeant Walsh; They were written by the girl On the eve of her disappearance, and told where sh© was going, and nvhat she was going to do. CORONER’S VIEW ON .DESTRUCTION OF LETTERS. Further questioned regarding ib c d'est-rvetion of tho letters, Mr. Sarlton said lie destroyed them under instructions. H© would have been liable for clamage-s if he 'had: riot done so. The coroner; 1 don’t Think 'so. I think veu might have sent Them back. If a client asked you to .set fire to a house, you would not- do so? Witness: No, that would he a erhnjnal act. The coroner; It might have been ?- criminal act. to destroy the documents Witness said he had been bound to do every thing be could j n the interests of his client He had been acting for Bennett for some days before June 4. In reply to n question by DctectivCSqrgeant Walsh, witness said lie was searching for the girl. Detective-Sergeant Walsh : Was that a proper mat tor to report .to the police ? * Witness; Certainly not. We thought she wa.s in some home, or had gooe hack to her people. CHAUFFEUR ADMITS OBLITERATION OF NAMES. Gcorgo Fulton Thompson, chauffeur and bookkeeper to Heaver, said ho was in a hotel between May 10 ana May 15 with Ilewer and Bennett when a letter was produced. Winess obliterated certain names -at Bennett’s request. Bennett said h© was convinced that the names in question wore not concerned with Mary Raymond. Bennett, who did not suggest obliterating anything regarding himself, said’ he wished to keep the letter for sentimental reasons. Witness never saw. the girl Raymond. VICTIM’S VISIT TO AUCKLANDEdward Hcnr v Dudley Bennett, 25, publisher, residing in Wellington, said lie had known Alary Raymond since December, when lie met her at Rotorua. She resided with witness's parents in Wellington trom January to April. She told witness she was in trouble, and .that she was coming to Auckland to have an illegal operation. Witness concurred' and gave her money. Jn letters written after she arrived in Auckland she stated that sh© had arranged to undergo an operation. On Alr.y 2 witness r °ceiv-ed ward that. Miss Raymond was missing He came to Auckland where h© was informed by Alisp Robb, a girl frien-V of the deceased, that, she had mentioned Hewer’s nam© to Alias Raymond. Miss Robb said she last saw Miss Raymond on Afar 1, and tliaa they parted after making an appointment for a meeting on the samp, day. Miss Raymond did not, keep the appointment- anil! Arise) Robb did Hot ?p0 her again. Thc inquest was adjourned until Monday.