THE AUCKLAND MURDER

Grey River Argus, 7 October 1914, Page 6

THE AUCKLAND MURDER

STILL A MYSTERY. POLICE EXAMINE SUPECTS. EXCITEMENT AT/ TAKAPUNA MAN'S SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOUR. AUCKLAND, Sept. 2. After four day's keen and active investigation by members of the detective department, the police have to admit still being baffled. The police are now fully aware of the circumstances attending the murder of the womart, Frances Marshall. On Tuesday morn ing her body was found in Upper Nelson Street, Auckland, frightfujly gashed, the wounds including stabs through the lungs, heart, throat, and r he&'d. There was no clue to indicate the reason of the crime, nor by whom it was committed. All the circumstances, however, were considered 1 sufficient to justify the belief that the murderer was a madman, and the police have been especially vigilant in searching out cases of unsound mind. On Tuesday one man on whom suspicion had fallen, was examined as *o his movements on the previous evening. It is considered impossible that the man who committed the dime can have done so without at least having his sleeves smothered with blood. The man under examination on Tuesday morning was able to satisfy the police that he was still wearing the same clothes that he had on the night before, and he was also known to the authorities at the Mental Hospital, who* declared that although of weak intellect, the man was not of homicidal tendencies. The man was accordingly not arrested, although kept under observation. AN EXCITING STORY. An ex-citing story reached Auckland j from Takapuna. It was stated that a man, of strange demeanour, approached the house of .a well-known resident, and proceeded to talk some•what wildly about the Nelson Street murder. He is alleged to have produced a knife, and to have declared that it was with such an implement that the crime was committed. Detectives Scott and Hammond proceeded to the locality, and it is understood that they are satisfied that the person making these statements is the same man who was apprehendtd and examined a few days ago. The district ; s this afternoon being scoured in search of the man, who is understood to be making in the direction of the Wade, Nevertheless, the police are convinced that the man is not the Nelson Street murdered, and that he is comparatively harmless. TRAGEDIES AND RELIGION. An Auckland Star representative who visited Takapuna ascertained that a man with a blue scar on his nose, fair, and rather long-haired, had called at two houses in the locality. At one place he stayed for an hour or more, discussing during practically the whole of that time the Nelson Street murder and other recent tragedies. He declared that he had had trouble with the police in town ovei this crime, and stated that he had been arrested twice. Each time he '->ad been let go- He also produced a pocket knife , which he proceeded to talk about at some length, stating that he had picked it up on the Great .South Road. During nearly an hour and a-half's stay he talked to the woman in the house about tragedies and religion, and left the ladies feeling more or less sacred. He later visited another house in the locality, but was hardly as talkative. He stated that he intended walking to Hokianga, looking for work. A CLEAN BREAK AWAY. '. The opinion expressed by a medical man who is a mental expert, that the murder was the work of a maniac, is generally in .accord with police theories. Wether the man was momentarily mad or permanently insane, , is, however, a point about which there is considerable difference of opinion- Experienced detectives contend that a madman would never kave made what is known to the police as a clean break away. If insane, his subsequent movements must have been of a nature to attract serious attention and arouse suspicion. Those advancing this view argue rather that the murderer was only actuated with demonical fury at the time of committing the crime, and that his subsequent movements were those of a cunning, careful man, fully aware of the necessity of taking no step which would arouse the curiosity of those with whom he came in contact with. In this way j only, they believe, has the murderer been" able to escape suspicion or police observationOn the other hand, diverse views are held, and it is argued that the WV.techapel and Berlin horrors, which were not carried out with any greater ferocity than the Nelson Street mur- | der, were the work of madmen who J were clever enough to completely evade the police. 1