“NOTHING TO SAY!”

Grey River Argus, 20 June 1927, Page 5

“NOTHING TO SAY!”

Police Report. CHRISTCHURCH. June 18. "I have nothing to say.” This was tho statement made by Inspector Cameron this morning, and it epitomised tho present position regarding the Burwood murder mystery. No material new factor has come to lierht, and the police are still endeavouring to trace tho girl’s movements from tho time that she loft tho Federal Hotel on Tuesday until Wednesday, when she mot her death. Miss Scarff stayed at tho Hotel Federal from Juno 9 to 14. Arriving at night, she registered in tho name of "Miss Armstrong.” She had all her meals in her room, and seldom shbwod herself. About midday, she went out. She spoke frcolv enough to members nf the staff. She was recognised nv one. and admitted she was Gwen Scarff. She told tho girl why she had registered under an assumed name, and took her into hrtr confidence. She. said her intention was to leave on Tuesday night for the north. Last. Monday she went to the office and asked that a taxi driver of her acquaintance should be called up from a city stand. She waited in the hall for a space, then returned to her room, requesting the porter to send tho man up when ho arrived. He came shortly afterwards. The porter took him to Miss Scarff’s room. Tho taxi driver whom the police interviewed for eight hours; taking his finger prints, said ho did not take Miss Scarff to the hotel on June 9, and she was never in his cab. He had known her from childhood. Tie saw her last on Saturday last. He was at home the night the girl loft the hotel. The taxi driver was to be re-exam-ined. Tie said: "The police told me they had found a piece of shirt. 1 wouldn’t wear a shirt like that; an old thing patched up the way it was. They told me about the spanner and asked me if I would lot them have my finger prints. I said they could have them and anything else. When I saw the girl on Saturday afternoon, she told me how she had told her mother over the ’phone: 'We are going north.' Her mother said, ‘Who are we?’ She said, 'lt doesn’t matter about that.’

STRANGLER OF WOMEN. AN AMERICAN HORROR. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Assn.) 1 OTTAWA, June 17. Earle Nelson, a "gorilla” man pos itively identified as the alleged strangler of a woman and girl at Winnipeg, within a week, has been arrested. Ha is wanted for twenty similar strang lings in the United States. The degenerate’s hands are huge and hairy. Teeth marks on the victims, and fingerprints on the bed-posts led to his identification. THE LONDON TRUNK TRAGEDY. LONDON, June 17. Robinson was committed and charged with the trunk murder. The defence suggested manslaughter. (Received June 19 at 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, June 17. The new evidence in the trunk murder case includes that of a bus conductor, who said a passenger boarded his bus on May 6th, and tried to put a trunk on the platform. Witness helped to carry it upstairs. When the bus reached Victoria Station the passenger had gone. Robinson’s counsel appealed that the evidence did not justify his committal on a charge of murder. The cause of death was largely medical conjecture and speculation. The only actual version of the affair was given by Robinson himself.