BLACKBALL POISONING

Grey River Argus, 14 June 1935, Page 4

BLACKBALL POISONING

Suspect Committed TO MENTAL INSTITUTION. The Blackball poisoning mystery, which has been the subject of intense po'ice investigation for he past eight months, has (according to n Dunedin Press Assn, telegram yesterday) reached a climax. The “Argus’ suggested, on’v a fortnight ago. that the climax was approaching, but it proved to be a different one from what wa s anticipated. The Dunedin telegram stated that, following investigations in Otago, concerning the Blackball chocolate poisoning tragedy, during iwhich a man in the Lakes district, and previously a resident of the West Cons.', was lengthily interrogated, this man has since been committed to a mental institution. On the fact that this same man was neing closely watched, was based its recent assertion that the case was about to be solved. He has been under survei lance by the police for many months and it was obvious, from ihe general trend of the investiga lions, that the net was being more tightly drawn around him. ready for ‘he moment when the police were prepared to say that the evidence of his guilt was sufficiently strong to charge him. The man concerned has been in Otago for some time, but at the time of the poisoning he was living at Blackball, although ho was no- a permanent resident of the district. It is understood that he wa s employed on the go’d subsidy in the Blackball district, whi’e he had also worked in the Stillwater district and at the Ten Mile. During the time that he was on the West Coast, it is stated, he was observed by his associates to have been mentally unbalanced, in a certain direction. but not to such an extent that- would warrant his admission to a mental hospital. Although this suspect has been committed to a mental institunon ami cannot be charged with the crime, the police are not relaxing their efforts on the case, but are collecting further evidence, which, in all probability, will be produced at the adjourned inquest.