SUITCASE MURDER

Horowhenua Chronicle, 11 May 1938, Page 5

SUITCASE MURDER

ARREST AT AUCKLAND. POLICE SEARCH ENDED (By Telegraph —Press Association). ■ AUCKLAND, Last Night. No difficulty was experienced by the detectives in making the arrest of Douglas Alexander Armstrong, who is charged with the murder of his father, Mr. Edwin Armstrong. The man, who w r as recognised as being the accused, was quickly singled out, being then on the platform. He had no luggage and was wearing a dark blue suit, and the detectives considered that he answered the description that had been circulated to the police throughout New Zealand. He is a tall young man, about sft. IGin. in height, and has lightcoloured hair. The arrested man had no luggage' on arrival this morning. He was dressed in a dark blue suit and had a sum of money in his posesssioij. No train or steamer ticket was found in his pocket. He is a lino typo of young man in appearance, tall and of refined features, though his hands show signs of his trade. It is understood his hands were one of the means of identification when he was accosted by the detectives. An active watch for the man who was arrested had been maintained by the police, unobtrusively but none the less thoroughly. Detectives specially assigned to the difficult duty searched all likely places in Auckland. The Union Steam Ship Company’s liner Awate.i was .subjected to close inspection on Monday night before she sailed for Sydney in case the wanted man might be aboard, and the police also kept, a watch on passengers arriving by the aadiimrs. Hotels and the railway station were not neglected, and no possible eppjrtunit> of locating the man, if ho was in Auc-iand, was overlooked. At 2.35 this afternoon accused appeared before Mr. C. R. Orr Walker, S.M., in the Police Court. Accused w r as wearing a blue serge suit, blue and white thin-striped shirt and w*as without collar or tie Immediately he was placed in the dock the Clerk of the i,.ck rc read the charge: “Douglas Alexand Axinstroug, y f».i are charged that •tl * Wellington on t;.e sixth day of May, .1933, you die muuier one Edward Armstrong.’ 1 Detective-Sergeant McHugh: In this case I ask for a remand for accused to appear at Welling'.on to-morrow. The MagDliote remanded him to appear, in the Magistrate’s Court at \Vt liingtou to-morrow at 10 a.m. The proceedings occupied just on 30 seconds, and accuseu then turned and disappeared :mto the prisoners' roim, to be rrluaied to the police station in the motor-cat which had brought h;m to Court. The cl.urge, sheet gave Scotland us the country of accused’s birth.

MOVEMENTS OF ACCUSED PASSENGER ON TAMAjHINE. WELLINGTON, May 10. The arrest, when he stepped off the Limited at Auckland to-day, of Douglas Alexander Armstrong, charged with the murder of his father in Wellington on Friday last, was the culmination of a rapid and concentrated investigation by the police. The circumstances pointed to a limited range of clues, and while a great deal of attention was paid to Picton and the adjacent area —and this will continue in the hope of discovering the remainder of the body —the detective force have concentrated particularly on Wellington. Accused, who is the eldest son, was, it was found, a passenger on the Tamahine, which left Wellington on Friday afternoon for Picton, It was also discovered that he landed at Picton and proceeded to Blenheim, and on Saturday was a passenger on a Cook Strait aeroplane, arriving at Wellington at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, which was aboujt the time when the police were getting active. Further trace of accused was then lost. It was apparently not known where he stayed on Sunday and Monday, although every effort was made, all outward trains and steamers being carefully watched. Monday night’s Limited express was searched in Wellington before its departure without result. Armstrong boarded it at a wayside station. ' The police cordon of watchers extended throughout the North Island, and it was so complete that when accused, for whom a warrant had been issued overnight, reached the Auckland platform there were police officers who could identify him and make the charge. ARRIVAL AT STATION PASSED ALMOST UNNOTICED. AUCKLAND, Last Night. Very few persons at the Auckland railway station to-night noticed the arrival of Douglas Armstrong and his police escort when he hoarded the Limited express in order to be brought before the Wellington Magistrate’s Court to-morrow. None of the other passengers in his carriage seemed to be aware of his identity. Armstrong was taken to the station in an ordinary touring-car, and to avoid as much notice being taken of his arrival as possible, he was driven round to the mail platform near the Limited’s departure platform. Before being escorted to his seat on the train he was handcuffed to ActingDetective E.-’-M. Grace, with Detective W. E. Turgis Also in attendance, and little notice was taken of him as ho walked composedly up the platform between the detectives. A light raincoat thrown over the handcuffs formed an

effective concealment of Armstrong’s captivity, and lie and Detective Grace merely seemed to he assisting each other to carry some luggage. The prisoner was wearing a collar and tie, this being the only difference from his appearance in the Magistrate’s Court in the afternoon. He had no personal luggage. Three seats near the back of the second-class carriage “B,” the second car from the engine, had been reserved for the party. POST-MORTEM AT PICTON BURIAL OF THE BODY. BLENHEIM, May 10. Considerable importance attaches to a post-mortem that will probably be conducted at Pictou to-day by Dr. Lynch,' Government pathologist, who arrived by the Dunedin air-liner at about noon. It is hoped that his examination will establish for one thing whether the stab wounds on the body, or at least one which could have been fatal, were actually the cause of death or whether they were inflicted after death. Authority for the burial of the body was issued after the inquest last night by the coroner, but it is not yet certain whether interment will be at Picton or Wellinjgttfifcir Dragging .operations have not yet beeb at the Picton wharf for the missing head-and legs, but this will probably begin after the 'departure of the' Taibahine to-day. ACCUSED’S ARRIVAL AT WELLINGTON. WELLINGTON, This Day. Handcuffed to Acting-Detective E. M. Grace, and with a light raincoat thrown over his hands to conceal captivity, Armstrong alighted from , the Limited shortly after 9.45 this morning. Detective W. E. Turges was also in attendance, A fairly large crowd was at the station, but outwardly Armstrong appeared quite calm. He was wearing a navy blue suit with no overcoat. He appeared as if he wms merely helping another man to carry a ease. He was led to the police van immediately.

SEARCH FOR MISSING REMAINS WELLINGTON, This Day. Now that, the wharf at Picton is clear of shipping an exhaustive search is to be made of that portion of the harbour by the police officials, who are. anxious ; to receive the missing head and limbs. To assist this search a diver is being engaged by the department, and lie: was to leave Wellington-, this afternoon by the Tamahine to commence to-morrow. Armstrong is - twenty, not twenty-one. ACCUSED REMANDED TILL MAY 18TH. WELLINGTON, This Day. Douglas Alexander Armstrong, aged 2C years, an apprentice engineer, of Wellington, was charged, to-day, before Mr. .1. H. Lnxford, S.M., with -the murder of his father, Edwin Armstrong, af Wellington, on May 6th. Public interest in the case was evident in the large number of spectators which crowded at the back of the court, a steady stream arriving until 10-a.m., when the Court was timed to open. The public space was crammed with a crowd predominately male and estimated at about 300. A number of people outside, including many women, were unable to gain admission. Accused was the first defendant called and he stepped calmly into the box. The charge was road by the clerk, after which Mr. D. Foster intimated that he was appearing on behalf of the accused. Detective-Sergeant T. Doyle asked for a remand until Wednesday.. “It is not likely that we will lie able to proceed on that day, Sir, and it may be necessary to apply for a further remand,” he added. The Magistrate to accused ; Yon will be remanded to appear next Wednesday, May ISth. Accused then left the box. A buzz of conversation immediately broke out at the back of the court and the orderlv called loudly for silence, but it was several moments before there was silence in the court.