NORTH AUCKLAND MURDER MYSTERY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 4669, 9 July 1936, Page 3

NORTH AUCKLAND MURDER MYSTERY.

WIPE-SPREAD SEARCH

The detectives engaged in searching for the murderer of Mr Ernest Severin Nelson, of Waihou Valley, North Auckland, have not yet made an arrest, and the case is apparently still a mystery. It is now four weeks since Mr. Nelson was shot. The time of the crime is known to a minute —it was 7.47 p.m. At 10 o’clock that night the body was found and the police were on the spot within two hours. Early next morning detectives, under an inspector, had taken charge of the case and had the assistance of 10 constables. No clue was discovered the morning after the murder and no clue has vet been found.

Large areas of surrounding country have been cleared of fern and scrub in search for the case of the cartridge used and the Waihou River has been dragged for miles in vain search for the gun. All guns in the district have been collected and are under examination by an expert. Everyone known to have been in the neighbourhood or to have travelled tlici road that evening has been questioned. The movements of all who in the most remote way could be connected with the.case have been examined and re-examined, and every statement vei’ified, but no definite headway has been made. The Hokianga Maori Council has taken a hand in the investigation and conducted its own inquiry, and is still helping the police in their search for the murderer or for material informa'tion that might lead to his arrest. So far its efforts have been without result.

A number of the Maoris in the district work in the bush, miles from home, and only return at week-ends. To interrogate them the police have to follow them where they are working, this often entailing long journeys. The weather has now broken, rivers and streams have risen and clay roads are becoming bogs. This, of course, hampers the police in their operations as many of the streams are unbridged and the cold, wet days, make conditions most uncomfortable. Police activities have again branched farther afield in the search for information and a recanvass of houses is being carried out with infinite care. All shotguns that were recently taken possession of have been examined and patterns taken of the discharges from each, both single and double barrel, from the- angle at which the police believe the fatal shot was fired.