BURWOOD MURDER

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVII, Issue 204, 27 July 1927, Page 7

BURWOOD MURDER

TAXI DRIVER ARRESTED, CHARGED AT CHRISTCHURCH. EMPLOYEE OF CITY FIRM. Per Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, July 27. Charles William Roalces, a taxi driver, was arrested this morning and charged with the murder of Ellen Gwendoline Scarff on June 15... Roakes is a married man with two children, and has been employed by a city firm for some time. It is understood that he at one stage worked for Walter Scarff, the father of the dead girl. He was interviewed at length by detectives a day or two after the discovery of the tragedy. Later, in the Court, Roakes was charged with the murder of Gwendoline Scarff, and that, on May 19, 1927, he did unlawfully supply a noxious thing, to wit, ergot to the girl, knowing that the same was intended to be unlawfully used. Roakes’s age was given as 37, and as being born in New Zealand. He was remanded to August 4 on the application of the Crown Prosecutor. The body of Gwendoline Scarff, aged between 30 and 35, was found in a thick growth of lupins in a paddock at Burwood, a suburb about four miles from Christchurch. The discovery was made by a young lad on the afternoon of June 15. The scene of the tragedy was only 20 yards from the roadway. Despite the efforts of the police the crime remained a mystery. The Government shortly after the tragedy offered a reward for information leading to the conviction of the perpetrator. The crime was the subject of a question in Parliament last week when an increased reward was urged.