HOW ELSIE WALKER’S BODY WAS FOUND

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6812, 16 January 1929, Page 7

HOW ELSIE WALKER’S BODY WAS FOUND

Police in the Box

CORONER CRITICISES THEIR METHODS Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, Jan. 15. . At the inquest concerning the death of the girl Elsie Walker, Roger Butlor, garage proprietor, of Papatoetoe, said that he took the Bayly’s abandoned car to the garage and it had a fair good drop of petrol in the tank. She car was in good order and started at once.

James Morris Thompson aged 11 years and .his uncle, Stephen Cartel?, gave evidence of finding tho body on tho night of October 5. Carter said that there was no indication of a struggle. Tho Coroner (Mr. Hunt): You would never havo seen tho body if tho feet had not been sticking out of the scrub ? —Witness: No.

Cross-examined, Mr. Carter said that tho clothes on the body were not disarranged. He thought that the body had been thrown into tho scrub, not dragged or pushed there. There appeared to bo a swelling under one eye, and the nose was full of blood. Constable Collins, of St. Helior’s, said his opinion on first seeing the body was that it was either a case of suicide or death from natural causes. When he rang up the detectives he was told to take the body to the morgue. Tho Coroner (to Constable Collins): You camo to that conclusion (suicide or death from natural causes) after an examination by night with an electric torch f —Yes.

And why did you not mako a report to a Coroner f—l left it to tho detectives.

Do you know that you shouldn’t havo moved the body without tho £>ithority of a Coroner !—I understood from the regulations that the body had to be taken to a morgue within three miles.

The Coroner: Did you f Well, I'll read your regulations to you. M. Hunt read tho clause effecting the removal of bodies and then remarked: “T think it grossly wrong. Sensible people would have loft tho body until daylight instead of trying to mack an examination by night. Somebody should havo been posted to guard the body and a careful examination made.”

Frederick Coppin, an undertaker's assistant, said that he got the impression that tho girl was thrown- into the bushes, but as the grass had been tramplod down by other people there before him, ho couldn't say whether there had been any struggle. When he got to the morguo ho noticed blood on the underclothing for the first"fime and thought it was damp. Detective Watorson said on the night tho body was found he received instructions about 11 p.m. to go to the morgue. Tho instructions were that the body was there and detective investigations wero necessary.

Among those present were two doctors. The body was lying dressed on tho slab. Witness examined it for signs of injury. Ho found the faoo very badly beaten. It had the appearance of having been knocked about. The left cheek wa3 missing and tho angle of the jaw was badly injured. One eye was swollen and tho hair was much covered with blood. Apart ffom the arms the rest of tho body showed no signs of injury. There was no hat but the body was fully dressed with an overcoat buttoned up. There was no money in the pockets but two letters and two handkorchiefs were found in the pockets of the overcoat.

Pieces of tho clothing were produced, including a fragment of silk which appeared torn or cut. The initials G. N. L. B.—those of Godfrey Bayly—wero seen on a handkerchief found in the pocket. Blood stains were observed by witness on the skirt. He wus sure tho stains wore there before he removed the clothing from tho body. Describing his visit to the place where the body was found the detective said traces of blood wero found on leaves under the bush where the girl was lying. In reply to the Coroner witness said the doctors wero thero when he was examining the body and thoy also looked at it.

The Coroner: Don’t you think it was very improper for you to rCmovo the clothing? Tho regulations say we must thoroughly examine the body. The Coroner: But sec how essential it was we should know the relative position of the garments. I know exactly how they were on the body. ' The Coroner: But don’t you see that by rolling the clothing up as you ■did you caused stains to appear in different places so that no one could tell if they were on the front or the back.

Mr. Hunt then asked whose duty witness considered it was to make a report to the Coroner, to which witness replied it would be made by the officer in charge of tho case, Sorgeant Kelly. Mr. Hunt: You knew the girl was missing from the same place as the car?—Yes.

Evidence was given by two men who had secu a girl early on the morning of October 2nd.

A newspaper carrier saw a girl about 4.4-5 a.m. near Papatoetoe and a road worker saw a girl about nino o’clock the same morning walking in the direction of Panmure. Tho second witnesa said there was a young man in the neighbourhood about two hours afterward. He was idling under a shop verandah. Detective-Sergeant Kelly detailed the police investigations in the case. Witness said they w-ere first advised of the finding of the body about 8.30 on the evening of October sth. He told Constable' Collins to view tho body and under no circumstances to remove it from the condition it was found in. About 9.30 Consetablo Collins rang witness and the re-

suit of his examination. He said that he thought the girl had cither committed suicide or had crawled in the scrub and died. “I told him to remove the body to tho morgue,” said witness. “What you should have done was to send somebody out to look after tho !body until the morning and then made :an examination said Mr. Hunt. Mr. Hunt: You did not know of stains on her clothes at that stage. I had seen some of the underclothes and dressi I noted various marks on the garments. Why didn’t you tell the doctor about the biood? Tho reason I did not tell the doctor of the stains was because of t.hc fact that tho doctor told the chief detective that tho girl had not been interfered with and that he suspected poison. Tho inquiry was adjourned till tomorrow.