FRATRICIDE CHARGE

Northern Advocate, 16 December 1932, Page 8

FRATRICIDE CHARGE

WHIROKINO TRAGEDY PRELIMINARY HEARING. ■ FATHER ’3 TESTIMONY. (Per Press Association. —Copyright.) LEVIN, This Day. -■The preliminary hearing of the charge of the murder of his brother, d"bhh Spencer Easton, at Whirokino on November 22, preferred against Allen Kby Easton, began before Mr .T. 1,. Stout, S.M., in the Police Court this morning. T -G. M. Wheeler, civil engineer, produced plans of the cowshed and surroundings at the scene of the tragedy. - Senior-Sergeant Dinuie deposed that - Jie could find no finger-prints on the gun picked up about 100 yards from tho cowshed. ' Richard Allen Easton, father of the (deceased, said the deceased would have been 17 years in May. On the day of the tragedy he and his sons had milked 21, cows,'when Roy said to Jack that ho' had better milk another before starting to separate. Jack said witness and Roy could finish in plenty of time, but the latter repeated his remark, whereupon Jack got in another cow. While deceased was out of the bale, Roy.said something to Jack which witness did not hear, but Jack immediately got up and -went into Roy’s bale and shook his brother by the shoulder. " Witness said he intervened and Jack went on milking. Roy finished, his cow, emptied the milk and went away. Ho looked as if he was crying and was thoroughly upset. Witness saw Roy getting through a fence towards the hbuse. Witness and Jack continued niilking for six or seven minutes and thbn came the report of a gun. Jack got up, witness continued and walked bvbr to the yard fence with his hand it o' his chest. He said: “Dad, you had better got a doctor. I’m hurt,”. Witness ran to a neighbour’s house to .telephone for a doctor, and when ho got back Jack was dead. When he .first went across the yard to Jack, witness saw Roy running away. He looked back and could have seen Jack, but whether he did so or not witness nould not say. "Hater, witness picked up a cartridge case about six feet from the leowyard fence. // Continuing his evidence, "witness said there wore two guns and two ■rifles in the house, but there was only one shotgun and cartridge left. Boy did not come home that night. The next afternoon witness saw him near the Whirokino Bridge. He told him to go home. After walking along a lit.tie way, Roy said: “How is Jack? Witness told him that he was dead. ■The gun found near the bail had been recently repaired. About 50 cartridges had been since fired. Witness fired three of these and another misfired. ■ u Dr. F. J. Thompson detailed the ;~c6ndition of the wounds as observed ''‘at’Thb post-mortem. ' Sidney Tisdall, arms expert, deposed that from marks on a post in the cowshed it was evident that the shot had been fired from between the top and seepnd rail in the cowyard fence, at a distance of about 10 yards. (Proceeding.)