Was McKay Burned To Death At Piha? Police Reopen Grave

Northern Advocate, 1 March 1939, Page 8

Was McKay Burned To Death At Piha? Police Reopen Grave

[Special to “Northern Advocate ”]

AUCKLAND, Tins Cay

JpOI.JCE INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE PIHA FIRE TRAGEDY AT 1.30 O’CLOCK ON THE MORNING OF SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, ARE BEING CONDUCTED WITH UNABATED VIGOUR.

It will be remembered that three days after the tragedy it was learned from Australia that the victim, Mr Gordon Robert McKay, aged 45, hide and skin merchant, of Burwood. Sydney, was insured for sums totalling £50,000, £40,000 of which was taken out last September. This information in itself would cause the police to investigate with special care the circumstances of the fire and death.

In addition, however, it is understood that the preliminary investigations of the police have led them to examine the possibility that no one was burned to death in the fire, or, alternatively, that the remains found were not those of Mr McKay.

A Startling Development

Last week there was a startling development, the police securing the necessary permission to exhume the remains, 1 which had been interred r‘ Waikumete Cemetery on Wednesday, February 15.

News >of this exhumation was withheld by the Auckland daily newspapers, at the request of Inspector R. R. J. Ward, in charge of the Auckland Detective Division, and who is directing investigations, assisted by Detec-tive-Sergeant F. Aplin and J. Tretheway, and others, but no news of the exhumation is published elsewhere.