MURDER OF MR. GEORGE DOBSON.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 110, 12 July 1866, Page 2

MURDER OF MR. GEORGE DOBSON.

We are in receipt of the G\ U. Argus of I the sth, 7th, and 10th instant, containing the particulars connected with the finding of, the body of Mr. Dobson. . .-; :r /.;,,...., According to the Argus — Sullivan said that a party. ;of .three — Kelly,, Murray.. (who is now supposed, to be the. mate " disposed of"), and himself were oh the track for the purpose of sticking, up JVIr. E. 8., Fox, .of, Maori Gully, who was knowii to bring down large quantities of gold. .Sqllivan. was ,watqh- , ing the track, at their tent, which was pitched a short distance into the scrub. About half a: mile fromthe coalpits he. .was m£tj.b,y a iyourig. man (Mr. Dobson) who, asked hint how far. it. was, to, the coalpits. . He ' rep'lied,;.,"half c a., mile,? ;and . allowed him to pass.' Shortly afterwards he met a man and a woman, and he also allowed

them' ito pass. ' Rain' then began'to fall, and he made, for -the . tent for . shelter. ■_ ■ Close alongside the tent he saw the young man who-;,,had ..passed him, , sitting apparently • against the trunk of a tree, but; quite "dead/ havings "been .'strangled;• Sullivan v knew he was hot Fox, and he suggeste.d the body should be. buried. Kelly remark.ed .that it, was better, to,leave the body so,as. it would make, -the people who saw it think that, he died, from exhaustion.. ' Kellyj further remarked, " I and another, man liave,put many away that way." Sullivan, then returned to = the track, to watch with a double-barrelled gun, and he was shortly .afterwards joined by , Murray and Kelly, who said they had buried the young man's body. Sullivan further adds that on-the body, they found a; silver, watch, aud gold Albert chain, a pocket compass in' .a leather case,- and a bill qr deposit receipt for £32 or £22, bearing the name " Dobson." The papers were burned, .by Sullivan, and Kelly said- they buried the watch, compass, and other articles with the body. '".:.'..: The Argus describes the .progress-of the searching party, - with Inspector James at their head. Constable O'Brien brought from Nelson a tracing of the spot where the body, was secreted. . At five, minutes to 12 o'clock, ori Friday, the 6th instant, the party were following up a .blind dry creek, and Inspector James Was at tlie feot of'a, large fallen log over the creek, when lie remarked to Constable( MTlroy, who wa-sfollowiiig,,thathe felt a most unusual smell. Constable, MTlrby immediately observed'lying in.the creek a.brandy bottle, and he re-,, plied that he thoughtthe smell'came'from the brandy., Mr. Jimes'said it was hot that,, arid an eximination, of the bottle sh6w*ed tliat'the label was quite fresh, and it could not have been, there Tong." A close search'of'the ground was, immediately commenced, , footprints were seen, and within three yards of.the spot where they were standing Constable M'llroy obobserved.the toe of-a bootlicking up-about an inch above the ground, arid in a'minute the party .had the satisfaction of knowing that-their labors had termi-. nated' successfully, ' The body was buried under a high terrace, arid it -was rather riiortifying for Mr. James to see that on the first day' of the search he had been on the top of this terrace, within, about. 30,. feet of the spot where* thegrave was. This party consisted bt Mr. Todhunter, the brother-in-law of the murdered man,, Mr.-Bain, district surveyor,, and a number of gentlemen who had that morning- volunteered to assist in the search. The earth" was tlien removed.'from the body, and it was found to.be lying full length covered by from 10 . to 12 inohes of earth. The murdered man's coat had been taken. off and. thrown over the legs arid lower part of the body', his gold chain hung.on his vest, and his silver watch.was iu his left hand vest pocket. It was taken out,' and it was observed to have stopped at 28 minutes to 4 o\ lock. On removing the coat from the legs they found the murdered man's, compass in the c ise; his field book and tape, and four straps lying loose, and'his hat. The body was removed . as. nearly as possible in the position in which it lay, and the earth was not removed from the face, but it was observed that the lower part of one of the jaws was injured, which may have been caused by .decomposition. : The-trees near the spot leading to the track were marked, and the grave was found to be 30 yards off- the track.. The body was removed on a stretcher,, which had. been taken up by the first party, arid, conveyed to .the boat which had come up that day. The whole .party, with their melancholy burden, arrived in t-jwn.aboutj.3 o'clock yesterday. A large crowd assembled on the river bank, and followed the corpse as it. was borne to the Union Hotel. . An inquest was held, on the 7th inst., by Mr. Warden Revell. The evidence of. Dr. Foppoly proved that the four wounds oh "tlie head are the effect of blows given by a. blunt fiat instrument, such as the: stock of a gun. Although these wounds were riot sufficient to produce death, they were sufficient to stun a person and render him insensible. ' The alter-, ation we found ia the respiratory organs: are visibly the effect of the violent pressure of a hand on the throat. The mark on-the jugular vein maybe caused by a thumb, and the person who committed the deed must have used the .left hand. The pause of-death* was the blows on the head and the pressure of the larynx in an .upward direction until, 'suffocation ensued. The handkerchief was notiused -to: strangle the deceased,.for if,it had it would have caused a cir- . cular mark "round., the. "neck, b.iit would not have displaced the.larynx'as was .done.. • , . The inquest "was adjourned.:; The funeral, which Avas a public one,,'took. place last. Sunday afternoon.,, Mr. Dobson, senior, aiid his sons-in-law, Dr. Haast, and Mr. Todhunter being the chief indurners. The Superintendent of the Province was present and the Lord Bishop of Christchurch read the funeral service...