THE TRUNK TRAGEDY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, 2 October 1907, Page 1

THE TRUNK TRAGEDY.

THE WIFE'S ACCOUNT AND OOOLD-S ADMISSION. A London correspondent writes bb follows uuder date August llth :— It is not yet placed beyond the pale of doubt that Vere Goold, the confessed murderer of Madame Levin, is really the "Simon Pure," namely, the brother of the present baronet, Sir James Goold, but so far nothing has transpired to strengthen the suspicions entertained at first that he was an imposter trading on the fact that he knew the real Vere Goold was dead. His jrime certainly seems totally at variance with the character given to the man \v those in England who knew him, but it is quite clear that for some years past the man has been a very heavy drinker, and alcoholic excesses, as we know full well, produce astounding moral as well as physical changes, often in a comparatively short space of time. Mrs Goold, whose dramatic confession last Tuesday preceded that made by Vere Goold, declared that her husband committed the crime in a drunken frenzy. Her tale differed in many minor particulars from that told by her husband, but on the main points they tallied very well. Madame Goold's examination lasted three hours. It was practically one long monologue by the wretched woman, with occasional interjections by the Magistrate. "I was not the real criminal," she said. "It was not even my husband, although his hand struck the blow. The real criminal was drink, and whiskey is responsible for all. I lied before, but this time I am telling you the whole, the entire truth. It was my husband who killed Emma Levin, but he was drunk when he did it. The real criminal is whisky." And then she told how Emma Levin came to their house about half-past five on the fatal day ; how Levin commenced to talk about money matters, saying she was short and wanted to go to Monte Carlo. "My husband," she continued, "said he would lend her £40. Naturally, I thought it right to leave them when they were discussing business matters, and went up to my bedroom. I had been there a few minutes only when I heard piercing shrieks and the sounds of a struggle. I was terribly frightened, and knew that something dreadful had occurred. . . . Emma Levin lay on the floor was in a pool of blood. My husband, all splashed with her blood", stood over her, holding an Indian dagger. 'What have you done?' I said. Why have you killed this woman?' My husband looked at me wildly. He was drunk.. 'She came to borrow money, he said. 'I told her I would lend her nothing, and she insisted. I lost my temper, and I struck her several times in my ungovernable rage. Now she is dead.' "I looked at him in horror and shrieked out that I would go out to the Casino at once, and tell what had happened, 'You had better not,' he said, ho said. 'Now this misfortune has occurred the only thing to do is to take the necessary precautions.' "I was half crazy with fear, and said, 'What do . you want me to do?' 'Get a trunk,' he said, 'we will put her into it and put it into another room. Then we will decide.' "The drunken state in which my husband was then made it impossible for us to cut up the body, as we thought the best thing to do, so, hardly knowing what I was doing, I fetched the trunk and dragged it alongside the body. My husband put the body into it, and I helped him to push the trunk into the nert room. I saw my husband pour himself out half a tumblerful of whisky and I fell on the floor in a dead faint." "My husband told me afterwards," she continued, "that he had cut up Mdme. Levin's body on Monday, while my niece was at Roquebrune. I washed the stains out on Monday afternoon. There were stains everywhere. I burned some of Mdme. Levin's clothes. The others I put into the valise, where they i were found with her head and legs." The Judge endeavoured to force a confession from Mrs Goold that she had taken an active part in the fatal attack on Madame Levin. He pointed out to Mrs Goold that on her body the prison doctor had found a large number of bruises consistent with her having engaged in a violent struggle very recently, and used every means known to French Judges of trapping the accused into making some damaging admission. But he tailed. "No!" shrieked the woman. "No, I did not.' It is a lie. My husband did it. He was drunk with whisky — wild with drink. Ho was the murderer. I lied to save him. He is my husband after all. I am telling you the truth, the whole, the entire truth." And Mrs Goold threw out her hands and fainted. I When confronted with his wife's evidence, Goold at once admitted that he alone was responsible for the crime. Said he : "She has told the truth. I killed Emma Levin in a moment of ungovernable fury. This is how it happened : — I met Madame Levin on Saturday at the Casino, and she borrowed £20 from me. On Sunday she came to our apartments about five o'clock and asked for another £20. I told her that this was impossible. I had been losing money of late myself, and could not afford it. She immediately became abusive, calling me, among other I things, 'an old Shylock.' This made me wiid with rage. There was a Chinese knife, on the table near me. I caught it up, and stabbed her in the back as 6he sat on a low chair near me, She looked up in my face, and suddenly fell forward. At this moment my wifo came into the room. 'What have you done?' she said. I do not remember j what I answered, but a few moments [ afterwards I remember saying to her, 'Darling, we must get the body out cf the way before scandal falls m our name.' "My wife was terribly affected, but said she would do whatever I thought necessary. I told her to go and Ret a trunk, and she did so, but her strength failed, and as she brought the trunk into the room she fellto the floor unconscious. I put the body into the trunk and dragged it into another room. On the following day I cut the body up in the bathroom, and we left for Marseilles." "Do you not regret your crime?" the Judge asked. "Yes," he replied. "There has never been a stain on our name before. But what I regret more than the crime itself is my absolute foolishness after it. It was our first intention to leave the trunk at Marseilles, and the crime need never have been tracd to us if I had not had the mail idea of sending it to London. As for the jewels, I only took those from the body so that it might not be so easy to identify when discovered. I had no idea of stealing them." The confession was made as cooly as though the crime were an ordinary misdemeanour punishable by a few days' imprisonment.

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