PIHA FIRE MYSTERY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 19 April 1939, Page 5

PIHA FIRE MYSTERY

TWO MEN CHARGED FURTHER EVIDENCE HEARD TWENTY-FIVE WITNESSES CALLED AUCKLAND, 13th April. The Lower Court hearing in the Piha | fire case continued in the Magistrates' ! Court to-day before Mr C. R. OrrWalker, S.M. The two accused, Gor- | don Robert McKay. alias Tom Bow- | lands, wool and skin dealer, aged 43. 1 and James Arthur Talbot. labourer, i aged 38. were jointly charged with improperly interfering with a dead human body, that of Patrick Henry Shine, in Auckland on 10th February, and with wilfully setting fire to the dwel-ling-house of Frank Carew Thomas, thereby committing arson, in Piha on 12th February. The arson charge was amended, making Florence Jessie Thomas owner of the bach. Accused were represented by Mr R. J. C. Sanderson for McKay and Mr J. Terry for Talbot. Detective-Sergeant Nalder prosecuted, assisted by Detec-tive-Sergeants J. Tretheway and Aplin, who arrested Talbot on 10th March and McKay on 22nd March. Arthea Graven, clerk of the Drive ourself. Ltd., said two men whom she identified as accused, hired a car for a week on an agreement made out for and signed by Gordon R. McKay. The car was taken out of the garage on Friday morning, 10th February, and returned by Talbot three days later. The car had travelled 182 miles and some small holes had been burnt in the hood, the damage being assessed at £3 ss. The car was an 8 h.p. model, painted fawn and having leather upholstery and two doors. Witness added that she recognised McKay in an identification parade on 30th March as the man who hired the car. LETTING OF GARAGE Eileen Hearling. widow, Avondale, said she was in a confectioner’s shop ■ in Rosebank road on the afternoon of 10th February. She now recognised a man who came into the shop inquiring for a garage as McKay. She agreed to let the garage at her home. McKay asked witness to show him where it was. She occupied the rear seat of a small car driven by a man whom she now knew to be Talbot. There were two double doors on the garage, but no window.

Witness said that next morning she looked at the garage. The doors were padlocked, but there was a gap an inch wide between them. Looking through she saw a bundle quite five feet long wrapped in sacking. It was stitched up. and she thought it might be bedding rolled up. She also saw a smaller bundle covered with a sack. At about 3 o'clock in the afternon she saw McKay backing the car out into the street. He waved his hand to her. Talbot closed the door and they drove away. After they had left witness looked in the garage and saw that the two bundles had gone, and also saw a long-handled shovel. which was not hers and seemed practically new. There was clay on the face of the shovel. She did not see the two accused again after that day. On 22nd February she saw DetectiveSergeant Tretheway take possession of the shovel and gather same clay off the garage door. There was no clay like that found in the garage on witness’s section. She also saw the detective take oossession of an old sack. Mrs Hearling added that she saw a photograph of McKay in a newspaper on 22nd February, and recognised it as being that of the man who hired the garage. Up to then she had not known his name. WHAT WITNESS SAW IN GARAGE The first new witness called in this afternoon's session was Margaret Frances Hearling, daughter of the previous witness. The garage at her home was let on 10th February, she said. She arrived home from work at 5.45 p.m. and soon after tea she looked through the kitchen window and saw two men. She now knew them to be the two accused. When she first saw them McKay was standing outside the garage and Talbot was fixing something at the top of the doors of the garage. She saw no more of the men that night. Witness did not go to work the following morning, Saturday. At 9 a.m. she noticed there was a padlock on the doors. On going over to the garage with her mother she looked through a crack between the doors.

"I saw no car in the garage, but on the left-hand side I saw a bundle iying against the wall.” continued wit-

ness. “It looked to be tightly wrapped in sacks. I did not notice any stitching. The bundle would be about sft long, about 18in wide, and a foot high above the ground. On the other side I saw another bundle. It seemed to be a sack thrown down there. The same day about 3 p.m.. when I was going out, the garage doors were open and there was a car inside. It was a small buff-coloured car. There was no one in the garage as far as I could see. I did not then notice the bundle on the ground.”

Witness was walking along the road where she lived when the car passed her. She could see McKay and Talbot in the car. She next noticed the garage on the following morning, Sunday, about 8.30. The doors were partly open and the padlock was missing. In the left-hand corner of the door was a new shovel. She had never seen it there before. It did not belong to witness’s household. On Saturday, 11th March, witness saw a "line up” of men from which she picked out Talbot. On 24th March she attended another identification parade, when she identified McKay.

As he had an urgent matter to attend to. Constable Noel Arthur Petersen was called out of sequence. He said that on 14th February he saw Talbot at the Auckland Police Station, when Talbot gave him a short statement regarding the family of Gordon Robert McKay, who was alleged to have been burnt to death in Piha in the fire two clays earlier.

Detective-Sergeant Nalder: Was there any mention of funeral expenses? Witness: Yes, he said he had communicated with McKay’s brother about, his death and the brother had cabled £3O to cover funeral expenses. He said

lit was the brother’s wish that the remains should be cremated. Thomas Braithwaite Hutchinson. ' whose sister owned land in Piha, said McKay came to see him about renting a bach. He gave his name as McKay and said he was going to have his teeth out and that he wanted a nice quiet place to rest in. He said if he liked the place he might stay on indefinitely as he would like to bring his wife and family from Sydney. McKay decided he would go and have a look at the Bach. Talbot was with McKay when they later agreed to take the bach. "In the garage at the bach on the Sunday I was there a four-gallon tin of kerosene was standing on the floor, about three parts full.” witness stated. “On a concrete slab on the floor was a two-gallon benzine tin about half full of benzine.” Witness said these tins were similar to two produced in Court. A four-gallon tin also produced was not on the premises on the Sunday he was there. DENTAL NURSE S EVIDENCE "I remember a man who gave his name as G. R. McKay coming in for professional attention on 17th February,” said Gladys Marie Rollo, dental nurse employed by Howey Walker. “He came in about 10.30 a.m. and gave his address as 14 Hardings street. He said he was from Australia and was here in New Zealand indefinitely.”

Witness identified the man as McKay. He was wearing a full upper denture and partial lower but when nine teeth were extracted from the lower jaw he had no teeth left.

What he knew of the fire which destroyed the bach was told by a storeman, Frank Allan Fraser, who said that in February he was occupying a bach in Piha about 100 yards from that owned by people named Thomas. The day before the fire he saw two men arrive in a small car. pulling up at the gates of the Thomas bach and then taking the car into the garage. He recognised the two men as accused Talbot and McKay. Later in the day. between 6 and 6.30 p.m.. witness was spoken to by the men at the corner of the road. McKay wanted to know whether the dark sand dirtied one’s clothes or not. saying they were visitors from Australia and were used to white sand.

“I noticed he had his teeth out and was holding his handkerchief up to his mouth.” witness continued. “He said he had had his teeth out that day and was not feeling too well and that he and his mate had come out for a few days while he recuperated. They went to the Thomas bach and that was the last I saw of them that night. THE FIRE AT THE BACH “About 1.30 next morning 1 was awakened by Talbot shouting down the street. He was saying ‘Wake up! Wake up! Won’t somebody wake up? The bach is on fire.’ I put on my coat and went down to the Thomas bach with Talbot, who was dressed in pyjamas and had bare feet. I could see the bach was on fire. Flames were coming out of the eaves and out of the window over the garage. The fire was strongest in the room over the garage.” He went round to the door, where there was a man named Thurston and another man. Witness said Thurston was from one of the other baches. The door was locked but Thurston broke it in with an axe and witness could see flames in the room over the garage. The fire was spreading out toward the kitchen. Talbot put a wet sack over his head and tried to enter but someone restrained him at the doorway. Andrew Littlejohn Sutton. another Piha resident, gave similar evidence. Ho said that going toward the fire in the Thomas bach he noticed a strong smell of kerosene. It could be smelt about 75 yards from the fire, which seemed to have the strongest hold in the room over the garage. Witness heard Talbot say. “Say. my cobber, he is in there.” Corroborative evidence was given by Douglas M. Thurston, another Piha residept. “I had heard from a woman there was a baby in the bach.” witness stated. “When Talbot arrived I asked him who w’as in the bach and he said. ‘My mate, my mate ’ ” The flames which issued from the seat of the fire were bluish white and very fierce, witness said. When he went home at 3 o’clock in the morning there were only embers left to show' where the bach had stood. At this stage the hearing was adjourned till to-morrow.