THE POKENO MURDER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7259, 23 February 1885, Page 6

THE POKENO MURDER.

INQUEST: VERDICT OF WILFUL ■V: : .."'r : ■■■... . , MURDER. ~..-,

Captain Jackson, R.M., Coroner, and a jury held an inquest on Saturday, ; at the Public Hall, Pokeno, on the body of Mary Pendergaat, who was murdered by her husband, Robert Pendergast, at Mangatawhiri Valley on Thursday last. Mr. William Charles CJastleton was chosen foreman of the jury. A short delay took place owing to the absence of Detective Twohey, who had' been away since early morning getting the evidence. Th« Coroner explained the cause of the delay, and added that the inquiry would be a very painful one—the jury having known the. parties for many years. It would be then: duty, however, to carefully consider the evidence to enable themta give • proper verdict. Addressing Pendergast, thf Coroner said : "I may say to. you, Robert Pendergast, the witnesses will be examined in your presence, and at the dose of their evidence, if you wish to cross-examine them on any point it will be your privilege to do so." Pendergast thanked the Coroner. Detective Twohey conducted the inquiry. Pendergast, who was in charge of Constable Ryan,, was brought up from Mercer to bo present at the inquest. Robert Pendergast deposed: lam a settler living at Pokeno Valley, and am- the son of deceased. Robert Pendergast is my father. On Thursday, 19th inst., my mother was at my house at half-past ten. I live about three ohains from my mother's house, . She came over to see the children, who were going to a school picnic at Mr. Hobbs' paddock, Pokeno. I parted with my mother at the back gate. She told me and my wife while in the house that she intended to say nothing to her' husband the whole day that she would lock herself in her room, and take her sewing with her, and he would not disturb her. There is no lock on the door, but the door could be secured with the bolt produced. The bolt-catch is bent. The piece of wood produced was sawn from the door by me in the presence of Detective Twohey. The piece of wood bears a mark upon it. The morticing-chisel produced is usually in the workshop, a chain and a half from the house. The chisel fits into the indentation in the wood produced. The question being raised at this point whether Mrs. Pendergast, jnr., should be sent for, accused exclaimed, "I don't think you need bother sending for her. I don't deny the thing;" and there being a pause of a minute or two, prisoner said, " You might hang a fellow half-a-dozen times from the time you take." ~.,,-, Witness : My wife and family and I returned from the picnic at half-past six o'clock in the evening. On arriving near the house » suspicion crossed my mind that something .wrong, as there was no smoke coming from the chimney, the windows were up, and the cows were not bailed. I went straight to my father's house. I found my mother lying on the kitchen floor, on her left side; her face was towards the kitchen window. One hand was by her side, and the other was bent across her chest. She was quite cold, and to all appearance dead. I motioned to my wife that there was something wrong, and then searched for my father, but did not find him. I lifted my mother's body on to her bed, and noticed a wound on her temple. My mother has not occupied the same bedroom as my father for many years past. My brothers William and James lived in the house. The clothes produced are those worn by my mother. [The body of the dress, the stays, etc., were pierced, and were stained with blood. There was also blood upon the apron.] Told what had happened to Mr. Gordon, my father-in-law. I noticed blood on the kitchen floor, some near my mother's mouth. The bruise- on the temple was bloody. I took steps to Inform the police. Mr. Gordon and I called Mr. McNeish and Mr. Clark and other neighbours, and they came into the house. My father and mother have not lived on good terms for many years. I believe it is ten years since we first went to live np there, and that was when he first took this mania. «> Detective Twohey : You say your father had a mania, How do you know that ? Witness : On many occasions he wanted me out to shoot a man who was many miles away from the place. The man he referred to was Alexander Buchanan.' We came out from home in the same vessel he was a shipmate of ours. Pendergast: And a bad one, too. Witness : Buchanan has left the district oter ten years. He has only - visited the place twice to my knowledge during that *""*. "" . ' • Detective Twohey : You say your father Buffered from a mania; what form did that mania take ? • , •".••' Witness : Continual jealousy of my mother. He quarrelled with my mother very often. I have heard that he loaded a gun and threatened to shoot her, but I do. not know:this of my own knowledge. There was no ground for the jealousy. It is hard to say anything against my father, but the quarrels were chiefly caused by my father accusing my mother of communicating with Buchanan by means of signs, rapping against the side of the house, ringing of bells, etc. These noises of course had no existence. My mother's age was fifty-nine years, and she has been delicate for fifteen years past. - Once, during the past ten years, my mother left my father for some time; but during the whole ten years she has been only absent from the house two or three times. My father was in the Lunatic Asylum on two occasions—the first time for a few months only; the second time for nearly a year. My mother was anxious for his return, and continually asked us to bring him home and write to the doctor to see how he was getting on. When I left for the picnic my father was digging in the garden at the back of the house. I spoke to him while taking my cows to the paddock. He asked me where I was going to put the cows, and I said in the paddock. I noticed a piece of soldering lead mthe workshop before the 19th instant. I have been Unable to find it since. I cannot say whether the bullet produced was part of that lead. ■ . . , Pendergast: Were you certain it was on the left side she was lying, with her face to the window when you found her?

Witness: Yes. rradergast: How far would she be off the ttbier ; ■■'■• ' J '■'■.■;' Witness: She was just close enough not to be under it. Pendergast: If she was close to the table would there room to turn over to the Other side} .

Witness: Certainly. Pendergast: Was the wound on the right or left temple ? Witness: The right temple, I think. Pendergast: Yes. Well, that is all that' I have got to ask. I left her lying on the' right side. To the Foreman: When I left my father on Thursday he appeared to be just the same as usual. We can generally tell by the appearance of the eyes, when he takes one of those bad turns ; but I was not close enough to him on Thursday to see if he Was strange. When leaving my mother in the house with father we have often "requested her not to answer him. She has looked herself from him on two or three occasions. When we were out of the house my father usually troubled my mother most. My mother had not a great fear of my father. He was out on Monday and Tuesday,— drinking on both occasions. He was generally worse two or three days after drinking. Pendergast (to the Foreman): Ask him if there is anything wrong with me,—ever. That is the way to do it. To the Coroner: This mania only embraced jealousy. In other respects he was all right. He was as shrewd as ordinary men. . .., ~

. A question being asked about Buchanan, prisoner exolaimed, "Call him 'Whistle,', and then you name him proper. : Ha is the boy.to do it." It being one o'clock, the foreman asked as to the adjournment for dinner. Prisoner thereupon said "I second that ; yon are the most sensible man in the house." James Pendergaat, son of deceased, deposed that about half.past nine o'clock on the morning in question his father and mother had "some words." His father came and looked fixedly at her for a few moments, and deoeased asked him what he was looking at her for. Thtt £ led to the quarrel. It only lasted a few minutes. Witness said that he ' and '' several other young men were bathing, when bis-" father came up and 1 Mid,', "Well, boys, are you bathi«if They replied yes, and witness said '« Ain't you going to the pic-nic ?" Pender'cast replied "lam : having t enough pio-nic &dav * :l For some time past his father had ! wed taunting words to deceased every day ST fatherHftocwed deceased of tapping on

the wall, bat she did not do so. About eight yean ago his fathej tried to shoot deceased. The gun was loaded arid-' capped." Witness and his brother William" took gun from their father. * His, father- had,*, delusion that Buchanan was about 'the place. Father and mother did not take _ their meals together ; mother was always absent. The hone pistol and powder flask (with powder in it) were produced. '< ," Dr. Dalziel deposed: By order of the coroner, 1 made a post mortem examination of the body. There was a hole in the left breast of the clothing, apparently communicating with the body. Around the hole in the jacket were four or five small barns. The articles of clothing "produced were a portion of those upon the body. Having removed the clothing, I found the following juries to the body : — small wound behind A the right angle of the' fore* head, about an inch . above the right temple. It ; waa—,about * an '■■'-'. inch in length and a quarter of an inch in width, through the skin and inclined forward' wards the.forehead. .About an inch above this wound was a bruise about an inch in diameter. The wound near the temple had a little dried blood on it. The palm of the left hand and the ball of the thumb were blackened and scorohed as if from the discharge of firearms. There were several small marks on the arm just above this, and extending about four inches above the wrist. These appeared to be filled with grains of gunpowder. In the left breast opposite the hole found in the clothing there was a circular hole about a third of an inch in diameter. The wound was about two inches from the left nipple. (Witness here minutely described the coarse of the wound.) I found on the right side of the spine about two inches from its centre and over the' last rib, a piece of hammered lead almost round (produced). The bullet had lacerated the heart. The wound on the forehead might have been caused by the chisel produced. The bruise above was probably caused by a fall on the floor. Death was caused by the bullet wound in the chest. . ,-• ..■■.-.'■

Mounted; Constable Ryan deposed to arresting Pendergast on the South Road, towards Pokeno. Pendergast was standing in front of Mr. Douglas's door, evidently speaking to Mrs.'Douglas. The constable said : I walked. over to him and asked him if he was Mr. Pendergast 1! He replied : "Yes." I then said: "I will have to arrest you : for the wilful murder of your wife at Pokeno Valley." He replied: "Take your time now, you might make a mistake." -He repeated these, words two or three times. I replied : " Mistake or not, I - will arrest you way."_ He then asked who I was, and I told him I Was the constable stationed at Mercer. He said, "Oh, it's all right, then ; I done it. You will find the pistol hanging in the kitchen." I then handcuffed and searched him. Witness cautioned him in the ordinary way, and he, said he would make no statement; but he subsequently said, "I have done it, and it's a good job. It ought to have been done ten or eleven years ago. I have been .thinking of it a long time." Witness deposed to the finding of the horse pistol hanging up in the kitchen (as stated by Pendergast). It had been recently discharged, and had a cracked cap on the nipple. Thomas Porter, Frederick Edward Murray, William Pendergast, Patrick Kelly, and Constable Ryan, were examined. The jury returned a verdiot of " Wilful murder against William Pendergast, sen."