MURDER OF A SOLDIER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8538, 11 April 1891, Page 2 (Supplement)

MURDER OF A SOLDIER.

A ROMANCE OF INDIA. Walter Hasskll, 36, described as a clerk, was indicted at the Old Bailey on Feb. 12 charged with the wilful murder of James l)ovvne, by outtinsr his throat and inflicting other injuries, at Umballa, in India, Theciroumsbances under which the charge was preferred against the prisoner were of a somewhat extraordinary character, the case against him being merely founded upon a confession made by Mm that he was guilty, of the alleged crime. . F«om the opening statement of the learned counsel for the Treasury, it appeared that the prisoner was a private in the 4bh battalion of a regiment of Rifles. In 1887 he was with his regiment in India, and in tho autumn of that year the regiment was on a march through the country. In February, 1888, it was stationed at Umballa, and one night while tho prisoner was on duty the deceased, who was a private in the regiment, was found with a severe wound in his head and his throat cub. No suspicion appeared at the time to have been entertained that the prisoner had committed any offence, and he subsequently returned to England with his regiment and was discharged in tho course of tho year 1890. He seemed to have been a man of disorderly character, and ho was charged with assaults and similar offences. On the last occasion when ho was in custody he made a statement to the effect that he was guilty of the murder of fkis comrade Downes, stating at the same ttme, however, that he was nob the man he iiijlnded to kill, and that he mistook him rot a man named Bacom, who whs a police "patrol attached to the regiment. Inquiries were at once instituted, which led to the discovery that the man Downes really had been killed in the way suggested, and evidence vjas obtained that the' prisoner had beenWrequenbly heard to threaten Bacom; and that ho entertained strong feelings of animosity towards him; but ib appeared that while the inquiries were going on in India, the prisoner had withdrawn the confessionHio had made, and asserted that he was not guilty of the offence. When called upon now Hassell formally pleaded " Not guilty." John Patrick Regan, formerly a private in tho 4th Rifles, deposed that he was with the regiment at Umballa, in 1888. The prisoner belonged to tho same regiment, and the deceased was also a private. Lancecorporal Bacom also belonged to the regiment, and while the regiment was in camp at Umballa tho prisoner frequently complained of his having reported him, and said that if he could not do anything to him in India, he would throw him overboard while they were on the voyage to England. Tho deceased man Downes was murdered on the night of Feb. 22, 1888, but he never heard the prisoner make any allusion to the murder. Cross-examined: The prisoner was.discharged upon the arrival of the regiment in England. Ho hoard the prisoner utter the threats on several occasions.

James Brennan, another private in the regiment, gave similar evidence as to threats uttered by the prisoner against Bacotn. In consequence of a report- by Bacom against the prisoner, the latter was ordered to do what whs called " defaulters' drill." On the evening before the murder the prisoner was in the canteen, and it was there that he made use of the threats. He had always been on friendly terms with the prisoner, and lie heard nothing about the confession of the murder until it was given in evidence at the police court. The prisoner subsequently told him that he felt happier since he had made the statement, and he was very sorry that ho had killed " poor Uownes." . Cross-examined : Bacom was an unpopular man in the regiment, and he hud heard other men threaten him. George Bacom, the military policeman in the regiment, was examined, and proved that he had no recollection of having reported the prisoner for any misconduct until after the murder. So far as he knew, he said, he was on friendly terms with the prisoner. Alfred Burniss, a private in the regiment, proved that the deceased was in uniform on the night of the murder, and that he was about the same stature as Bacom.

Evidence was then adduced as to the finding of tho body of the deceased man lying in the road with his throat cut and a severe wound in the head, apparently inflicted by a stick. Upon a question being put to him as to by whom he had been injured, he pointed in a direction where the [prisoner was standing, or, at all events, was believed to have so pointed. Mr. C. J. Godfrey, chief warder at Milbank prison last year, deposed that in September the prisoner was undergoing a sentence of 21 days' imprisonment as George Harris. On Sept. 21 he was supplied with writing materials, and ho wrote a statement, which he signed. The statement was read by the prisoner, and it was to the effect that he attacked Dowries and killed him in mistake for another man. Evidence was then given that when the prisonor was apprehended he said the statement was written by him, and it was quite true.

This closed the case for the prosecution. Mr. .Hubton, on behalf of the prisoner, said that the defence he had instructions to make to the charge was that the prisoner had made the confession that was the sole foundation for the charge for the purpose of relieving himself from the miserable "condition in which he found himself, and that the jury ought nob to give effect to such a statement, which would have the effect of forfeiting the life of the prisoner. The jury found prisoner " Nob Guilty."