RAILWAY MYSTERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11620, 6 April 1901, Page 2 (Supplement)

RAILWAY MYSTERY.

DISCHARGED SOLDIER'S LEGS CUT OFF. PAaTicur,Aß3 of an alarming occurrence on the London and North-Western Railway, as a result of which a discharged soldier has lost his legs, and now lies in a critical condition in the Middlesex Hospital, were unfolded before Mr. Curtis Bennett at Marylebone recently. ; Accused is Alexander Whittaker, 21, also a discharged soldier, living at 10, Forthill-street, Inniskilling, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland, and he stands charged, on suspicion, with causing grievous bodily harm to Michael Mulvaney, by throwing him out of a railway carriage near Oval Road/ St. Pancras, about twenty minutes past ten on February 5. Inspector Freeman said the case was a rather extraordinary one, and he was instructed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police to place the facts before the Court. Prisoner and the injured man were discharged from Netley Hospital on the date mentioned, and went to Euston for the purpose of travelling to Ireland. They left by the quarter- ten p.m. train. Several witnesses would be called who saw the men in conversation with persons on the platform, and they would state that, although the two men had apparently had a little to drink, they were perfectly able to speak, and appeared all right. They were in the compartment alone, '. and both doors were lecked, and as the train was leaving the station the injured' man was seen to lean out of the open window and shout " Hurrah !" The train's first stop was at Crewe, and there the guard, Wm. Roberts, noticed that the window of the compartment was broken, almost every particle of glass being gone, and that prisoner was lying full length on the seat asleep by himself. Roberts aroused him, and asked where his companion was. He said he did not know, but having his attention called to the injured man's hat, ' stick, and parcel on the seat, he said. " Oh, yes, someone was here, but I fell asleep and .don't know what has become of him." The injured man was found on the up line at twenty minutes to twelve, close to the Oval Road Bridge, with both his legs cut off. It would seem, therefore, that what happened took place within three minutes of the train leaving Euston. Search had been made, between Oval Road and Euston, but not a particle of broken glass could be found. The instrument used to break the window was apparently the injured man's own stick. Mulvaney was in a very critical condition, and in his wanderings had spoken about being kicked. It was possible he might never be able to attend the Court.

Detective-Sergeant Alum spoke to finding the prisoner detained at Crowe at a quarter to two in the morning. By Mr. F. Palmer: Prisoner appeared to have been discharged from the Inniskilling Fusiliers after serving in South Africa. He was with General Buller's force in the northeast Transvaal, and was discharged as medically unfit, his service entitling him to two South African medals. His character was "very good." Wm. Roberts, the guard of the train, corroborated the story of the police-inspector. Both the doors of the compartment, in which the two men travelled were locked before leaving Euston, so that it was not likely the glass was broken by the door being open and coming into contact with any obstruction during the journey. ; Mr. Curtis Bennett remanded prisoner, and refused an application for bail