MYSTERY OF A WOMAN'S FATE

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13722, 11 April 1908, Page 2 (Supplement)

MYSTERY OF A WOMAN'S FATE

FOUND SUFFOCATED NEAR I BOURNEMOUTH. A ycvsg London ex-soldier stands accused ' of a terrible murder discovered on the cliffs near Bournemouth, where the gagged body of a. woman was found between two mounds ...v-. of earth. ".■■.■■ It was on February 20 that the dead body ■// of Emma Sherriff, a single woman, of 36/ Palmerston Road, Boscombe/was found on the cliffs between Southbourne and Warren Head, at the extreme eastern boundary of Bournemouth. She had left her home on /-// Tuesday, February 18, and was not again seen alive. The discovery was made by the headmaster of Mount Pleasant' School, which stands close beside the coastguard station. ' The police at once declared that the case was one of murder. -,■/'■''■ Miss Sherrift! was lying face downwards. She was on the footpath that winds by the cliff edge leading from the coastguard station to a place known as Double Dykes. The body was just behind a sandhill. One hand / . "was partially covered with her mouthy Mr. - was partially covered with her muff, and there were handkerchiefs in her mouth. Mr. fcipurgeon, the headmaster, was walking on . the footpath with one of his scholars when / they made the discovery. ' '.;--..,, -,- .; .-.-- Marks -resembling slight scratches were "visible on the throat and chin of the dead woman. Cruel red marks were also perceptible on both arms in front and above 'the elbow, as well as across the chest, us -if made by some pressure. The marks were '/such as would be caused by the compression of a man's arm if the lady was seized from behind and tightly held. The cloth- " ing was quite untora and undisturbed. A • search of the body revealed the fact that the lady had no purse, that her latch and door keys were also missing, and that her watch ' chain, valuable ring, and bracelet, which it is almost certain she was wearing, had als.'i disappeared. THE police theory... The body was at once removed to Bourne- •. mouth Mortuary, and the post-mortem examination was made by the police surgeon, // upon whose report as to the cause nf death } the police base their theory that the murder was committed for the purpose of robbery. *- It. is understood that the cause of deatu was internal hemorrhage. j Near the body was found the envelope of j - a Tetter that had been through the post. It j / / was addressed to a person residing in the neighbourhood, and Superintendent Hack soon learnt, among other things, that Miss j Sherriff had a male acquaintance 'who was j said to have been down to Boscombe on the very day of her disappearance, and that the i dead woman was often in this individual's company. 'Later the inspector received other infor- //;;> mation, and thereupon asked the assist- - ance of the West London police, whom he .-* requested to arrest a young man named by him. Thus the Londor. arrest came about. The accused man is John Francis McGuirs, a picture dealer, of 23, Denbighstreet, Pimlico, who has served both in " the Royal' Horse Artillery and the Life Guards. , ... On the Monday he was brought before the , " local magistrates and remanded. Detective-Sergeant West told the story of "the events leading up to the prisoner being brought before the Bench. He told how, on Superintendent Hack having telegraphed to the London police, he proceeded to Pimlico, Where he found the prisoner detained at the Gerald Road Police Station. -When for- ., mally charged he made no reply. , The prisoner's . room at Denbigh-street was searched, continued the officer: "In a writing-desk I found a large number/of letters and correspondence, and the j. pocket-book produced containing five pawn'■"'";.ing -duplicates, and two pawning special contracts. In a drawer of a chest of drawers I found, underneath-some socks and a • jersey, 36 more pawntickets, arid nine other pawning : contracts. In a hamper in the ;.. room there was also a large amount of letter? and correspondence." tir yi fitness; .further stated that when arrest- /:: ed the prisoner had 3£d in money, ' a knife, and a key. He had also in his possession one pawning duplicate and one pawning contract, and a half-return ticket from . Rochester to Victoria. ; On leaving Gerald / Road Police Station in a cab, on the way ' to Denbigh-street, the prisoner said, " I tele- ,. graphed from Bournemouth last Thursday to my landlady asking if a lady had called to see me, and paid for the reply." Superintendent Hack then asked for a remand, and this the magistrate granted. . The inquest on the body was held on the - Saturday evening by.Dr. A, Kinsey Morgan, - the" Bournemouth coroner. , There was a most affecting scene after the witnesses had viewed the body, the mother sobbing almost hysterically. , ■'.-■.. '■-'/• ; « fcus gave formal evidence of identification, saying that although^not a robust woman ..she.enjoyed pretty good; health. , She was ' thirty-six years of age, and a dressmaker by calling. About a fortnight, ago she wrote < stating she "was not. very well, and was not ,-,-aaxraus to go away .to her sister. • ./' ; • In answer to "Mr. W. Malin, solicitor, who '■ appeared for friends of .the deceased, the witness said- her daughter was a respectable, well-conducted girl, and on good terms with witness and her sister. •' ■ , TO TROVE AN ALIBI. ■ McQuire is a smart, good-looking fellow of 22, standing over six feet high. . Born and educated at Rochester, he was seized with a roving spirit, in his early teens, and migrated to London. Out of work, down on his luck, in the neighbourhood of Trafalgar Square he was persuaded ■ by a smart recruiting sergeant to accept the - Kings shilling, and at the age of eighteen *' he blossomed out as a recruit in the Life Guards at Albany-street barracks. After a short service he was transferred to the Horse Guards, from which he is ' believed to have deserted. McGuire ■ and Miss • Sherriff '. had known each* other for a considerable time. Indeed, he appears to have been her boy friend. Everyone who knows them speaks of Miss Sheriff having been quite ; trustful of him and likely to accompany him anywhere he chose to suggest. - '/:' Important documentary evidence, supporting an alibi, is said to be in the hands of ■:' : "< the police. -;• '" McGuire wrote to his mother asking her to meet him and Emmie," and go to a theatre to see "The Silver King." That letter reached Mrs. McGuire on February " ; 19, - and bore the post-mark, showing f that it had been posted the previous evening at eight o'clock. About noon on the - - same day, it is stated, a telegram was de- : livered at Palmerston Road, Boscombe, addressed to the dead woman, and asking her to meet Frank McGuire 'at the station, where he would arrive about three o'clock. That '- telegram is said to bear the stamp showing that it was handed in at Vauxhall about the time he would be travelling to catch his train for Boscombe. He arrived at Palmerston Road between three and four, arid expressed surprise that " Emmie"' had not met him.