A MURDER MYSTERY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13873, 6 October 1908, Page 6

A MURDER MYSTERY.

THE SEVENOAKS TRAGEDY. DETAILS OF THE CRIME. Tire London papers to hand by the Suez ■mill contain long accounts of the mysterious murder of Mrs. Luard, wife of Major-General Luard, whose tragic suicide was recently reported by cable. The crime was perpetrated at Ightham Knoll, near Sevenoaks, Kent, on Monday, August 24. . - . General Luard's account of the affair goes to show that he and his wife left Ightham Knoll shortly after luncheon that afternoon. They walked some distance down the turnpike road towards Sevenoaks, and then turned into the Sealwoods, owned by Mr. Horace Wilkinson. On arriving at a wicket gate, which was a favourite, meeting place of the general and his wife, the former stated that he was going to the golf clubhouse, a mile and a-half away, and would return home to tea at 4.30, at which time a lady visitor was expected. Mrs. Luard, thereupon, declared that she would walk home through the woods by a path of which she was particularly fond, and by which, walking slowly, she would reach the Knoll in about half an hour. The general, with his Irish terrier, then turned towards the clubhouse; gathered together Ins golf slicks, and set out for home along the turnpike road. When he arrived at Ightham Knoll the lady guest had arrived, and the two sat down to afternoon tea without waiting for Mrs. Luard to appear.- When five o'clock came, however, and his wife ; was still absent, the general became uneasy, and decided to go in quest of her. The lady accompanied . him, but when they reached a place called Crown Point, which is at the entrance to Mr. Wilkinson's grounds, he suggested that she should return to her home, and that he would continue the search alone. . This he did, and, accompanied only by his terrier, made his way to the " Casa," a bungalow occasionally used by Mr. Wilkinson's family in' the summer months, and a favourite resting place of Mrs. Luard's. This little villa—it is wrong to call it a summer-house—stands halfway between the wicket gate where General Lua.rd left his wife and Ightham Knoll. It was on the front verandah of this building that the general found his wife lying face downwards in a pool of blood, and dead. According to medical testimony, she had at this time been dead two hours. A pathetic note of his discovery was that the dog, which had -preceded his master, was licking Mrs. Luard's dead face when the general arrived on the scene. , . General Luard, to continue his account, hurried off to the cottage occupied by Wickharn, Mr.. Wilkinson's coachman, which is situated about ,500 yds from the "Casa," and in a short time willing workers were at hand. Dr. Walker, the village doctor, and. the family medical man were summoned, but they were unable to do anything, and at seven o'clock the remains of Mrs. Luard were being carried back to Ightham Knoll! in a waggon. ". '

THE MURDERER AND THE BODY. A graphic description given by, on© who helped to convey the,body from the balcony to the interior of the summer-house, although a gruesome picture ,in the extreme, points to the supposition that her murderer handled the body—whether in the frenzy of mad passiori : or -in a' r coldblooded attempt to seize the body and hide it, one cannot tell, as her assailant eventually decamped, practically leaving the body to lie where it: fell. The pose of the : body when found was altogether peculiar. The face was resting on the right cheek, the body flat on the stomach, and the toes pointing downwards, while the arms were stretched upwards from the back, with the palms uppermost. ; It was evident that the head had been moved from the other cheek. Then again the flounces of her dress were found to be torn—to have given way beneath the belt, indicating that an attempt had been made to lift the body. Furthermore, the dress was tightly pulled down over the heels of the boots, a position which is quite inconsistent with the position resulting from a fall. The upward position, too, of the palms of the hands would suggest that violence was used to attain. this strained position, and the absence of four rings which the unfortunate lady wore at the time she met her death, a.nd which, judging from her. cut fingers, had been torn off, puts the police face to face with the prime theory thai robbery was the motive of the crime, that the lady had been shot for the purpose of robbing her of her jewellery,' which- was of. considerable value.' *■ ■ ~

BLOODHOUNDS EMPLOYED, Bloodhounds were employed at the seen© of the tragedy, but without any tangible results. The hounds, Solferino and Sceptre, were in charge of Major Richardson. Haying also been led to the bloodstain, and the verandah, Solferino immediately showed signs of excitement. Starting off round the verandah, he closely sniffed the doors and comers, lingering at certain spots. He then took up a line, to the southwards, through a gate in the higher ground, and onto a field, where he continued, nose to the ground, to show that he was on a trail, Making a tortuous passage along the field, and, among some heather ' he finally reached a staked fence which separates the field from the dense wood on the east. Deliberately he led Major Richardson through the fence, and in hot scent entered the wood, where he continued the trail for a considerable distance. A sharp low bark, given once only, indicated that; he. had traced something. This did, not satisfy the major, however, as he did not want :to go away on a false trail picked up by the dog on. the spur of the moment. He accordingly stopped the- animal's career, and with evident reluctance- the dog was brought hack to the Casa. Again it was given a sight of the blood, and once more had freedom to find out its own way* '■■ For the second time the dog snuffed round the verandah, passed through the gates, and, after similar exhibitions to those of his first visit, again led the major to the hedge, through which it passed not a few yards distant from the place where it first entered. The dog then quickly picked up the original scent in the wood. Still not satisfied. Major Richardson took Solferino back to the verandah, and the insistence with which it repeated its former movements was too obvious to allow those in charge: of it to interfere. This had occupied about half an hoar, and it was a-quartev past eleven before the real search began. The party then went deep into the wood, the dog straining at its leash and almost breaking into a run. Its course never deviated from the straight. " Down the steep declivity," stated one who accompanied the party, "we went, many of us stumbling over "the soft, springy undergrowth. After traversing about 500 yds in this manner, the major called a halt and sent back for Sceptre, who had been left behind.

" Reinforced by the other dog, the party now made an ascent and struck a pathway. Traversing this ■at a . good pace, both hounds led on without further incident, but still hot on the scent,, to the Tollbridge Bond. Here ; they came to a pause and' appeared to be puzzled. The road seemed to have swallowed'. tip the scent. Solferiiio bad a look round for a few minute?, and all" of a 'sudden made for the back of the stables, and, after a little hesitation, took us up a. steep hill into the wood again.' He si-emed to know his business, but. after a hard struggle amidst thick ■bracken, came to a dead halt : —the scent 1 was : lost." ■<■■■;■■■■•.■■■■■■■..•■ rim mystery enshrouding the murder still remains unsolved, and there ia now every likelihood of its taking its place among the long k lis£ of unravel ted crime*.