OROMAHOE MURDERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17256, 4 September 1919, Page 9

OROMAHOE MURDERS.

ACCUSED IN COURT.

CASE FOR PROSECUTION.

COMMITTED FOR TRIAL.

MAGISTRATE REFUSES BAIL.

[bt TJaiGRAPa.— SPECIAL REPORTER.]

KAWAKAWA. Wednesday. As a sequel to the Oromahoe shooting tragedy on August 14. in which a native xrr, n ,Hn was shot dead and a native man- her step brother—with whom ehe livf<l. was fatally wounded, Walter A«<hbv, a half cn.-te. of Oromahoe, was brought lip' on remind before Sir. F. H. Levien, S.M., at, tho K.awakava Magistrate's Court this morninc- charged with the double murder. Aoruee.; was deeded bv M r . R. A. Si «gpr. of Aucklr.nJ. and "Mr. K. Guy ft Kaikohe. Mr. vVoocte. of Whangarei >ct#d He. Court interpreter, and Mr. .]. Mi alio, of Kuikohe, was retained as interpreter for the defence. By order of th*» maturate the Court wks cleare.L Senior-Sergeant (.'assells conducted the ca»ie for the police. Evidence similar to that given at the inquest was detailed by Constable. Kelly of Auckland, the official police photoprapher, who put m photographs ~f the dirtnrt and the hilUide where the tracedv tOOK place. — » " Dead Man's Reputation. Ncatikawa Apiata. the second witness P-peated hw testimony at the inquest, •twting m addition that he knew t*o Ashby family, and that thev lived in Oromahoe. Witness stated that the accused'a mother,, Mrs. Jack Ashbv, had a reputation in that district ae a "tohunga. ' but her husband, accused's father, was a pakeha. luimaera Haratua. the do- j ceased u.alc victim, was disliked in the settlement, and during the epidemic some ! native deaths were attributed to hi« \ ''makut*-' influence. One of those who! died at, that time was the wife of one of the Ashby family. Witness described ' hearing Ihimaera call out on the night ; of the tragedy, and how lie found him ' just inside the fence of his (witness's) ' house. He knew that two Maori ciHs : had been brought to Ihimaera seme time : ago for treatment. Thev were not re- I lated to the Aehbys. and'witness said he' could not e tate that Ihimaera had been j accused of violating these girls. Nor did he know of any other alleged offences by Ihimaera against girls, or that he had been brought before a Maori council on several occasions for such offences Witness explained that he removed the clothes of tho woui.ded man when he found him by the fence before carrying , him into the house. If ho said at" the inquest that he took off the clothes in I the house it was not correct. Dr. Samuel Lionel Green, in charge of the Kawakawa Hospital, gave evidence similar to that given by him at the in- i quest. i Hon Takimoana repeated his evidence' given at the inquest, describing how on the I night of the shooting he went to Pakaraka ! to get the news through to the constable at Ohaeawai. When he went to Takaraka he walked, and got there about eight o'clock It would take him about 25 , minutes to walk there, and he walked i rather quickly, as he was afraid. Question of a Chin. To Mr. Singer: He had lived in that district for many years. He did n ot know j how many, but over ten years. He had \ no gun with him when he went to Pa- ', karaka that night. | Recalled after lunch, witness, examined ! hy Mr. Singer, admitted that he had a j !t"n in the house when ie went to Pa- j karaka and emptied out the cartridges. j He said he told nobody he had a gun | that, night, because he wan afraid be would ! be shot. It was not his gun, and he did ' not take it. but it belonged to his bov. who was out with it to shoot dogs, and he picked him up on the way, so they • went together to Pakaraka. " j John Andrew Dempsey, constable in ! charge at Kawakawa, described being ! called to Oromahoe on August 15 and find- : ing the body of the dead woman, and the ' remova l of the wounded man to the hos- i pital. He also picked un seven cartridge ! shells of .22 calibre ordinary Winchester | rim fire. These were closely grouped to- ; gether in a track that passed down the I hill just outside the entrance to Ihimaera's i tent. On the night of August 18 he went' to the hospital about nine o'clock with ' Sergeant Cassells and Mrs. Kirkpatrick. I an interpreter, and Mr. H. C. BlundeU*. i J. P. He. saw Ihimaera in bed. He was i quite sensible, but was groaning and ill. j The wounded man made a statement in reply to questions by Sergeant Cassells j rind this was taken down and read over; through the interpreter. At 11.15 nest morning Ihimaera died. The cartridge shells he picked up were all within a radius of six inches on the path outside the tent.

Types of Revolvers Discussed.

Frederick Page Wood, a gtinmaker of Auckland, employed by the Colonial Ammunition Company, • said that he had ex amined the cartridge shells iii Court and they were of .22 calibre, made b*- the Winchester Company in America. They could be used for a revolver or rifle. The mark they bore showed they were rimfcre

Asked if there were seven-chambered revolvers, witness said : "Certainly there are teven chambered ..22 calibre revolvers with ejectors and the mark on the shells is what I should expect if used in such a revolver. Also with such a revolver the empty cartridges would all fall within about a foot or eighteen inches, clustering in a group. A single shot rifle would not make the sproe cartridge mark at a repeater. Cartridges from a rifle would fall widely.' After hearing where and how the cartridge shells were found he concluded they were fired from a sevenchambered .22 revolver. Such a weapon ■would kill at from 50ft to 100 ft. and shoot accurately from 30ft. At a distance of 21ft the" bullet would, if it met no obstruction, go through the body. Such a revolver of the better class was not uncommon. Cheaper ones had not the ejector. Witness produced five different types •of revolvers, and gave demonstrations of how the cartridges would fall after ejection.

A Seven-chambered Weapon. | Frederick Anderson, a laboure, . living ■with Jack A&hby at Orornahoe, said he bad lived there with the father of accused for about seven weeks. He came from Maungakan'a. where he had lived with another branch of tie Ashhv family. Hera Ashbv lent him a seven-chambered revolver at" Maungakahia and he used it to kill a dog. He got ammunition from a ftoiekeeper it Pakotai, and Hera Ashby pave him He returned the revolver l*fnn» he came up to Oromalme, and he "he;.m! it was lost. Hera Afhby came up with him to Oromahoe and stayed a week. While up there Hera visited Otiria, where accused was living then. He was working at the plouu'ii on August 1.4 just below where Ihiniaera lived on the hillside. He taw Ihimaera and Maereana (the deceased •woman) at work near their tent about dinner-time, but nut aeain. He left work about five o" -or*. He bad never heard am- threat to kill [himaera because he *,;,',. a - t„huiin«." He did not know xrbetl.e,- Mrs. .i.ok Ashhv was a "tohunga ' «V not. He had not heard, but he was told of a man coming to her one day to I*. cured of a bad leg. It was a woman who told hitn. . . Mr. St riser i.skod to have an objection now- 1 to this hearsay evidence. Witness did not know of any bad feelins between the family of Ashbys and Ihimaera. , _, „ • William King, constable at Ohaeawai, rave evidence of Ihiinaera's bad reputation, and the blame attached to him in (he epidemic The accused lived at Otina at the line of his arrest. *Rom

[ there to Ihimaera's tent a man riding I fast could do the journey in half to threequarters of an hour. Wirimu Ngawati, giving evidence, said that on August 15 last he was working on the lan-bairns Bridge, having a contract for repairing it. Accused was working there thai afternoon. To Mr. Singer: I remember the day before August 14 there w«» a waggon and four horses used in the work on the bridge. We finished work that day at five o clock, and Walter Ashbv knocked off with the rest, at the same time, and with my son took the waggon home. Walter Ashby driving. It would take about an hour to drive the waggon to Otiria, where the waggon was kept at witness's horn, \\ alter Ashby was living there at that tune. To the Sergeant: H e was sure it was a waggon that Ashby drove home from the bridge that night. On August 19 the police interviewed him on the' bridge and he said that Walter Ashbv drove hom e , n a buggy, but he made* a mistake, and told the police it was a mistake two or three davs after

Interpreter's Evidence. Mrs. Kirkpatrick. of Kawakawa, a native interpreter, stated that she went to Kawakawa Hospital on Monday night August 18, where she went to the bedside of Ihimaera, accompanied by Ser- ?'?'}> ," ss «Hs and Constable Dempsev. « bile there witness interpreted between the sergeant and Ihimaera. She saw written down what Ihimaera said, and read it over. Serge-ant Cassells: Did he say whether it was correct or not ?—Yes, he said it was qui correct. Mr. Singer objected, and asked to have tile objection recorded. Continuing, witness said she interpreted faithfully what was said. The condition of the sick man showed that he was very ill, but he was quite clear mentally. The time of taking this statement would he about half-past ten to eleven 0 clock at night. Mr. Singer asked the Court to let him reserve his cross-examination, as he could not examine at present. since he I was quite in the dark as to what was comI ing, and had no knowledge of what tho t statement was. I The magistrate concurred. I Father and Son. | The next witness, Wihiri Ihimaera. a i son of the deceased man. deposed that i he visited the hospital to see his father , on Monday, August 18. J Sergeant Cassells was proceeding to ask . witness what his father said to him when : Mr. Singer intervened, and objected to ; the sergeant's question unless the police ! could show that Ihimaera was in fear of : death. Discussing the point with the i Court. Mr. Singer contended that no conj versation between this man and his father i could be admitted as evidence unless first j the police established that the man knew himself to be dying. The magistrate relied on a recent English case that evidence must go in before he could determine what value to attach to it. Mr. Singer submitted that a magistrate . dealing with a preliminary inquiry might listen to evidence not strictly according to the laws of evidence, but must keep i |in view what evidence was admissible legally. It would be serious for the accused, if committed for trial on evidence that was inadmissible, and it was just j this evidence, that was legally inadmissible, that, was the only real evidence I against the accused. j The magistrate said he was acting ! magisterially, not judicially. If he rei jected the evidence objected to, and before ' the trial at the Supreme Court the witness died, then, if such evidence could he , held by the higher court to have been I admiusable, it would be lost. After the adjournment for tea, the witness Waebaere Ihimaera repeated his testimony at the inquest regarding his father's statement that he was shot by 1 Walter Ashby. ! To Mr. Singer : The talk was in Maori. I first said at the inquest the \ conversation was in English, but corrected , myself, and said it was all in Maori. I j gave the wrong answer at first, not under--1 standing tho question. i Statement to the Police. j Evidence was next, given by Senior- [ Sergeant Cassells, who put in the etate>-me-nt made on the Monday ni,cht. August 18, by Ihimaera. The statement which ; was in reply to questions was as foli lows : — I "I feel very ill." "Do you feel that ! you are about to die?"'—"No; I : will not die. I feel sad." Who was it shot you at Oromahoe'on Thursday night i last?l can't tell you until Hori Tuki j comes. The dying man continued that he was ; fired at first —rive shots, and perhaps three ' more were fired at Mareana. After the J shooting the man went up the hill. He ■ was a half-caste, and he shot me with a | pistol. He was a young man. j Do ycu still say you are nob going to j die?— think I will get better. I will ! tell Hori Tuki in the morning the name j of the man who shot me. Will you tell Constable Dempsey now ! as you promised?— I will, but if when i Hori comes its wrong he must let me change it. What is the name of the man?T think it was Willie Ashby, the son of Jack Ashby. He lives sometimes at Whanga rei. That day I saw- him at Oropa— at Fairburn's Bridge. When you came in the car to the hospital did you see him at the bridge ?—Yes. 1 Is that the man who fired at yon and J Mareana?—Yes, that is the man. \ Is that statement you have made true? — Yes.

Contentions of Counsel.

Counsel for the defence submitted that there was no e.ivdence in this statement against the accused. The name in this statement was not his name, but another s, Willie Ashby. As a matter of fact, the accused had never lived at Whangarei. The statement mentioned a man at the bridge, but it did not say he was working there. " h

| The sergeant, continuing, stated that ' when he arrested the accused he asked I him if ho was at the bridge in question i on the Hay Ihimaera was brought in, and accused said "Yes." The sergeant then pro- , duced a 22 calibre seven-chambered revolver with which he had experimented by firing seven shots. He ejected the cartridges after three trials and they fell each time so that he could cover them with one hand. The marks made on the cartridge were the same as those on the cartridges found at Oromahoe. If a rifle j had been used the empty cartridges would | have been scattered. Hp was of the : opiniop that Ihimaera was shot with a .22 I calibre seven-chambered revolver.

To Mr. Singer : He held the revolver about three feet off the ground, and used the ejector. He learned of Ihimaera's pro mise to tell the name of his assailant from Constable Dempsey. to whom the promise was made. Mr. Singer addressed the Court, chieflystressing tin" authorities against the admission of the statement made by Ihimaera, and contending that there v::\no evidence at all that the accused lot the woman.

The magistrate committed the accused for trial on both charges. An application for bail v.as not granted.