MURDER MOST FOUL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18711, 17 May 1924, Page 20 (Supplement)

MURDER MOST FOUL.

FATE OF MBS. RANEY.

MAN CHARGED WITH CRIME.

STORY TOLD AT INQUEST.

VERDICT AGAINST ACCUSED.

. The inquest was resumed at Bradford, or. March 26, on Elizabeth Reaney, aged 60, a widow, of Sunderland Road, Bradford, who was found dead in her , shop on February 22 with the door locked. Her head was smashed . and . a coal hammer was lying near her. William Horsley Wardell, 47, engineer, of Bradford, who was on remand charged with murdering her, was present. • Evidence was given that . Mrs. Reaney had said she was likely to get mar-, ried again and that she was selling her house and going to Buxton. •

Leonard Harrison described .a con versa-, tion at an hotel on February 27, regarding the police description of a wanted person. The description reminded him of Wardell, whom they knew as "the doctor." When Wardell came to the hotel at eight o'clock he (Harrison) told him the police had been looking for him, and Wardell replied, " Nothing of the sort," and went into another room and had a whisky. He Tison) followed.

Harrison continued: Wardell then said, We will have a drink apiece, and then I will go down with yon. It ; seemed to me that he turned colour. < His hand shook while he was having a drink. We then left and walked towards the town hall. Wardell, witness added, did not show any disinclination to enter the police station, where they stood in the passage at the side of the charge office. They could hear someone giving a description, and Wardell, whose name was mentioned, appeared to be very agitated and was climbing up by a glass partition. • Witness told him to stand down. When they went inside witness said, " I have •brought this man to prove his innocence." He added that he noticed the discolouration of Wardell's face about February 18 or 19. His eyes appeared to be black. There was a scratch upon his face, and he had a bad cut on the mouth. He heard someone say that Wardell had fallen off a car. Evidence of • the Police. The police superintendent said* that he; found in the room where Mrs. Reaney was discovered an envelope containing fifteen £1 notes, a 10s note, and a Midland Bank deposit book. On the floor was a small leather , handbag, unlocked. In it were Treasury notes to > the value of £445. The total of the money found in the house was £500. . • .

Witness said that when asked at the town hall about his means of subsistence Wardell said, " I have money in the house I had two houses at Scarborough and sold them to Mr. Allington ■ for £500. I also do some work at home making spindles." Wardell told him that it -was not true that he had on him £26 on February 18. . The superintendent said that he visited Wardell's home and the latter handed him a wallet containing Treasury notes. :: Three of ,the £1 notes ■were of the same series as those; found at Mrs. Reaney's house. He also found a bundle of letters which Wardell admitted were in his handwriting. He noticed a similarity between his handwriting and - the handwriting on • the notefound on the door of the murdered wo-• man's house. y ■

After taking Wardell. to the town hall witness returned to the house and took possession of several articles. Later he saw Wardell and, , after cautioning him, pointed to the articles arranged on'a desk and said, " These are identical with article? formerly belonging to Elizabeth Reaney. She was murdered on - Friday night or Saturday, morning. < Do -you> care • to give any emanation for your possession*' of them?" : k :

■ Wardell. indicating gome of the articles.' 1 said, "I bought. them from Miss Hudson! That |b 1 ; the name I knew her by." - When charged with the murder, -Wardell;v;he added, said, '' I did not. ' I should vnot have come here if I had done that.'' . >

I "■ v Skull Practically Severed. ;. Dr. Wrangham said the skull was practically broken in two. . There must have been at least four, blows, ' terribly .severe. " The injuries could have been caused by the hammer found beside the body. • Wit-, ness added: I have an idea, although I: cannot ■ say definitely, that the first "blow - struck was the least disabling of the four. That was the one over- the left eye. y After, that the woman .moved to get out of the way: perhaps and . fell, and , then these other stunning blows weredelivered while she was on the ground. , J- v . i Dr. Hayes Smith, . enumerating the various places in , the room where bloodstains were " discovered,; said ; that the probability ; was that , the woman was struck downtwice and then moved by the murderer." I : Mr. Benjamin Pickles, landlord" of the Peel Hotel, said that Wardell, who. visited. the place frequently,' was sometimes hard up and. at other times- -had as much >as £20 on him at a time. • i Once when Wardell, asked him to change a -£5. note, when , he . already possessed ... several Treasury notes, he said. " You are a mystery to me.' ' Doctor.'-" ;(A nickname Wardell, was known by.) Wardell replied, i " Yes, and shall remain 1 ."

Some days later, continued Mr. Pickles, the police issued a description of a man Wanted for Mrs. Beaney s murder,'" and when : Wardell came in he : (Mr. Pickles; said, "My word, ' Doctor,' they are after you." Wardell asked, "Who?" and ha said, " The police.": When shown the description Wardell said, « I never wore a soft hat." , Face and Eye Discoloured. ~ Ellen Maria Westcott said that she had lived with Wardell, , who . frequently promised her marriage. He did . not do any genuine work,.: and never gave her any money for her maintenance. She identified letters : found • in: Mrs,/? Beaney's I house «as beinjr in accused's, handwriting. ; - Following a private consultation which the coroner had .with the police superintendent late in the afternoon, ,the latter left the court. The proceedings were v resumed after. 20 minutes., . The,, jury were given • all the letters ;in .. the : case and ■ retired to an adjoining room to compare the writing of Wardell with the writing found at_the house of the dead woman. _ Mr. Topham. hairdresser, ( said that on. February >26 Wardell entered his shop. He noticed that Warden's face and eye were &Tl-. Wardell .also VtmTZ have about j 6 ,} day s growth of beard. He asked Wardell if bis wife had hit him with a fiat iron. : - • ; : a uu - ■■ Verdict ;v2 the Jury. " . The coroner, in summing up,- said the jury had to decide whether Wardell had anythmg to-. dowith the crime or hot; whether he wrote the note found in the letter-box at Mrs. Reaney's house. The coroner thought the jury would conclude that whoever wrote; the note: was 4 the person who committed the crime. * They could not, after Wardell s mode of life/ draw nnf the faCfc thafc he did merit follow any : regular -employv ? e J Ury returned a verdict that ElizaWarden 3067 WSS , br ? Wl y murd ered by Wardell. heard ; the '• verdict calmly and had , a hurried' consultation with his solicitor. • ,;.'v •