ROBBING A PROFESSOR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21279, 5 September 1932, Page 11

ROBBING A PROFESSOR

BURGLARY IN CHRISTCHURCH FAMILY'S HOLIDAY SPOILED Two suitcases bearing the name of Professor William Saddler, professor of mathematics at. Canterbury College, gave the first indications to the police that his home at Fcndalton had been entered by thieves. Last. Thursday night, when the family returned from holiday, it was found that the place "had been ransacked and clothing and other goods, to the value of about £IOO, stolen. Professor Saddler and his family left for Akaroa on a holiday visit last Monday, leaving their home unoccupied, but securely locked. On Thursday some children, playing in a vacant section, found two suitcases lying under a hedge, and bearing on tags the name of Professor Saddler. The police were informed, an<J the professor also was communicated with, though at the time there was nothing definite to show that thieves had been at work. , Making a special journey from the peninsula, Professor Saddler arrived at his home, to find that suspicions had been well founded. The upper storey of the house had been thoroughly ransacked by burglars, and clothing, including a fur coat and a number of other articles of lesser value belonging to members of the family, had been taken. Apparently the thieves discovered after they left the premises -that they had some articles for which they had no use, and left them in the suitcases under the fence. The cases contained when they were found several pairs of shoes, a bunch of keys and some articles of minor value. The manner of entry remains a mystery, though a possible theory has been evolved. It is believed that the burglars used a skeleton key on the door of the wash-house. From there a manhole gave entrance to a wardrobe on the upper storey and thus the run of the house. This theory credits the thieves with a remarkable knowledge of the premises. The plan was apparently to guard against discovery of the crime until t he family returned and thus give the Uiieves an opportunity to dispose of the spoils. Every door and window downstairs was fast and untampered with when the police examined them, and the appearance of the rooms from the windows gave no hint of any disturbance. The. thieves had confined themselves to the upper rooms, and their haul was mainly clothing.