SEARCH FOR A CHILD

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21561, 4 August 1933, Page 9

SEARCH FOR A CHILD

PLAN TO KIDNAP AUNT ROPES AND BANDAGES IN CAR Alleged to have stated that ho had intended to kidnap his sister-in-law in order to traco the whereabouts of his 6on, Louis Christopher Cassells, aged 35, toy modeller, of Richmond, Surrey, was fined £5 at Whitehaven, Cumberland, recently, for assaulting his 74-year-old mother-in-law. His sister. Cecilia Alice Partridge, was bound over on a similar charge. Police evidence was given that Cassells and his wife had separated. His wife had first obtained the custody of their four-year-old son, but in 1931 a higher Court had reversed that decision. Thereupon his wife had disappeared with the child, and although Cassells had had the assistance of the police, he had been unable to trace his wife or child. One morning Cassells and his sister drove up to the house in Cleator Moor. Cumberland, where his mother-in-law, Mrs. Twomey, a widow, aged 74, lived with another daughter, Mrs. Thompson, also a widow. They rushed into the house, and when Mrs. Twomev screamed, Cassells seized her by the throat to quieten her. Mrs. Thompson, on returning from church, found neighbours round the house, and could not get in until a window was broken. The police arrived and took Cassells and his sister to the policy station. Cassells, it was' alleged, stated that he had intended to kidnap Mrs. Thompson with the object of extracting information from her regarding the whereabouts of his son. Cassells, in evidence, agreed that he had ropes and bandages in his car for kidnapping purposes. His sister had been against the idea. He tfas.geMing desperate in his search for his child, on whom he had spent,£l2o. - Replying to a question, Cassells stated that he knew the police had been doing all in their power to trace the boy, but so far without success.