FOUND HIS WIFE DEAD

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8362, 24 February 1913, Page 11

FOUND HIS WIFE DEAD

DEVON MAN’S TRAGIC DISCOVERY IN SOUTH AFRICAN TOWN. MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR. , .LONDON, January 12. When about three weeks ago the news was received by cable at Teignmoutp oi the death of Mrs ; Wills, at the age ot twenty-seven, ! at Benoni, Brakpan, Transvaal, it was not suspected that there were tragic circumstances. The story, brought by the mail, however, is a terrible one. Deceased was the wife of a member of a well-known Teignmouth family, Mr Sidney Charles Wilis, who went out as a volunteer in the Imperial Yeomanry during the late South African war, and upon his return was presented with a go.d watch. Having married, he took the Custom House Inn, but a couple of years ago left for the Randj and ;in the early part of September last his wife left nor Devonshire home with her three little boys, and joined her husband at Benoni. The tragedy occurred between 11 p.m. and midnight on Thursday, December 12th. Mr Wills left his home at 29a Lake avenue, to compete in the air rifle Bisley at Johannesburg, his young wife seeing him off,. He returned by a late train, and reached home shortly after midnight. Entering the passage, ho wheeled his machine to the accustomed spot, and noticed that the dining-room light was burning. As he passed the diningroom, the door of which was partly open, he saw Dave Roberts, who was a friend of his, and rented a room in the house, lying on the floor ( breathing heavily. As Roberts had, R appears, been drinking excessively of late and had lost his job'at the Brakpan Mine, where he had been • employed as a miner, the Teignmothian came to the conclusion that his friend was lying helplessly drunk. A minute or two later he returned to the dining-room with the object of getting Roberts to his own bedroom. He then noticed the booted feet of a woman projecting beyond the door, and on looking behind was-horrified to find that his wife lay stretched" on the floor in a pool of blood, her face being almost fiiown away. He then turned round and saw that Roberts was also lying in a pool of blood, which was oozing from the right side of his head. By his side lay a Browning pistol. The husband rushed into an adjoining bedroom, occupied by his three little sons, age six, four,. and three years respectively. The two- younger ones were asleep, but the eldest was sitting up in his bed, and in a scared voice he said, “I am so glad you have come home, ■ daddy. I am so frightened. There was such a big bang just uow.” The father hurried out into the street to call the police. A detective and a sub-inspector were quickly on the scene, and Drs. Smith and Stevenson were also summoned and pronounced life to be extinct in the case of Mrs Wills. There were two bullet wounds in the temple. Roberts was still alive, but unconscious, and he was taken to the cottage hospital, where, however, he died about an hour later. It was seen from the first that bis condition was hopeless. There were no signs of a struggle in the room. Two bullets had entered close to each other on the left side of Mrs Wills's face, and the scorched appearance of the skin showed that one at least had been fired at very close range. Roberts was shot through the right side of the head. Various conjectures are rife, but the most likely one is that the deceased woman spoke to Roberts about his intemperate habits and asserted that he was out of work in consequence of this. In a fit of rage, Roberts, it is assumed, drew the pistol from his packet, fired twice at the unfortunate woman, and then turned the weapon upon himself.