THE PAPAKAIO MURDER.

NZ Truth, Issue 80, 29 December 1906, Page 6

THE PAPAKAIO MURDER.

Acquittal of Findlay. "Whose was the Hand?" -, The Christchurch police weren't at all sanguine about placing a nooae round ihe neck of John Findlay for the murder of schoolmaster William Hay Rennie at Papakaio. Ever since Findlay was oommitted from the lower court 'Tecs Bishop, and Ward had been scouring the district m search of additional evidence, but they weren't very successful m their task ; m fact the case as presented by the Crown to the jury was .quite inconclusive m every respect. Reliance was placed on evidence of a circumstantial char- , aeter only. and testimony, of that nature has to be as strong as possible before a jury will convict. In Findlav's case they refused to do ao. This much is plain now that the case is over : When the murder of Rennie was reported the police looked round, witih an eagle eye to see what crimi- ' nals there were m the district, and they spotted Findlay. He had . done time on a counle of occasions, and they at once placed him under suspicion. From that out they endeavored to weave a chain of evidence round him, and devoted their whole energies to the 'ob. Tbc-r -adjudged him mili— richt off, ?nd the consequen r e was that any other likely, or unlikely. parson, was emtirelv overlooked. The word "unlikely" is used advisedly, because it is often the most unlikely persons who commit GHASTLY, COLD-BLOODED CRIMES

of this atrocious nature. ' 'Truth" hazarded at the time that it was the work of a woman, and since then the conviction has grown stronger. Rennie was a quiet, peculiar man, and few seemed to know very much about him. Although avowedly religious he had a fearful taste m r-hptographs, and one cannot help still wondering why the Commissioner of Police had the obscene lot of pictures found m Rennie's 'house destroyed. The slightest thing may often prove a clue m cases of this sort, and this act of vandalism was unprecedented m the history of the Maoriland police. However, there was really nothing strong m the wav of evidence .against Findlay, and at this stage there would be much less against any other ncr son, whether man or woman, who might be charged with the offence.