A MYSTERIOUS DOUBLE MURDER

NZ Truth, Issue 570, 20 May 1916, Page 5

A MYSTERIOUS DOUBLE MURDER

tOUL AND' BRuTAr CRIME COMMITTED AT KAIAPOI Who Slew the Hollands ?— Was Robbery the Motive? THE DETECTIVE'S DISCOVERY-BLOOD-STAINED IRON PIPING THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN USED • \ . — —^~ Holland and his Big Cheque, which he Converted into Cash ' ' .■■*'. ■'■ '■•... . t ; ■ ■ ■■■■■.. ■■■■ ■ ■■ .■ ■ ■ '**■ - ' If Robbery Wai the Motive the Murderer was Thwarted — Holland Deposited his Cash m the 'Bank at Kaiapoi / v , f \ (From "Truth's" Christchurch Rep.)

On 'the afternoon |of Friday, , May 12.' ' • vague ,news trickled through to Christ- • church of a tragedy at Kaiapoi, the first report stating that an elderly farmer had been found dead, whilst his < young* wife was discovered later, m a dying condition. Subsequent invest!-; gatipns by the police, however,, showed that instead of what at first seemed to be a case of attempted murder and suicide," the facts pointed unmistakably ,; .to a..,'. ■-,■' "/.•.K-iC- :J[.'-" .''.,• '• ■ / -. : '- , ■■■''■ GHASTLY AND JBRTJTAIi DOUBLiB :■.' '■;■. ...:: MURDER . • ■,• ".a .". - having been committed; THe "• victims of the awful tragedy were James Frankleton Hollaixd>nd his Wife, 1 Hilda Marlon Holland/ Both were v well-, , known* residents of TKaiapoi. *Ir. Holland was' about; 70 y£ars of age, whilst *•"•• Mrs. Holland, his'secbnd wife, whom he ;. married about flve/yea*S' ago,? was aged about 34' years. There was one child of the marriage-^a three-year*old boy, , ;namedCyril> ; * ' . "' • ■■■■^■•■>X'.u-j.-- .:-^ :■'■■■■ The tragedy was discovered '«arly on w Friday afternoon by an insurance agent „ who called at. the Holland's home an,d V knocked, on. the partly open front dpbr." In answer to the knock, 'the little boy ,camo to the door and his strange manner on being asKed the whereabouts of , his parents, struck, the caller, as being The child; who was unable to ■" talk coherently, .wa^ understood: ,to indicate that his "mummy" \sju» Jn .the house/ but' when , there was no response '' to hls.kndckihg, and the child continued what seemed k llke a dumb appeal, the ! agent pushed the door open and step- ' ped! into. the passage, from yrt»i,cli post-" 'tiori lie could 'see Mrs. Holland Jying face upwards m a large pool of, -blood 1)! at the far end of the pasaage. near tho kitchen door; ••■ ■« Without making further investigations, the horrified caller hurtled away and informed the. police. Constables Holmes: and SmitherS, on arriving at the house, which is only a ...short distance froni the police staUon, / found that Mrs. Holland . was dead. ; Further .search of t|ie premises showed •signs of a scuffle and, m the trapshed, which m i v a distance! of about ten yards . from the back door and about ' 12 feet from where the woman's body was . found, the police; discovered THE BODYCpFCHER HUSBAND, lying face upwardiji In a big pool of blood oh the shed! floor. The bodies were both fully; clothed. A; piece of i'hethp/ like- binder iwipe...w^,.twjste^ . * ■tlgritly t 'arouhd < Mrs,fH.6lland's neck and a similar cord waa also twisted twice 'around her husband's neck. In the latter instance, however, the; first turn of the cord < was m the' man's »nouth • and the knot m the second twist around ! the neck was tied In front, which '.would < poin t to the theory tho t the cord wns tied after. Holland had been rendoivd 'powerless to resistl Ort the back o£ the head of each vittirh there were several cruel woundsi and Mrs. Holland •had also an fugly> looking wound over the right eye; These irijurles aticdunt- : ed for the large amount of blood which was spattered dYer everything In the near vicinity, and fhe nature of - the •wounds woutd inakiis it appear' that the cbld-blobded mlscrcjant who committed •ii'the I .' dastardly crime had unmercifully battered his victims oh the head with some heavy, blunt instrument and. as : , if hot satisfied with the thoroughness of his awful handiwork, had afterwards tied the cord tightly round their necks, .-.in. order to make- certain of the death of the unfortunate '.couple. On tho other hand, it-, was ; held ... that the cord was first tied and the other brutftHnjurles wero in- ' flicked while Mr. and Mrs. Holland had been rendered powerless by strangulattOWi All circumstances, considered, however, render the latter con jeoturo somewhat Improbable, if only on account of tho fact that the cord was tied In front of Holland's throat and hot at * ; the back, of his nksk, aH would most 'likely have been tho caso had he, had the power to resist his assailant. It is clear that Mrs. Holland was not •murdered whore she was found, but that she was dpno to death m the yard, a few feet from the trapshed, and afterwards' dragged into the house 'and left lying m the passage, where the police found her. WHERE THE TRAGEDY OCCURRED. . The house whertt the tragedy occurred Is In the heart of Kalapoi and yet It Is In a lonely position. Situated at the end of Raven-street, and faced by a pretty portion of the river, the aixroomed two-storey house, m a background of cypress trees and shrubs, presents a charming picture, quite oui. of keoplnp with tho scene of A HORRIBLE DOUBLE TRAGEDY. The residence stands pn a corner and ] Is fronted and flanked by a woll-kopt .lawn* The cphUnuntloni; of Ravonntrect r\ina along the side of tho house and an entrance from the side road to the back premises Is gained by a dou-ble-leaved gate which Is about three feet from the trapshod door and looks immediately on to the back door of tho house It would iieom, then, that tho murdorer of the Hollands entered by tho sldo gate and attacked Holland whilst ho was In the trapshed. The sounds of the struggle might have attracted Mrs. Holland from tho house and sho was done to death about midway between tho back door and the trapshod. A sad coincidence Is that on a garden seat, facing the very spot whore hit mother was klllod, there was a llttlo wooden onslne, with which tho child had evidently beon playing a few hours earlier. In ftict, his toys aroscatt«j?ed About and there* every indication that the sandy and now bloodtttalned space between tho place* where th« two murders were perpetrated was the little fellow's favorite playground. A BIG CHEQUE, Dlvero Inquiries as to Hollanirn movements prior to the tragody x*p** mot by. 'the information thit on ••' Il.urjf day,, Mr. Holland had toon •*• driving home «b6ut 4,30, whilst »'*" #?f*ot\H had seen a. light In the sittinK«"rbpro window an hour later. It w»a aloo n«cortttin*d that on tho Thursday. Tlollnm), who wn« well-to-do und cohiemplntcd a IHp to Ireland with his wife, wont, to ChrlKtchureh and drow a cheque for £1006 l\* jd from a bullciinff society In which ho vta* intercut e«l, At the Chrhitchurch branch of thf YUiuU. of J^few South Wttlo«. ho casluul the chequp, rocclvlog tho bulk of ihm money ; IN J220 AND £100 NOTES, • which ho took With him to Kntrn»sL m

the callous and cold* blooded crime I having been premeditated; at least It would appear ho, by the fact that on Saturday morning . the detectives foUnd close to the scene of the tragedy, a Btout pioeo OF BLOOD-STAINED IRON ' PIPING, ! which had undoubtedly been used fty j the Hollands' murderer m the conali-l matton of ' his foul deed. The Important point of the discovery was that the Iron piping was wrapped In brown paper, tied with string, evidently m i order- to < Aoilitate the weapon being carried to the scene of the murder without exciting suspicion. The weapon, partly covered with blood-sodden paper was found under the far end of the. '-trap-shed,' and it Is a peculiar coincidence * that the discovery of this first real clue was due to a cat being seen emerging from under the shed flooring, dragging a piece of the saturated paper which wrapped the iron bar. MRS. HOULAKID'B MOVEMENTB. Regarding Mrs. Holland's move- J ments during the day, there aeema to bo a good deal of uncertainty. By the fact that the bed web unmade, It would appear that she went out soon after her husband's departure, but on >the < contrary, there-Ik • evidence that she was sewing until a- few minutes before the estimated time of the tragedy. In the sitting-room, the burnedout lamp was In front of the sowingmaohlne, and a half finished pair of "•pants" for the child were on tho machine m a position which would indicate that the sowing was hurriedly loft It is not at all improbable then, that as her husband would not be home. Mrs. Holland devoted the day to sewing, and consequently neglected to make the bod, Which la m an upstairs room, otherwise tidy. Holland, after coming from the bank and fixing up tho horse and trap, ovldently took a small lamp across to the shed for the purpose of pottering about there until tea-time! and while he was In the shed, the fiend who was waiting for him, 1 entered tho yard by one of tho side gates and got into the shed, olther by means of the door or through a permanont opening at the other ond of tho shed, near where the Iron bar was subsequently found.: DID SHE GO TO THE CITY? In nome quarters the belief that Mr*. Holland was home all day is dinooun* .ennncoa, rtnd it l« stated that she iccompanied her husband to the city. The tact- tb At the front door wo* open would lend color to tho theory and 'Indicate the probability that If »he went to town, ulie won net down at tho front gate on fAturntntf, and had laid the sleeping child oh the softi while »he lit the lamp. Mr. Holland meanwhile driving around to the «!u> gnu and jjtabllnf? Ihc tidrMO. Nitverthol«H».« Mr». Holland's body when found, wu not dad m such a manner as would miKK«it that she hud been to In*' city, or oven out of »»m house aq tho day of tho murdor.

a' 'calico : bag. ; ".to'.'. leaving for the city, 'however, he had arranged with' the local bank manager to keep the bank open a. little later, than usual . In order f to receive the cash. , Thus it was that about 3.30 p.m. the notes und gold were safely deposited at the bank,, and Holland was seen driving home aiterwards: In: the face of these facts, it might seem that the motive for the double murder was robbery, and. that the murderer knew Holland's affairs sufficiently to be aware' of his mission,? t6 - Christchurch earlier m the day. 1 j"\Vhether or not that thepry is ace'tirftte; s Js most pijbbalSiy known to - the- detectives, although it must be discounted to a certain extent, by the peculiar fact that when Holland's body was : fSund 5 there was no sign of his pockets haying been rifled, :and as far, as that' gofes,. his watch was left,untouched; so also, was a sum of £10 which. he had m his trousers pocket. Still, it might be that : the. murder^' was .put; for a big robbery - or , none at all: It is also feasible that, when, the. maniacal murderer; discovered that his Unsuccessful attempt to steal £ lOQO had . resulted ;in murder; - . he "abandoned, the idea ' -,o'f .-. robbery, and vjras bjpsessed solely :with the .necessity of evjading capture. Circumstances, however, point to the probability, of

. It Is. considered unlikely that the child witnessed the awful tragedy. On the sofa In the sitting-room, there are a couple of rugs, and as the little fellow was customarily put to sleep on the sofa m the early part of the evening and taken upstairs to bed when his parents retired, the chances are that on that fateful Thursday night he was asleep when his mother rushed out towards the trap-shed. Ap^ parently he . ■ ■ SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT, and being still fully, dressed, -went out and played m .the yard m the morning- „..-■■■ ',' '■ .' ■"■ WHAT KAIAPOI PEOPLE BAY. Through conversation with Kalapoi people who ■ knew , the . Hollands, "Truth's" . representative learned that whilst they were -well liked by their fellow townspeople, neither Mr. Holland nor hia, wife "mixed" with the local folk to any great extent. Until recently, Holland was a farmer m the Kaiapol district but. he sold his land at a good price to a new freezing company which is to commence operations shortly. He was an Irishman, born, at County, Down, m 1842, and coming to New Zealand m 1868. In

to handle, on account of bis affliction, it is understood that he was working near the house on Friday morning and saw a man on the premises. It might turn out then, that the old man will yet prove to 'be of important and valuable assistance to the police. THE CUPBOARDS WERE BARE. A fact which strikes one as being peculiar and conducive to more mystery, is that the cupboards of the houso were practically bare of food. There was neither meat nor bread In the place, and all the edibles m the pantry were f a* few biscuits, some tomatoes and a pound of. butter. It might be that the ' murderer came into the house and took a supply of food, yet, on the other hand, there is no sign of anything having been disturbed. It Is also apparent, that no clothes have

had also had his arm broken m two places, Mrs. Holland had received only one violent blow above the right eye. The blow must toave been fiendishly savage and of sufficient force to kill the unfortunate woman almost at once. The spot where she was murdered was right opposite the side gate, and it is obvious that the body was dragged into the kitchen In order that it would not be seen by anyone passing along the street at the side of the house. The theory, up to this point, was that Holland had been attacked while m the shed, and, hearing a ecuffle, Mrs, Holland had come out to Investigate. The murderer evidently heard her coming, and walking, or running, out of the tTap shed to meet her, he swung some heavy weapon over his shoulder arid crashed it on to the woman's head. A splash of blood on the ground between the shed door and the point at which Mrs. Holland was struck, suggests that it had been shaken from the weapon by the force of the swing preparatory td tho blow being delivered. If such was the case, the woman was probably struck before she could utter a cry. It was not long, however, before the detectives discarded the presumption that the murder was committed on Friday, and were confident that it HAPPENED PRIOR TO THAT DAY. On Ihe shed floor, by the murdered man s head, a kerosene lamp was standIng, whilst it was also evident that the lamp m the sitting-room of the house hail burned itself out. That the lamps had been alight was m itself sufficient to show that it was after dark when Holland and his wife were done to death, but, apart from this, Holland's watch was shown to have runt down at 4.25, which would lead to tha conclusion that It had riot been wound up the previous night. INCLINED TO TALK OF HIS MONEY A fresh theory, which seems to have some weight has been advanced In connection with the Kaiapoi murder. Holland ia said to have been somewhat boastful and inclined to talk about the money he possessed and, as it is known that he spent some time m Christchurch on Thursday and talked to people, it is considered quite likely that the fact that he was carrying £ 1000 might have reached the ears of some unscrupulous person who followed him to Kaiapoi. Even if the murderer knew Holland intended to go to the bank, he

1874, he married, and five children resulted. Tho FAMILY AXE ALL §ROWN UP. ' and resident m New Zealand. About five years ugo he marrlod his second wife and the couple had the reputation of being very happy, deßpite tho disparity of their ages. It has been stated, however, that m his latost will, Mr. Holland, notwithstanding his supponed affection for his wife and child, provided somewhat scantily for them, whilst It wus arranged that- the bulk' of his property should be divided amongst the members .of his family by his first wife. Notwithstanding that statement, and even m the event of it being true, "Truth's" earnest inquiries m Kaiapol were met with tho answer that the couple were happy and there was not the vaguest suggestion of there having been a serpent m the garden, neither waa there a* hint of any inoldent which might suggest v definite reason for the crime, t The police are said to be In possession of several clues which they consider It unwise to mention .lust now. Nevertheless, they are at a loss regarding the MURDERER'S REAL 'MOTIVE. Many motl ves suggest themselves, no doubt, but it seems that znout rf them lead to a dead-end when carefully analysed. A POBBIBLY VALUABLE WITNEBB. Holland employed an old deaf and dumb man In the orchard on tho opposite side of the road noar tho house, and although this witness is difficult

been taken from the house, notwithstanding that after dragging the murdered woman into the house, the clothes of who ever committed the deed, must have been copiously splashed with blood. WILL. A REWARD BE OFFERED 7 The detectives are sparing no time or effort m the work of unravelling that which Is without doubt on© of the darkest myßteriea known m Canterbury for many years, and the ueneral opinion la that the Government should lose no time In offering a subBtantlal reward for any information which will curtail the liberty of the fiend who committed the dastardly crime. Such a course would, as has been proved In other cases, be of considerable assistance to the police, PRELIMINARY INQUIRY. On Saturday evening; Mr. T. A. B. Bailey. S.M., District Coroner. h<ld a preliminary inquiry at Kalapot. the proceedings being merely formal and exclusive of any evidence other than tl.at of identification. The Inquest was then adjourned until May 21. THE NATURE OF THE INJURIEB. The medical men who raado a postmortem examination aro reticent regarding the nature of tho injuries received by the deceased. It ia understood that e«ch of the several blocs received by Holland, fractured the skull, whilst Mrs, Hol'nnd'? skull was also fractured. THE POLICE ACTIVE. Soon after the local police had satisfied themselves as to tho seriousness of tho case, Sergt, Dwyor was communicated with at Chrlstchurch, and ChlefDotectlvo Herbert and Dotoctlvo-Sergt Hunt were despatched to the scene of the tragedy. By tho time the detectives arrived at tho house darkness was Betting m. and tho placo had to bo cursorily inspected by Inmpllght, after which the bodies were medically examined and removed to tho morgue. The ! following morning. Police Supt. Dwyer and Detective ISade urrived and THE HUNT FOR THE MURDERER was commenced m earnest. It wa« ascertained that tho baby son of the deceased couple had been playing m the yard on the Friday morning when tho milkman loft the milk nml wont away again, unsuspicious of the fact that a frightful tragedy had occurred. It has ivven been stated that the woman who brought the milk pushed (lit? back door slightly open and glanced Inside without noticing anything unusual. Seeing tho blood m tho yard, she presumed that Mr. Holland had been killing n fowl. The child, when taken m hand by tho detectives, proved to be of »o material value as rt means of describing tho murder of Its parents. The little fellow KetMtunl to know nothing beyond tho fact that "mummy" wtu dead and thai lie was very hungry. A close inspection of the bodies made U clear thut whilst Holland had been severely battered over tho back of the bead with a j»*avv instrument. And lie

would probably think the bank would he closed nnd, seeing him return home, might have SECRETED HIMSELF SOMEWHERE HANDY until nightfall, when Holland could CUMlly be attracted out to the shed and would naturally curry v light. The fact that tho Jron bar waa wrapped m paper and tied also lenda color to thJu tlKiory, an it waa obviously the murdercr'n intention when wrapping it up (o carry it name considerable dlwtanco and m daylight. Had it bor-n necessary to carry th« bur only In Kaiapol, It was of nucl\ nl?« that it might caully have been carried undvr the coat or m tho hip pocket. Although mystery mill cloudt* tho whole affair, t hi* popular thonry is that ChrUtchurch hldtJi the murderer. A PKCUI4AU COINCIDENCE. Holland's will WA« mftdo on May 11, IDIS, and the datf of th<» murder wa* May 11. l»l«5, Tht- will wtu» read on Tur«day.