SYDNEY MURDER MYSTERIES

NZ Truth, Issue 889, 9 December 1922, Page 5

SYDNEY MURDER MYSTERIES

SERIES OF DREADFUL CRIMES

The Evil Record of Surrey Hills aud Fitzroy

DEATH IN THE PUBLIC PARKS

Sydneyslders pretend to be horrified at the erratic gunplay between gentlemen v living m yitzroy and, others wfio prefer Richmond , as -a; residential suburb, and speak of Melbourne as a terrible place; j yet Sydney appears to be the real home of serious .crime. The list of murders for this year is.yyery long, and is being added to from wee^Cj to' week. In the last. few weeks two t&rrlble crimes have been dls- '. covered; one, a ghoulish crime which is now being investigated. Acting on "information wJceived," a number of policemen were set digging m the bunker - between the sixth and seventh greens at the Kensington Golf Links. Before they - toad dug more than four feet they uncovered Xhe huddled Wad decomposed body of a fully-olothed woman, who had lain m that seorot fcnfl tauleensed grave for probably lfr month*. When recovered, the tiody.wae no much decomposed &s to be beyond recognition; but later, a sister positively identified the remains by the clothing and Jewellery, end a set of teeth which fell from the mouth -when, the corpse wae m.97* 1 ' THE MURPERBD .• WQiIAN, was Daisy Maude Kearney, She was 86 years of age, and, though married, was living apart from her ftusbafca ,ln. May of last year, when she mysteriously , disappeared from "her lodgings at Harris Street, Pyrmont. ■ .*' The police Joat no time m aotlng; a . man named Carl Jensen, .81, was ar-r rested and brought before the Central Police Court, charged with, having,, m Moore Park, on .or about May 12, 1921, feloniously and malicfotislx murdered, Daisy Maude Kearney.' Inspector rSpryer said tha,t the ppllqe knew .that, accused • 'was keeping company with the deceased woman, and he' had already Btated to the police that he was ; with her till 9 o'clock on $ie night of May 12 hitst year. "Further than that, we have a ■witness who has identified the defen-> i dant, and picked him ouVof 12 others, as to seeing this particular man carry- «- Ing a woman near where the body was found. •*.* •* ♦ , ' . THE SCENE OP tffeß CRIME Is a favored spot for level's" and abb for those detestable degenerates known as "park touts." ' ''■' One theory Is that Mrs JJCearney sat, or reclined, on the grass,, la quarrel arose, and she was killed. Hprrlfl^d at what he had done, and terrified by the grim picture of -the gruesome' gallows that flashed before, his mind's eye, the man feverishly cast about for iT means of'.rer moving 'all' 'traces' of his crime. .Observing the big patch 'ojT white sand that showed clearly m the' black face of the hillalde, he dragged his Victim, there, and began the terrible task of ' „' VSCOOPINQ -OUT, A^ GRAVE.' ■'-'■ As he bept /frantically to. h(8 task, shadovyy shapes, set on all' fours, loomedup -out of the :biSeftneSß.' Gradually they came nearer aha ' nearer, ' moving with ••;,: catlike stealth, tlnjtll at Ibagth they were > j within, feet of the huddled :f6rm on the '■> ground and tne:^feverishly ,'w<> rltl ns Ate- ; ; ger. Pausing to take a rest and a - ' tearfnl . glance about, the grave-digger's ' byes lighted upon the bent forms, and ■ met the eyes that peered, from out- of the darkness. Stifling an involuntary cry of fear that' rosevtOhiis lips, the murderer ' stepped . over to investigate, fend the 'shapes 'straightened out and revealed •* themselves 1 r .aS :; h;uTnahV^ '•A" few hurried Sentences' m hoarse, tones, the pasiiage of "amounts of money, and the shapes turned on thfelr /heels and faded away m the darkness, ■ ari^ ' were soon lost to sight- The 'murderer resumed his work then wltlv feverish, energy, gradually the hole .grew <larger> and finally THE BODY WAS BtmiED. Another theory advanced was that the Victim- had been' carried there after death. But this theory .was soon blown to shreds by the police, There can hardly be any doubt 'that the crime was committed In the park some time In May of last year, and it Is equally certain thßt ■•.■;,' A HEAVY BLOW OR BLOWS the head caused death. The post-mor-tem revealed' that there was extensive fracturing. of : the skull, and the doctors who carried it out attribute" the. cause of death to these Injuritiis. The discovery of the body was the outcome of admissions made during a family quarrel by a man who, it is alleged, belongs to one of the gangs of night prowlers which infest, the parks, bag-snatching and • levying blackmail. This man, giving evidence at the inquest, stated that he and hjs companion, on the night Mrs Kearney disappeared, saw, m the vicinity where, the body was found, a man parrying the body of a woman. After watching, they spoke to the ntan, who said the woman was all right, and gave ill to each to go away. When the man left, they went to the spot, and found blood and a pair of earrings. ; /Next morning they revisited the spot, and discovered the sand had boen disturbed. They started digging with' a •hovel they found there, but became frightened, and fled. ( They .kept the fact s'epret, except from witness's wife, through whom it leaked out. ' Other evidence: showed that Mrs Kearney received warning to desist from her Inquiries regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of her brother from a supposed accident, but who she suspected Was the victim' of an underworld gang, ' ■ It is understood that the police hold j evidence that blood money is being squeezed, from Mrs Kearney's murderer, and that the crime is one, of a series connected with park' prowlers' operation!!. ■ ' . ■■■•' • !i "'■'"' Another case was reported the previous week. The nearly naked body of a man, later identified as that of Clarence Carrlngton MeLollah, aged about 37, was found m tl-tree scrub In Centennial Park, another favorite resort of lovers, "touts." and criminals. For the past 18 months the deceased had bean an inmate of the Red Cross Home, Kandwlck, surfering from tuberculosis. On the day that he met his death he left the Home at about 10 o'clock m the morning. He was then olad In a blue sorgo suit, striped shirt," naval flannel, woollen underpants, and a silk knitted tie. Between four and five o'clock the same day HIS DEAD BODY WAS 'FOUND m a thick clump of tl-trco. a hundred ynnlH from the grand parade on the Rnfulwlck «l<]e of. the park. The body, which wan mill warm, was lylnp face do.\ nwunls, and thu coat. vest, trousorn mid boots lw<' Kono. The only covarlngK lon on (he body were cite slilrt and alnglet. fcehliul the right car tht'io woo an ug»y brulHo, wht<.h hud evidently been Indicted with v boor bottle that was lying close to the body. It Is HUggOßtod that McLcllun, picking up >vlth n. woman some time after leaving tho Red CroBS Home, muds his way Into a clearing In tho tl-tree acrub with her, and subsequently found himself being spied upon by somo of theao slimy, crawling creatures, "park touto." When ho. Jumpod up to drive them off ho wa« ATTACKED AND FELLED with a brutal blow. With a bottle. Still • another s'uggoxUon Is that MeLollan, hnvfng had a good win at Kami wick on Eight-Hour Day. vlHlKld hotels on tho folkiwini; day scanning up hl« winning*. and was followed law the park and felled by a murderous g»ng. whoso mo»l\f wan robbery. WhllHt the police, are Inquiring, the ue«*l «f«p of amateur detectives are

busy with the flnely-spun produce of their Imaginations. Psychlsts, psychomancfsts. mental telepathists, students of criminology, fortune tellers, and amateur Sherlock Holmeses have inundated the Police Department with suggestions. One enthusiast, who is something of an artist, by the way, hypnotised himself by a process of auto-suggestion, and whilst In that state sketched tne face! of the murderer. Earlier In the month, a man named Francis Charles Kennedy was found murdered m a cart dock In Surry Hills. No trace of the criminal responsible for this deed has been found. ANOTHER DASTARDLY MURDEIW the perpetrator of which uob never been apprehended, took place only a couple of months back. Frank Charles Kemmis, a bank manager at Hornsby, a . toney Sydney suburb, was returning to his home at Wahroonga, on the North Shore line, on a train which left Hornsby at 1047 p.m. on July 17. He was found battered about the head, and died next morning. The injuries were supposedly caused by blows from a 41b hammer, This crime took place m the roomy interior of a" suburban train carriage, and it is conjectured by the police that Kemmls was suddenly attacked and struck three times on the head with a heavy blunt instrument with sufficient force to split his skull. A passenger who boarded the train at ah intermediate Btation discovered the bank manager . alone, and obviously m a bad. way. He communl-

vcatedr with- the officials, and while Kemmis was being removed- Jto an ambulance he murmured that he had beet) assaulted and his keys taken. He then beoame unconscious, and remained so until bis death. Although arrests were made the crime was not sheeted home to anyone, and the affair has been pushed out of publlo notice by the MULTIPLICITY OP SUBS^QUfiNT CRIMES. The list of Sydneyslde crimes during the ]&dt two years ia a long one. The police have been kept busy elucidating .murders, killings and other deeds of violence. Although they have not been successful In tracing the criminals m all instances, their record on the whole is remarkable. Here is a partial list- 6f murders and other slaylngs for the bast two years; — 1920. George Francis Long.— Shot dead m Pelican Street, Surry Hills. "Slack" O Brlen arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Commuted to 16 years' penal servitude. Marjorle Kathleen Meagher, — Battered to death m her bed at her flat m Coogee. Husband arrested, tried and acquitted. Martha Worrell.— Wife of Leslie Cllve Worrell, a constable' of the New South Wales police force, shot m the Bcrub at Woronora Pleasure Ground a. Husband found guilty and sentenced to death. Commuted to penai servitude for life. Doris Violet Cullen.— Shot m a tram' car m George Street, Sydney. Husband tried, found guilty of manslaughter. Sentenced to three years' penal • servitude. Julia Lopes Diaz.— Shot dead m a tent at the Show Ground. Husband found guilty of murder, sentenced to death. Commuted to penal' servitude for life. Annie Blrkett (or Crawford).— Charred remains found m the ruinß of a burned cottage at Lane Cove. The "man woman" Eugene Fallen!, alias Martello, alias Harry Leon Crawford, arrested for murder, found guilty, and sentenced to death. Commuted to penal servitude for life. . Frances Kubert.— Drank stout containing Btrychnlne at her home at Auburn. Husband arrested and sentenced to death. Commuted to penaj servitude for life. Constable Wolgajst.— Shot dead while chasing a "toji^Yllri Centennial Park. Charles Wynne,* Spoechley found guilty and sentenced 4o death. Commuted to penal servitude for life. Norman Kable.— Soldier, killed m a house at Redfern. Man arrested months later, tried, and acquitted. Dr. Claude Tozer.— Shot dead at tho Mort's home at Lindflold, a Sydney suburb. Mrs Dorothy Mort charged with murder. Found not guilty on tho ground of insanity. Detained during the Governor's pleasure. William Francis Collins.— A bully who preyod upon women of the unfortunate does. Stabbed through the body m a house at Surry Hills. Phyllis Hume arrested on murder charge, found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to seven years' penal servitude; released before completion of sontonod largply owing to public, agitation supported by "Truth " Doloen Maud La Barte.— Shot at h«r homo at Moss Vale under sensational clrcuniHlancoH. Policeman also shot In trying to effect urrost of husband. Major 'J'honmH llutlor La Baito. Pound guilty of tho ktlllnu. La Uxrls sentenced to Hovtn yeara' penal servitude. 1921. Annlo McGrath.— Battered with a bottle and strangled with a towel In her fiat at North Sydney. Wilfred J2»-noj*t Coley arrested In Brl»bane. found kullty and sentenced to <io;uh. Commuted to penal servitude tor llfo. Hannah Jane I'oden. — Found In her bedroom at Tumbknig with terrible gash In her throat. HkhO alfnont severed from her body. HuKband, Arthur Bryce Pcd«n. found guilty of im>r<W; »ontonced to death. Historic flttht for life followed. Hoy»l OmninHxion granted new trial, I'eiton found not Ruiity, William 15. Flnnnery.— Strychnine placed In Sunday dinner. Wife. Vcra Flanr»cr>\ found guilty of murder. Kcntonced to deatit. Coiriuiutftd to penal Servitude fur 12 years. Peter Mwnoithun.— «Shot dead In hte homo at Suny Unix by «<:ic of a k«jh- of ruin an* Frederic* Ormoriy ufiovtcfo nt

murder, sentenced to death. Commuted to penal servitude lor life George Legard. — Boot repairer, brutally kicked to death In his shop m Surry Hills, and robbed of a' few shillings. Samuel Hill and Charles Wentworth. convicted of murder, sentenced to death. Commuted to penal servitude for life. 1922. Ida Parker.— Battered to death with, an axe at her home at Erskineville, a suburb of Sydney! George Henry Whitehall tried for the murder and acauftted on the ground of insanity. Detained during Governor's pleasure. • ' Adrian Noel McKay.— Seven weeks^baby. Throat cut from ear to ear. at Moss Vale. Mother charged with the crime and acquitted. Mountford (Bully) Cook. — Battered about the head m his hut at Gordon. Taliesin Griffiths tried for the murder and acquitted. Francis Charles Kennedy. — Murdered m a cart dock at Surry Hills. Murderer still at large. Frank Cecil. Kemmis.— Battered to death m a first-class railway carriage at Hornsby. Murderer still at large. • Readers will notice the frequency with which Surry Hills appears as THE SCENE OF THE CRIMES. Fitzroy at its worst could not come i*p to this evil record. One thing about the exchange of Bhot compliments between the Fitzroy residents and their Rlohmond visitore is that they keep their courtesies to themselves, and do not molest anyone outside of their "set." The chief danger to the publlo lies m the fact that the men engaged m the vendetta ara wretched Bhots, expending quite a lot of ammunition without effective results. , If they were only half as good- marksmen as the typical two gun "bad men" of the movies the vendetta gentry would have shot themselves off the face of the earth long ago. It will be noticed m the above list that though murderers have been sentenced to death by New South Wales Judges, m no case since 1920 has an execution taken place, for each death sentence was subsequently commuted.