MURDERED ON HER BIRTHDAY

NZ Truth, Issue 1062, 1 April 1926, Page 7

MURDERED ON HER BIRTHDAY

♦ — Husband's Midnight Discovery m Lonely Cottage of Death BOY SHOOTS HIS AUNT AND HIMSELF

(From "Truth's" Dargaville Representative.) When Matthew Waaka Te Huia left his cottage m the little settlement of Te Wharau on Saturday, March 21, to visit Dargaville, there was no hint of trag-edy to warn him that his place was at home by the side of his pretty wife, Maisie.

IT was Maisie's .birthday. Her husband left her m the cottage cleaning up the house that she, too, might. visit the township later and meet him there. It had been the custom of Te Huia and his wife to make this visit every Satuidaj r , and as Te Huia mounted his bicycle on this fateful day he had no suspicion that for his wife and the nephew he had treated as a son the Bands of life were already running out. He waved good-bye to his wife, who watched him from the front door. He did not know it then, but that was to.be the last time he would ever see his wife standing m the doorway, smiling at him as he sped along the road. Te Huia rode to town with his nephew's promise that he would bring his horse into town for him later m the day. -. This had been ai-ranged before Teddy Nathan, who was a frequent visitor to his Uncle's home and often stayed there to keep bis aunt company when Te Huia was away, had left the cottage to return to his mother's place a short distance away. The boy had slept at his uncle's cottage the night before. A BROKEN APPOINTMENT There had been no sign of his return as Te Huia left the cottage at 1 o'clock, leaving his wife preparing for her trip to town. .-■ • It had been her intention- to leave for Dargaville between 1.30 and 2 o'clock. Reaching the town, Te Huia made for a billiard saloon and played billiards for some time". He was to meet his wife at 3 o'clock. For an hour or so Te Huia searched for her, did his shopping, paid a few visits, and finally, thinking it strange that she had not kept her appointment, he went to the pictures at 8.30 p.m. and asked the boy at the ticket- office if his wife had entered the show. v The boy told- him that she was m there and he also went m. Not able to find his wife, when the pictures were over, m the customary place of meeting outside the billiard saloon, and later unable to find the horse hia nephew was to have brought m for him and left behind Kimber's, Te Huia, with the feeling that something was very much Avrong, after; searching once more for the horse, set out to -walk home. He had returned the bicycle, to the man m Dargaville who owned it. When Te Huia reached his cottage itiwas m darkness. "The horse that should have been brought to him m town was grazing m the paddock- nearby and now that he was nome and his fears had somewhat subsided Te Huia took the animal to the larger paddock before entering the house. . ' : "'.'*'• -- : :-'■'.,■ ■- :,-TE -HUIA'S vbISGOVERY The' hour was tiien after midnight. • Going to Vth.e -*i*ont ■-. door,- Te Huia knocked, got no answer, and finding the door locked went round to the back. / Passing through the little gate, which was open, he found the back door also open. Te Huia entered his home. Maisie, his wife, did not answer his call. Hurriedly striking a match, ho went lns,ide to the kitchen. , With a cry of horror Te Huia gazed upon the body of his nephew lying across the foot of the couch, his feet on the floor, a gun between his knees. Te Huia called out to his wife, thinking that the.boy had been murdered. She did not answer. Then, by the light of another match, he understood her silence. His cry of despair rang out through the quiet hours of the Sabbath morn as he rushed to her side. -Frantically he reached for her and laid his ear close to her . breast. Her body was stiff and cold and there was no sign of life. Liike a demented man he rushed from the house to the whare of an old age pensioner » named .Jack Morton about 50 yards away. ' Pounding on the door, the grief - Rlricken man at last succeeded m rous^ Ing the occupant and returned to the ' cottage with him. Nothing could be done for either Teddy Nathan or Te Huia's wife. They were beyond human aid. Borrowing a horse, Te Huia went to ' Dargaville for the police. Sergeant Griffiths and a constable, accompanied by Dr. Crump, immediately hurried out ■ to the cottage. . . . ■■ • "NOTHING BETWEEN THEM." When the inquest opened on March 22 there were gruesome exhibit's -of the „ tragedy m Court, including a doublebarrelled shotgun, and a belt of cartridges. f Te Huia told the Coroner that he. had no enemies and that his wife had no bad friends so far as he knew. He had never had any reason to suspect that there was anything between his nephew, Teddy, and his wife. The boy was always very quiet and . there was nothing wrong with him mentally. He could not understand why he should shoot his aunt. In' his evidence Dr. Crump stated that the front part of young Nathan's skull from just above the eyebrows to the top of the head was blown away. * ' a part of the brain also being destroyed.

■ It would be possible for another person to inflict the wound on the boy, but it was not probable. ' It was, m his opinion, most probably self-inflicted, the wounds being consistent with those of a \ man shooting himself. The body of Mrs. Te Huia was lying m a pool of blood from a wound m her • back. . " . There was no sign struggle and her clothing was' m no way disarranged, though her blouse was unbuttoned m front. In the doctor's opinion death had been instantaneous and had taken place about 12 hours previously. The clothing round the wound was slightly scorched, indicating that the gun was discharged at very close range. From the position of the wound the shot had- been fired by someone standing behind her. A JEALOUS BROTHER. From the evidence of Teddy Nathan's mother it appeared that the boy had slept at his uncle's place "* frequently when the latter was away from home. ( He had slept there on the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights before the j tragedy. She knew of no reason why her son should shoot his aunt. They had always been good friends. Oliver Hokaia, brother of the dead* boy, stated that he had remained at home until an hour after his mother ; had left for Dargaville. This would , be about 3 o'clock. 1 His brother Teddy, who had told i them that he was going to take the < horse into town for his uncle, left' i shortly after his mother. He (Oliver) had not been visiting his uncle's house for v some time, , the reason being that he thought \ from his brother's rrfanner that he , was jealous of him going there. ■, It was when John Francis Morton, < the old-age pensioner living close to the cottage, gave his evidence, that light ' was thrown on what had appeared to ' be an otherwise inexplicable tragedy. ' On the morning of the tragedy ( he had seen Teddy Nathan about the cottage. a . . About 1 o'clock he missed the bicycle ( from near the gate and knew that Te f Huia had gone to Dargaville, where he ' and his wife always went every Satur- ! day. They seldom went together. Mrs. ( Te Huia was generally picked up by a j passing car and her husband cycled m. After 1 p.m. he saw nothing more of either Teddy or Mrs. Te Huia, nor did he hear them about the place. 1 ' Until 3.30 he was about his place all ] the time and did not hear a shot fired. ' "UNDULY FAMILIAR." ' He. had never seen 1 any stranger's abput_.thJe ..place i_and knew, of nobody who was*, likely to commit the crime. '< The ■'-, only •suggestion" the witness could make as to the reason why Teddy shot his aunt was that they were unduly familiar. ] He had noticed this familiarity for some time and that was the reason he stopped going to the house, because he had too much respect for Te Huia and his wife to wink at what was going on. 1 Over a week before Mrs. Te Huia had gone to' witness's whare "all of a tremble" and told witness that Teddy had hit her and done something to her. ! She was too frightened to go back for her dinner and had dinner with witness. Ru W. Parore, Maori interpreter, i stated m evidence that he had noticed i at times when he visited Te Huia's ] place that there was something strange 1 about Teddy. On one occasion while he was there < Mrs. Te Huia came rushing m, "crying ! and trembling." j She told them that Teddy had ] slammed the door on her head. He had tried to jamb her m the door. There was a red mark over her eye. Parore advised her to toll her hu's- . band, but she said that she was afraid . to do so because Te Huia would thrash j Teddy. As she was too frightened to go back , for her dinner, she had it with Morton. Parore told her that if she did not , tell her husband he would. ' Just as Mrs. Te Huia went out of the , whare Teddy came m and got a parcel. Witness was sure that he had been outside and heard what had been said. In his opinion there was no doubt that the nephew had shot his aunt and then himself. He had formed this opinion because of what he had seen on March 11 and ( from what the dead woman had told him m strictest confidence, and which he did not want to divulge. AN OPEN VERDICT. — : .. . i Summing up, the Coroner, Mr. J. A. McLean, said there was no direct evidence to show how the two had met their death, except that it was quite clear that they were both shot. ] From the evidence and the position and appearance of the bodies it would appear as though Teddy Nathan had first shot Mrs. Te Huia and then committed suicide by. shooting himself. Whether the wound that caused the ' death of Mrs. Te Huia was wilfully or ' accidentally inflicted there was not ' sufficient evidence to show. Teddy Nathan, according to the finding, died as the result of a gunshot wound apparently self-inflicted.