Significant

NZ Truth, Issue 1306, 22 December 1930, Page 5

Significant

tions, is as infrequent as the blooming of snowdrops ,m the great Australian desert. And, significantly enough, Elwood is one of those suburbs. It is undeniable that at the outset everything seemed to nidic'ate that the murder had been committed by some disappointed lover driven to insanity either by th erefusal of the girl to accept his advances; or because she had "turned him down" for somebody else. Point is given to this by the fact that the attack on Mary Dean has brought to light her love for Bohemian life and her attachment to the welknown Melbourne artist, Colin Colahan, who informed the detectives that he and Miss Dean had decided to marry. Indeed (she had spent the Wednesday night prior to the murder at Coahan's Hawthorn home, and next night was one of a party comprising Mr. and Mrs. Percy Leason, Mr. Mervyn Skipper, Melbourne editor of the "Bulletin," and Mrs. Skipper, Colin Colahan, and fcTorman Lewis, and attended the Bijou Theatre where Gregan McMahon's players were appearing m "Pygmalion." Miss Dean and her party left the theatre about eleven o'clock, but did not disperse until half an hour later, When Colahan and I^ewis escorted. Miss Dean. down to Finders Street and eft her to take train for St. Kilda on the way to her home m Milton Street, Elwood. Their explanation of why they did not see her on to the station is that a tarm for Hawthorn came along, and they caught it. very little is known of the movements of Miss Dean from the time she left Colahan and Lewis until she was found dying m a pool of blood m a lane near the intersection of Dickens and Addison Street, Elwood. The one thing clear is that she was struck down when not more than two minutes' walk from her own home m Milton Street, and that her slayer must have hidden m the deep shadow of the hedgebordered gate of Mr. Fred Owen's home, 5 Addison Street, and commenced his frightful assault just after she had passed the gate. The position of the bloodstains at this point supports the belief that the first blow must have been struck from behind. There was not one outcry from her — that was heard, at any rate — even though she was so terribly injured that she died m the Alfred Hospital three hours after admission, and without regaining consciousness. Medical examination disclosed the fact that there were six extensive wounds on the head, two of which