THE BERRIMAN MURDER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21196, 29 November 1930, Page 13

THE BERRIMAN MURDER

BUCKLEY FOUND GUILTY. . DEATH SENTENCE PASSED. i 1 (United Press Association.)

(By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.)

MELBOURNE, November 28. (Received Nov. 28, at 10 p.m.) Buckley was found guilty and sentenced to death. Tlie jury deliberated for only a few minutes. Buckley took the verdict quietly. He reiterated his innocence/ and said circumstances were against him. His record discloses Mm as one'of the worst criminals in Australian history. His gaol career began in 1879, and thereafter he participated in crimes of violence, robbery, maliciously wounding, garroting, and robbery under arms.. At least two men with whom he associated have been banged. He served sentences aggregating more than 20 years. The search for Buckley was the most relentless and painstaking ever carried out by the Victorian police (said the Melbourne Age recently). Their efforts never relaxed during the seven years that have lapsed since Berriman ,was killed, and the climax was dramatic. From time to time news filtered in from the underworld concerning the wanted man, and many fruitless raids were carried out. The failures were heartbreaking. At last three years ago, a detective caught sight of Buckley in the’ crowd at Melbourne, and then they felt certain that after all he had not left the State. Shortly after that Detective Lacey was put definitely on the job. He was much handicapped by the silence of the underworld,' but the trail was gradually narrowed down. Often he was absent from police headquarters for days at a time, and at one time nearly suffered a nervous breakdown. About a year ago a definite clue was obtained, the following months being spent in moat painstaking investigation. At last the hidiiig-place was located where Buckley and his, granddaughter were. living, the raid was planned. So that there should be no suspicion caused by a force of police in cars,- the raiders in two private cars assembled in a side street and drove down to the suburb of Moonee, where they divided into two parties. It had been arranged for the raiding parties to make a simultaneous attack on - the fyont door rind. the back gate with blacksmith’s sledge hammers. It was known that the doors were always kept lock and heavily barred. , Upon a prearranged signal being given one party smashed the back, gate from its hinges while the front door was similarly dealt with. As the doors fell in with a resounding crash, the detectives heard a young woman screaming to somebody inside the house. With revolvers drawn they rushed along the passage and encountered Buckley, as he • was running through the kitchen, presumably to the back of the house. He threw up his hands when commanded to do so and submitted quietly. Upon searching Buckley’s room the detectives say they seized two fully loaded automatic pistols, flJld flu old-type. Bulldog ** revolver loaded in six chambers. A tin containing a supply of cartridges was also found. The clock-work precision- with which the raid was carried- out may be gauged from the fact that from the time the signal was given until Buckley was arrested only 10 seconds elapsed. On October 8, 1923, Glenferrie railway station was the scene of a most daring and sensational hold-up, when, in broad daylight, Mr T. R. V. Berriman, manager, of the-Hawthorn branch of the Commercial Bank of Australia, was accosted by two men, shot in the chest, and robbed of a bag containing £lßsl' in bank.notes. Mr Berriman, who- was 50 years of age, was on his way to town about 11.10 a.m. to take the bag of notes to his head office. Near the subway to tne station lie was, approached by two men. One man, short and stout, and dressed in a blue suit, said, “ Can I carry your bag? ” Mr Berriman replied, i# 0 ’ t^ ank y° U- I pan carry it myself. The short man then grabbed the bag. A struggle’ ensued, in which Mr isernman s assailant drew a - revolver and ■ shot Air, Berriman in the chest. Air Berriman collapsed, his assailant wrenched the bag from his grasp and-passed it to-a companion, “a tall, thin man, in a grey suit,” and both ran down the narrow alley leading between Swinburne Technical School and the railway. The “ tall; thin man,” who was Angus Murray, ran ahead while the stout man covered pursuit frbm the rear by flourishing a revolver. They then jumped into a waiting motor car, with a third man at the wheel, and subsequently drove towards St. Hilda, via ?ivpr f !fi me ,v°. ad ’ ■ durin S w bioh time several collisions with other vehicles we™ narrowly avoided. Q n one occasion the car nearly ran down 1 a constable on point duty at Riversdale , . large force of detectives was detailed to trace the perpetrators of the ruthless shooting, and on October 12 ®°“fj xc * te “ ent was caused when, accompanied by Superintendent Potter, they KilJf a F 1101186I 101186 in Bark 'y street, St. rav d V a r 6 Angus Murray, Leslie (Squizzy) Taylor, and Ida Pender. Angus Alurray was an escaped convict, having climbed the wall of Geelong Gaol several weeks previously He ch with the Glenferrie robbed and with escaping from custody. . Taylor and Pender were locked up on holding charges, but later were released. Alurray was hanged for the crime. No action was taken against Taylor, who subsequently met his death in an underworld revolver duel staged in a house in Barkly street, Carlton, three years ago.