ANOTHER MYSTERY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21641, 11 May 1932, Page 8

ANOTHER MYSTERY

SYDNEY SOLICITOR MURDERED WIFE BRUTALLY BATTERED fPnoM Oub Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, April 28. Sydney police face a new mystery as a result of one of the worst cases of wanton assault in the criminal history of the State. While they were asleep in their beautiful home at Bellevue Hill, Mr Victor Claude'Say well, a well-known Sydney solicitor, and his wife, were terribly battered with some heavy instrument, probably a hammer. Mr Say well died without regaining consciousness, and there is little hope for the recovery of his wife. The ■ case presents some extraordinary features, for which, so far, the police have been unable to offer any explanation. The fact that the bedroom was in a state of disorder* when the crime was discovered, and the ease with which access to the room could have been gained, at first suggested that the dreadful crime was the work of callous thieves. However, many valuable articles were not interfered with, and, after reconsidering their theory, the police ruled out the possibility that robbery was the motive. Clothes of all descriptions were scattered about the floor, and the cupboard doors were open. It seems doubtful whether all this could have been done without disturbing the sleepers. It was very soon ascertained that nothing had been stolen and that the bedroom was the only room in the house that had received attention from the intruders. A maid who entered the room about 7.30 in the morning with the morning tea, as was her custom, was the first to discover what had happened. She knocked, and when there was no response she pushed open the door, presuming that the couple were still asleep. She was horrified to discover that the bed was soaked in blood. Both Mr and Mrs Saywcll were unconscious and bore the signs of the terrible blows they had received. Mrs Saywell was lying on her back, and Mr Savwell was on her right side. The bedclothes had not been disarranged to any great extent, and the police were satisfied that the couple were attacked while they were asleep. Both had been struck on the upper part of the head. Information of the crime was conveyed to the police by one of two sons, who, with their father and mother and a maid, were the sole occupants of the house. The only clue of any real value found by the police was a hammer which was picked up on a vacant allotment opposite the house. It was very rusty, and bore signs that it had been recently washed. So far the police have been unable to discover the owner of this hammer. The more the detectives consider the case the greater seems to be the mystery. Was the person who ransacked the room tlio person who made the attack, and what connection had the search with the crime? The gardener, who keeps the tools of the house, has not missed a hammer, and ho has been unable to throw any light on the crime. If the hammer was brought into the house, it is an indication that the crime was premeditated—callously j planned. The wounds were such that they i could have been caused by a hammer, but | the possibility that some other instru- j incut was used has not been overlooked j by the police in the investigations. Hav- ; i ing ruled out robbery, the police .have ■ not been able to suggest any other motive, and admit that they are faced with one of the most difficult problems in the history of crime detection. The family is one of the best known in the district, and on the night before they were attacked Mr and Mrs Saywell had entertained their next-door neighbours. They went to bed earlier than usual—about 10 o’clock —and, according to medical opinion, they were attacked about four hours later. All the members of the household have been most carefully questioned, and it is understood that the police obtained a statement from a young woman who did not live with the Saywclls.

Mr Say well was a brother of Mrs W. C. Burt and also of Mrs D. Burt, widow of Dr Burt, formerly of Dunedin