CHARGE OF MURDER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22545, 12 April 1935, Page 10

CHARGE OF MURDER

WOMAN’S BODY IN CREEK MEDICAL EVIDENCE HEARD (Pee United Press Association) NAPIER, April 11. Twelve of 42 witnesses who will give evidence in the ease in which Charles William Price, alias Edwards, chaiged that, on or about February 6. at Argyll, he murdered Evelyn Mary Madden, were heard in the Napier Magistrate’s Court to-day. when the lower court hearing of the charge was opened. To-day’s evidence mainly concerned the medical observations on the deceased’s injuries, and with the tracing of the movements of the deceased and the accused from the time they left together their employ at Oreka Station, Fernhill. Mr H. B. Lusk, with him Mr L. W. Willis, ia appearing for the Crown, and Mr S. Averill for the defence. Mr J. G. L. Hewitt, S.M., i 6 on the Bench. » The body of Miss Madden was discovered on February 13 last in a creek at a lonely spot near Argyll East, in the Waipawa district. The first witness, Alexander Reid, surveyor, gave formal evidence regarding the drawing up of a plan of the scene of the alleged crime. He stated that the hole in the creek in which the body was found was 3ft deep, and was overhung by willows and rushes. Senior Sergeant Edmund Walter Dinuie, in charge of the Criminal Registration Department, Wellington, stated that on March 8. in company with Detective Sergeant Bickerdike, he went to the spot where Madden’s body was found. Witness took a number of photographs, and these would be described to the court. A 16-year-old boy, Herbert Bert Monk, a farm hand, of Argyll East, described his discovery of the body in Tahiki Creek, about three chains from the junction of the Nestor, Raukawa, and Te Onepu roads. In January last witness set an eel trap in the creek of Nestor’s property, and on the evening of February 14 he visited the trap, walking up the creek for some distance. After crossing the creek on a log he discovered, a short distance away, the body ot a woman lying under a willow tree in a hole. The body, which was about four feet from the bank, was floating face upwards. Witness reported the discovery to his father, and the police were communicated with. Next morning witness accompanied Constable Dawson, of Ongaonga, to the spot. Witness stated that the locality in which the body was found was isolated, and he had rarely seen visitors in the vicinity. Constable Janies Dawson stated that when he went to the spot on the morning of February 15, he made a close inspection of the vicinity. He noticed a woman’s stocking close to the bank, while a top set of false teeth was discovered Iving in the grass about six paces from the edge of the water. A ■woman’s garter lay nearby. On the morning of February 16 witness again went to the scene. Just as he arrived he saw a man near the hole in the creek. The man walked away, but witness intercepted him about 500 yards from the creek. They exchanged greetings. The man said: “I am feeling very crook. I have been on the booze for a fortnight.” He then produced a bottle and took a drink. Witness asked the man his name and he replied that it was Edwards. He added that he had walked from the property of a settler named Marshall, a distance of five miles, to see Bayiiss. another settler, about “getting his old lob back.” Edwards said he had had a sleep in the titree, pointing towards ihe water hole. They returned to the creek, where Edwards drank the dry gin -in his possession, tossed the bottle into the water, then drew from his pocket a bottle of methylated spirits, some of which he mixed with water from the creek and drank. Shortly after, Detectives Bickerdike and Farquharson arrived. Witness identified Edwards as Price, the accused. The first medical witness was Dr Rowland Cashmere, of Hastings. He described his examination of the body carried out on the bank of the creek on February 15. The woman’s clothing was crumpled round her waist. Witness and Detective Farquharson recovered the body from the pool. A cursory examination re-, vealed a wound on the scalp. He and Dr Whyte, of Hastings, carried out the postmortem at the Hastings morgue. The body, which was clad in a print dress, two petticoats, and two singlets, was that of a well-developed, well-nourished woman of about 30 years of age. Putrefaction had destroyed most of the facial outline, and the upper jaw was toothless. A scalp wound was found one inch left of the middle line, extending directly backwards for two inches from the junction of the hair and brow. There was a cut an inch long on the right ear. extending into the scalp, and there were also long cuts above the left ear and on top of the head and at the back of the head. The vault of the skull was fractured from the bridge of the nose over the top for a distance of six inches. Dr Cashmore added that the examination revealed no sign of pregnancy. Other than the head wounds, there was no sign ot injury about the body. Death, in witness’s opinion, was probably due to extensive laceration of the brain, and hfemorrhage into the brain, brought about by a fracture of the vault and base of tne skull. Considerable force would be necessary to inflict the injuries. The piece of timber three feet long produced in court could have inflicted the injuries. On March 31 witness was present when the body of Madden was exhumed. He removed the head and saw it placed in a container and handed into the custody ot the police. Dr Walter Gilmour, pathologist at the Auckland Hospital, said tliat after the soft parts had keen removed from Miss Madden’s skull, the following fractures were found:—(l) There was a fracture on the left side of the skull commencing two inches above the external opening of the ear; (2) extensive fracturing in the front part of the skull from the bridge of the nose backwards for about six inches. There were indications that the blow producing it came from the left. From the middle of the nose the fracture extended down the middle of the face, eenarating the jaw into two halves, hyom these fractures witness concluded that they must have been caused by at least two separate blows. The front fracture could have been caused by a right-handed assailant standing in front of the victim, and could have been caused only by a very severe blow. In witness's opinion the fractures were homicidal. Dr A. D. S. Whyte, of Hastings, gave evidence of the post-morten examination he and Dr Cashmore had made. . Dr John Mercer, assistant pathologist at the Wellington Hospital, who examined a man’s brown suit, a woman s blue woollen coat and a womans small white hat for human blood, said that, on the bmng n i, nve the right wrist of the suit he found two irregular reddish brown stains, the external appearances oi v Well suggested they were blood stains. The tests revealed that they had been made by human blood. On the woman s coat he found on the lower part of the left lapel several oval reddish stains, which were also made by human blood. On the inside of the crown of the hat he found a stain four inches long, also made bv human blood. . Audrey Lincoln Jamieson, vho .with Mies Madden, was employed at James r coition at Fernhill. said that Edwards and Miss Madden were rather friendly and often went out together for walk* On Monday. February 4. Miss Madden and Edwards left the station together That day witness had a comer■r hert’ Witness identified James Northe Lowry, by whom M s Madden and the accused were employed said he drove the pair into the Hastin railway station on Monday. Febnmij4. They j"ft his employ together on that date. He and his wife (Lucy Francis Lowry) identified a number of cheques of his with which both Edwards and Miss Madden were paid. ... According to the evidence of Iveitn Walker Baker, of Hastings, a railway station porter, a man came into the leu luggage office on February 4 and said he wanted to leave some luggage. Thi« luggage witness identified among the exhibits. He could not identify the man who brought them.

Ernest Henry Gardiner said he met Price in Hastings on February 4. Price said he had a lady with him, and asked if witness knew a quiet place where she could stay. Witness and Price went to a Mrs Higgins’s house. Later, Price told witness that his companion had not liked the room and that they had both booked in at the Hastings Hotel. Similar evidence was given by Mrs Greta Verosa Higgins. Evidence of booking in at the hotel on the afternoon of February 4 of a man giving the name of Edwards and a woman named Malcolm was given by Beryl Scandrett. They stayed two nights and left on the morning of February 6. The man paid the bill wj,th a cheque which witness identified. Ernest Fitzmaurice, manager ot a Hastings clothing establishment, said that on the afternoon of February 4 the accused bought a pair of women’s shoes, explaining that he had left his job at Lowrv’s and that, since a girl had been good to him at the station, he would like to reciprocate. At this stage the court was adjourned.