AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22809, 19 February 1936, Page 7

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

ALLEGED CONFESSION MURDER OF FOUR GIRLS MELBOURNE, February 17. A confession of four murders, alleged to have been made to the police "by Arnold Sodeman (35), of Leongatha, was read in the Criminal Court, when the trial of Sodeman on a charge of having murdered June Rushmer (6J) at Leongatha on December 2' commenced. The alleged statements contained admissions of having murdered Ethel Belshaw (13) at Inverloch on January 1, 1935; Mena Griffiths (12) at Ormond on November 9, 1930; and Hazel Wilson (16) at Ormond on January 1, 1930. Sodeman pleaded not guilty. Mr Book, K.C., addressing the jury, said that the horror and terror which pervaded the small township of Leongatha when the gagged and bound body of June Ruslmier was foiind in some scrub were not lessened by the fact that several times during the past few years other girls had been found dead in similar circumstances. He submitted that there could be no dotibt that Sodeman M'as responsible for each of the girls' deaths.

Mr Book said that when Soderaan was interviewed after the child Eushmer's death he confessed to the murders, and wrote the following letter to his wife: " Dear Doll, —I have confessed my mania and will pay for my sins. Please try and forget me." Counsel for Sodeman, outlining the defence, submitted that Sodeman was insane and incapable of appreciating his acts when he caught a young girl by the throat. Counsel added that' his client had a burden of inheritance and parentage that made him mentally unstable, that his father died in an asylum from general paralysis, that his grandfather died in a mental hospital, and that his mother was suffering from loss of memory. .'-.'-• INCOME TAX APPEAL CASE SYDNEY, February 17. The High Court is hearing an appeal by Theodore Charles Trautwein, M.L.C., against the Federal income tax assessors for the years 1921 to 1927, assessments and penalties in the dispute totalling £162,000. Mr Mason, K.C., for, the appellant, submitted that the court had to- decide, amongst other questions of fact, whether the appellant had made large sums from betting transactions, and, if so, whether it was a business.

Mr S. E. Lamb, K.C., for the Commissioner of Taxation, said this was one of the most disgraceful ■ attempts to evade income tax that had ever come before the court. Trautwein had practically admitted that his income for the period in dispute must .have been £131,000. There was no evidence to show that any portion of it was attributable to betting. Mr Lamb alleged that Trautwein had evaded his liabilities by making false statements to the department and to his own accountant and by deliberate perjury. The case was adjourned. > FORGERY AND UTTERING HOB ART, Febmiary 17. Jack Anderson was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The arrest was made at Hobart of Jack Anderson, also known as Patrick Brady. At his third trial on charges of forgery and uttering he was found guilty of uttering and remanded for sentence. In his appeal to the jury Anderson recalled his association with the " shark arm" case in Sydney, and alleged he had been the " victim of unscrupulous policemen." He asked the jury not to be influenced by that case. He did not know who had committed the murder. LABOUR MAJORITY REDUCED PERTH, February 17. At the elections the Labour Government has lost four seats, and it is probable that the state of the parties will now be: Labour, 20. Country Party, 13. Nationalists, 9. Independent, 2. Mr T. J. Hughes's defeat of the Minister for Employment (Mr Kenneally) at East Perth is likely to be challenged on the ground that Mr Hughes is an undischarged bankrupt, and is not entitled to sit in Parliament. In this connection there are fine legal points. Mr Hughes was made bankrupt owing to his inability to pay the costs of prolonged litigation when he unsuccessfully challenged the right of Mr A. Clydesdale (Labour parliamentarian) to occupy an office for profit —namely, the chairmanship of the Lotteries Commission. LUNCHEON TO EXPLORERS MELBOURNE, February 18. (Received Feb. 19, at 0.30 a.m.) At a State luncheon in honour of Mr Lincoln Ellsworth, the Premier (Mr A. A. Dunstan) congratulated him on his meritorious trans-Antarctic flight. Mr Ellsworth, in replying, warmly expressed thanks to the Governments of Australia, Britain and New Zealand for the co-operative efforts to assist him and his companion when they were in peril in the Antarctic. Thanks were also expressed by Mr J. W. Dye. Consul in Victoria for the United States. The guests included Lieutenant Hill and other members of the Discovery's party.