ACCUSED MAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23225, 24 June 1937, Page 9

ACCUSED MAN

ALLEGED STATEMENT TO POLICE FATAL QUARREL IN CAMP (From Our Own CorrkspoNodn t) SYDNEY, June 10. A remarkable statement, alleged to have been made to the police by mrold Thomas Mullen, 36-year-old Sydney labourer, was read at the inquest at St. George (Queensland) on Ernest Harry Brown, with whose murder Mullen has been charged. It is alleged that Mullen killed Brown, a Sydney woolclasser, at St. George, and dumped the body in Millie Creek, near Mungindi. across the New South Wales border. After the finding of Brown’s body a man-hunt throughout New South Wales ensued, and Mullen was arrested at Penrith, 40 miles west of Sydney, 10 days later. The statement read at the inquest was produced by Detective-sergeant T. W. M’Rae, of Sydney, who alleged that Mullen made it after being arrested. According to the alleged statement, Mullen said that he and were associated with Brown in a hotel at Temora. Later the hotel was sold and he and Brown, whom he had known for about three years, decided to go to the shearing sheds. They left Sydney on March 4, and worked at various places. They finally made a camp on the bank of a river about three miles from St. George.

Mullen’s alleged statement continued: “About May 17 Brown drove the car into town, and broke the front axle, so we had to stop at an hotel that night. While it was being repaired and all day on May 18 he remained in bed at the hotel That night I tried to persuade him to stop at the hotel in the condition he was in. but he insisted on going to the camp, so I bought two bottles of beer for him and the barman gave me a nip of rum for him to keep him quiet overnight He had hardly got down to the camp when he wanted to go hack, so. after a bit of an argument, I let him go only because. as he said to me. 4 It’s hard lines if a man cannot take his own car where he likes.’

“In the early hours of the morning he returned and started abusing me, and wanted to know what I did with his whisky. He told me he had purchased a bottle of whisky and a flask of rum before he came home. Then I persuaded him to go to bed, and in the early hours of the morning he got up again. He went to the car, got a rifle which was always kept in the front of the car, and came inside.

"Whether he intended doing anything or not, I don’t know, but he said: 4 If I don’t find that whisky, there will be something doing.' So with that I jumped up to take the rifle from him. We had a bit of a struggle, and he. being a bigger man than I am, took some handling. Eventually, he went down on his knees, still holding the rifle, with his hands above his head. When I went to wrench the rifle off him it went ofT. Then I fairly lost my head, and did not know what to do. so I burned his clothes, wrapped him up. put him in the car. and started ofT with him over the border.

44 1 drove alone to Mungindi. 1 got some petrol there, had a cun of tea. and started off again. The engine started to knock, as I had burned a bearing out. This began to get on my nerves, so I started to look for some place to get rid of Brown. Then I must have come to the bridge where he was found, but I don’t remember how I got him down, as he was no lieM weight.”

The remainder of the statement der'’nbccJ Mu ll en’s subseauent journey in (he car to Svdnev. and his movements in the suburb? (hero and between there and (bo- B'ue Mountains and Pennth until his arrest, Mullen i« alleged to have concluded: 44 When Brown was sober bo was a wonderful mate bu 4 u-bc’i was drunk I ’e caused a lot of trouble.”