CHARGE OF MURDER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23527, 16 June 1938, Page 5

CHARGE OF MURDER

THE HENLEY TRAGEDY PRELIMINARY HEARING PLEA OF NOT GUILTY The preliminary hearing of a charge of murder against Eric Sandaggei Parks, aged 28, which was commencec on Monday, was concluded in the City Police Court yesterday, when (he evidence of 10 further witnesses was taken. The charge arose out of a tragedy which occurred at the farm of Mr Alexander Smith, near Henley, on the night of April 14, when a married woman named Frances Amelia Lee, who was employed by Mr Smith as housekeeper, was found dead in bed with a wound on the head, inflicted apparently with a sledge hammer, v/hich was found later. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr f. B. Adams) prosecuted, and the accused was represented by Mr C. J L. White, who had with him Mr J. B. Thomson. Mr J R. Bartholomew, S.M., was on the Bench, and took the inquest proceedings concurrently with the hearing of the charge. Normal Behaviour Sarah Ei’ickson, a widow, residing at Maitland street, and mother of the deceased, said that the latter would have been 48 years of age on April 18. Witness first met the accused while on a visit to her daughter at Henley, and he was then keeping company with her granddaughter. One one occasion, whilst the deceased and Mr Smith were away, witness, her granddaughter, and the accused were living at Henley, and during this period the accused worked about the place and milked the cows. On the evening of April 14, the accused called at witness’s home and asked her daughter Thora if he had left an order book in a cafeteria. Witness did not think that he mentioned where he was going that evening, but his manner appeared to be quite normal. Thora Belinda Erickson, a daughter of the previous witness, said that she first met the accused while he was living at Mr Smith’s fann. Witness recalled how, on April 14, the accused delivered some cordials at the cafeteria where she was employed, and * accidentally left his docket book behind him. He then appeared to be normal. He called at the home of mother that evening, and asked witness if he had left the book at the cafeteria, witness replying that he had, and that he could get it on the Saturday morning. LANDLADY’S EVIDENCE Jessie Morris, a married woman, residing at 21 Willowbank, tendered evidence that the accused had boarded with her for six months from September or October of last year. Witness knew that he was engaged, and had met the girl Frances Lee, who had also boarded with witness for about three weeks. Witness recollected that the engagement had been broken twice—the second time, shortly before Easter — and when the accused told her about this, he was in a very bad state. He said that he did not know what to do, and” that he could not live without the deceased’s daughter Frances. He then announced his intention of going to see the girl to make it up again, and on his return, he remarked that “it was settled,” and looked quite cheerful. On April 13, he told witness that he had received a “ nice ” birthday present from the girl, and mentioned having got a letter which again broke the engagement. At that time he was upset, but not so much so as he was in the evening, when he was very much depressed. On the. following morning there was nothing much unusual about him, and he told witness that he was going to see his mother next evening and was taking a parcel with him. Witness knew that his mother lived at Port Molyneux. On the evening of April 14 the accused had his tea. changed, and donned a blue suit. He left the house about 7 o’clock, returning about 8.30 or slightly later. He came through to the kitchen and told witness that he could not get a hired car, but had got a light truck. He intimated that he would leave as soon as he had got the parcel from upstairs and would be back the following evening. He was wearing his grey coat, which the witness identified. Witness stated that the accused appeared to be ” a bit excited.” He was in a hurry to get away. He was quite sober and witness had never known him to drink. Witness did not hear any noise of a vehicle during the night, but when she got up early in the morning she saw a light truck outside the gate. She did not associate it with the accused, as she thought he was still away. . She noticed a smell of gas, but thought it came from the gas cooker she was boiling the kettle on. Witness did not notice the smell of gas when she went upstairs to wake her husband. She went back to bed for two hours and then got up to make breakfast for her daughters and the other lodger. In consequence of a

remark of one of her daughters, she went upstairs to accused’s room and she could smell the gas. She called and knocked, but got no answer. She went to the balcony window and could see the accused lying on the bed in his pyjamas. She went into the room and lifted the windom to let the gas out. Two gas burners were turned full on, and the fireplace was blocked by a blazer. The accused was unconscious and was “ very far through.” Witness rang Dr Borrie. and shortly afterwards Dr Marion Whyte arrived. and stayed about two hours. Witness remained with the accused until Dr Borrie arrived about 1 o’clock. The police arrived shortly afterwards and- the accused was removed to the Public Hosiptal. Witness had nothing to say against the accused’s character. He was very fond of Miss Lee, and his one ambition was to get a steady job so that he could marry her and make a home. He sometimes spoke of the things he wished to buy for his home. Light Truck Rented William Robert O’Fee, the manager of Reliable Rentals, Ltd., stated that he had known Parks for about 15 or 16 years. On the evening of April 14 the accused rang and asked if there was a rental car available, and he was informed that there were no cars but that he could get a light truck He arrived for the truck about 15 or 20 minutes later, and signed the required contract. Parks told witness that he would be wanting the truck until about 11 o’clock the next morning. He intimated that he was going to visit his mother at Port Molyneux, and was taking “ his girl ” with him. He left shortly afterwards. The truck was brought back the following day by witness’s brother, who had noticed it at Willowbank. Witness had noticed some clay on the seat of the truck, otherwise the vehicle was clean. There were no signs of blood. Letter to the Accused James Henry Stratton, a lorry driver for J. R. Brown’s Bakery, stated that he knew Mr Smith’s farm at Henley and had called there to deliver bread in the mid-afternoon of April 12. He had spoken to Miss Lee and she had asked him to post a letter for her. It was addressed to Parks, and he had posted it at the Caversham Post Office that evening. Arthur Edward King, a postman employed at' the Chief Post Office, Dunedin, identified the envelope of the letter to Parks as being one which he had delivered to Hemsley Bros.'s office on the morning of April 13. When he had gone into the factory he had been approached by a man who asked whether there was any mail for him and gave his name as Parks. He had not seen this man again until he came into court. The postmark on the letter could agree with the statement that it had been posted at Caversham. The letter would be cleared from the Caversham office by the night clearance man. Doctor and Police Summoned Robert Baxter Neill, a reticulation foreman employed by the Dunedin City Corporation, and residing at Outram, stated that on the morning of April 15 he had received a call at about 7 o’clock, the call coming from Alexander Smith, of Henley. In consequence of what he was told he telephoned to Dr Wylie, and called at Constable Southgate’s residence. Employer’s Story Walter Hemsley, a partner in the firm of Hemsley Bros., cordial manufacturers, gave evidence that the accused was his brother-in-law, and had been, before last Easter, employed by his firm for two seasons. On April 14 the accused was working all day. Before leaving work that evening he stood talking for a few minutes to witness and his brother, but witness did not-notice anything unusual about him. On April 15 witness went to Port Molyneux, and after his return he went to the factory where he found an overcoat lying with a number of other articles. On top of the bundle was a letter addressed to ns brother. Later he showed these articles to Chief Detective Young, who took charge of them. The accused did not possess a key of the factory, but later witness s brother showed him the keyhole saw (produced) by means of which entry to the premises had apparently been effected. During the last two or three weeks the accused was working for the firm, witness did not notice anything unusual about his manner. To Mr White: The accused was in Hospital for about three weeks after April 14, and witness knew that he was seriously ill during that period Sledgehammer Found William Southgate, a retired constable, formerly stationed at Outram, gave evidence of having received the message mentioned by the witness Neill and driven to Mr Smith’s house. In company with Dr Wylie, he went to the back door of the house, and just inside he noticed a sledgehammer resting on a sack on the left-hand side of the porch. Witness went on to describe how he and Dr Wylie found the body of the deceased and examined it. Detective’s Investigations Chief Detective Young stated that on the morning of Good Friday he had answered a call to Smith’s farrn With him were Detective Taylor and Constable McDougall In the porch of the house an 81b sledgehammer was found lying on a folded sack. On the head of the hammer was found what appeared to be blood and also a few hairs. In the bedroom witness had found the body of the middleaged woman lying on the bed The woman’s head had been considerably injured and there had been fairly considerable bleeding. Witness gave a detailed description of the room. There were no signs of there having been any struggle There was no trace of blood in any other part of the house. Witness made an examination of the grounds, particularly in the vicinity of the tool-shed, where the hammer was kept, but there were no marks which could not be accounted foi The weather during the night had been ' rough,” and there were passing showers all the morning, so that the ground would not retain many marks Dr Chapman arrived about 11.20 a.m. to conduct the post morterr examination. After the evammaticr had been made Detective Brown was instructed to remove the body In the Morgue Diary and Letters Found Witness subsequently went to Mrs Morris’s boarding house, where he found the accused lying unconscious on his bed, and being attended by Dr Borrie A blue suit was hanging over the end of a bed and this was later handed to Dr D’Ath. There was also a grey felt hat. and a pair of shoes, both wet About 5.15 p.m. that day witness went with Mr W Hemsley to the latter’s factory, where he found the overcoat exhibited in court lying on a crate. In the inside pocket of the coat there v/as the sum of £3 5s 7d, an engagement ring, and a letter with

which were enclosed two sheets of notepaper written on by the accused. In these sheets, the accused detailed an argument which had arisen between him and his fiancee, and explained how the engagement came to be broken. “A Little Bit of Evidence ” He also stated that he had written everything in a diary, and that it would “all come out” as it would be made available for publication. Other articles were on the coat, and on them was a note from the accused, asking “Harry to keep the things, as they would provide a little bit of evidence. He further stated: “ I suppose they will put me' down as insane, but I knew and was responsible for what I had done. I would not have harmed Frances.” He added, “Good-bye everybody.” Another notebook with entries in the form of a diary was also found. Witness read several passages from this book, all of them dealing with the reasons for the breaking of the accused’s engagement. One sentence read: “ I am not stupid; I know what I am doing. It is revenge. I am saving Mrs Lee from doing what she threatened to do to Frances.” Witness continued that on the afternoon of April 18 he went to Dunedin Hospital and saw the accused, who, when told that Frances Lee had said he was it Mr Smiths house on the night of the tragedy, said: “I was out there on the late night seeing Frances about breaking off the engagement, but I do not remember seeing Mrs Lee.’ Statement By Accused Detective Sergeant Taylor corroborated the chief detective’s evidence, and produced a statement signed by the accused while he was in hospital. In this, he said he did not remember going to, nor returning from Henley on the night ot April 14. He could give no explanation of Mrs Lee’s death, which, he said, was a surprise to him. When told by witness that he was to be arrested for the murder of Mrs Lee, the accused said: “This is a shock. I think you have made a bit of a mistake.” Plea of Not Guilty

The accused pleaded not guilty and, reserving his defence, was committed to the Supreme Court for trial, the magistrate intimating that he would reserve his finding in the inquest until after the Supreme Court proceedings,