Stcoking Tragedy.

Otago Witness, Issue 1479, 20 March 1880, Page 11

S tcoki ng Tragedy.

BRUTAL MURDER OF A FAMILY IN CUMBERLAND STREET.

On Sunday morning the inhabitants of this city were electrified by the intelligence that a brutal murder had been committed in their midst - that a sleeping, unconscious man had been killed by one stroke . that an attempt, only too nearly eucceesful, had been made to deal out a like death to that man's wife ; that a deliberate attempt-and this had happily been entirely unsuccessful— had been made to conceal all evidence of the crime by burning down the house in which the deed was done • and that in this last attempt de*th from suffocation had resulted to the infant child of the husband and wife before referred to. The terrible affair happened in Cumberland street, between Union and St. David streets, in a oottage standing back from the street a few yards, opposite the entrance to Lvkmbe'h placo, and almost directly at the rear of tho Lincoln Cottage, which became known in the Hayes case, and which stands in the centre of a block that has within the last twelve months gained a most unenviable notoriety in consequence of the number of tragedies that have occurred in it during that period. The first of these was the death of the child Jackson by fire, then the death also by fire of O'Briaa's two children, which was followed by the Hayes tragedy, the latter being superseded by the present tragic occurrence. In the same block two or three years ago a carrier named Roberts also committed suicide. In the cottage, which is a nearly new one, lived ayoungman, named James Murray Dewar, with his wite, Elizabeth Dewar, aud a child nine months old, named Elizabeth Murray Dewar. Dewar, however, passed under the name of Grant, his mother having, when he was a child, been married a second time to a man of that name, and amongst thedr acquaintances Dewar and his wife wera always known as Mr and Mrs Grant. By this name, therefore, we afterwards speak of him. On Saturday night, as far as is known, Grant, his wife and child went to bed in the usual way, and slept undisturbed until some hour on Sunday morning. Their house then appears to have been entered by some individual bent on crime. Grant himself was killed outright by a blow from an axe ; Mrs Grant was rendered senseless by blows from the same weapon ; and their baby was suffocated in bed by smoke from the fire by which apparently the scoundrel intended to hide all trace of his crime. The last thing known of any of the members of thin unfortunate family on Saturday night is that Grant travelled by a tramcar from South Dunedin to the corner of St. David street, whence, no doubt, he proceeded home. The next thing we hear in connection with the family, or the house, is that about 4 o'clock j on Sunday morning a neighbour named Henry Haydon, an expressman, who happened to be up for a few moments, saw a light in one of the front rooms of the house. Haydon declares nositively that this room was the sittiDgroom, not the bedroom in which the crime was committed. From this time till close upon 7 o'clock nothing is known. Shortly before 7 o clock, aMr Robb, who lives in Lambeth place oppoBite, with hils son, and who was up, noticed smoke issuing from the residence of the Grrants. His son being- a member of the Fire Brigade, the father naturally aroused him. After satisfvine himself that smoke was really coming from the house, young Robb donned his uniform and ran across the street. He called to the inmates but got no answer j tried the front door but found it locked, and ran round at once to the back. At this time he was certain the house was on fire, as smoke was issuing fromunderneath the eaves, from the window, &c. He f'oundltheback door standing open. Rashing in he went up the passage and into the bedroom, hearing as he did so a gurgling noise. la the room he found the smoke bo thick as to nrevent his Beeing anything, and he had to go down on his knees. He had not made above a movement or two in this way ere he felt a body lying on the floor. Catching hold of it he dragged it out, and placed it half-way in the sitting-room. As he moved it, he heard a sroan, which convinced him the person was alive, and when he got the body out he found it was that of a woman. Then he ran out to look for water, and finding a bucket placed it under a tap. While it was filling he went to a house at the back, only a few yards away (inhabited by Mr and Mrs Grant, the stepfather and mother of the murdered man). He roused the inmates, and then going to the front to look for more aid saw a neighbour of his own in Lambeth place, named Freeman, coming out of his door To him he beckoned ts come across. ißunninK back, he took the filled bucket and went into the bedroom again. He threw the water on where he could see the flame through the amoke. Feeling bis way through the. room be found tbe bed, and in it an infant. The infant be took in his arms to the back door, where he met Mrs Grant the elder, to whom he gave the child. By this time Mr Freeman had come over, and Mr Grant and others also coming, they kept Mr Robb supplied with water, B9 that the fire waß got under. Daring this time Robb had found Grand himself lying on the bed, but seeing that he wa3 dead, and having got the fire under, he did not move the body nor would be allow others to do so. The Bolioe and a doctor having been sent for, Sergeant Deane was almost immediately on the Bcene, and DrNiven came shortly. It waß found that Grant was quite dead ; the child was also dead ; and Mrs Grant was quite unconscious. Dr Niven at once had her removed to the Hospital. At the head of the bed was an ordinary American axe, which belonged to the houße. Grant had a severe blow on bis head, inflicted, without doubt, by this instrument, for it was covered with blood. Blood was also on the] pillow and over the bed, and spattered over the wall. The wound had been made, not by the Bharp blade of the axe, but by the butt. Df Brown, who saw the body at the Hospital, Btates that there can be no question tbat the blow was given while Grant was quietly Bleeping, and that it caused death immediately. Mrs Grant has three woundson her head— one on the crown, one behind the right ear, and the other on the temple. These have been inflicted also by a portion of the axe other than the sharp edge And they have undoubtedly been inflicted while the woman was in bed ; for she has burns about her body and legs, and her nightdress is also burned. Thus, apparently, ehe must have had a conscious interval after receiving the blows, and have made auabortive attempt to get from the room. The baby has no blow upon it, but has died from suffocation by smoke. «.../. TT ■■ This leads us to refer to the fire. Underneath the bed, after the blows had been struck, and the axe placed at the head of the bed, a lighted candle had been placed. When Mr Robb had got the flames under, he found that the bedclothes had been partly burned, the mattress was burned pretty well through, and a hole was also made in the floor. He judges that from half an hour to an hour Jaust have elapsed from the time the thing was pet ftgoiug until be got in ; but of coarse this is

mere conjecture. At any rate, it seems perft ctly plain that the intention of the miscreant who is responsible for the whole tragedy was to burn the house, bodies, axe, and evejything, and thus destroy all trace of his crime. A fortunate chain of circumbtances led to Mr Robb's arrival at the hou.>e, however, and thus happily prevented the fulfilment of Buch a plan. Grant, or James Murray Dewar, as we previously explained waa his real name, was 29 years of age. Up till the time of his marriage, which wai about, 18 months ago, he lived with Mr and Mrs Grant, sen., in the house they now occupy, a tew yards behind that in which the tragedy took place. His mother married ber present Lusband, Mr Grant, over 20 years ago, bo that the deceased has lived with his stepfather since a boy. His wife's maiden name was Elizabeth Aitcheson. She wus the daughter of a settler at Moeraki, and had been before her marriage a domestic Fervant in the employ of Mr. W. N. Blair, engineer for the Middle Island. Mrs Blair gives her the highest character, and sho was a gieat favourite with the family. Either on Friday or Saturday, Mr Blair'd children were at her house visiting her. Grant waa a butcher by trade, and had worked for Messrs M 'Donald and Donng, and for Mr Dornwell. We believe he had also been in business on his own account. Recently be has been in the employ of Mr Howard, of South Dunedin, from whose place it was that he proceeded home on Saturday night by tramcar. He and his wife lived together on the best of terms, and the pair setm to have been an mdustrious, quiet couple, in happy aud comfortable circumstances. . , It is a Btrange thing that none of the neighbours round about heard any noise^ nor that anything happened to direct attention to the house. The parents of the unfortunate mau saw nothing, as it happened, of any of the family after between 3 and 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoon. There was not the slightest sign about the house afterwards of any disturbance or ttiuggle, or anything of the kind. Ihe windows were not unfastened, nor the front door. Only the back door was wide open. There is not the slightest reason to believe that robbery was committed. Mrs Grant's jewellery remained untouched on the ohest of drawers in the bedroom. The house was perfectly in order, except that, as was said, the back door was standing open. The cottage, we may mention, was a three-roomed one, with a Bcullery at the back. . , , Robbery, therefore, was not the motive that induced the person committing the crime to enter the house. For it looks almost a certainty that the house was entered by someone from without. Robbery, then, not being the motive, what could this be? One fact that requires to be taken into consideration is that in the house no one slept except the three in the family, so that the murder ot those being successfully accomplished, there was no risk of an alarm being given by others in the house. This circumstance would point to an acquaintance with the household ou the part of the criminal, unless he stumbled on such a household by blind chance. In the latter case the supposition that the crime was that ot a maniac would be possible. But against this there is the deliberate and planned idea of eetting the house on fire. Then oomes in the theory of personal spite. But against this there arises the fact that, bo far as is known, neither Grant nor his wife had any enemies, nor were on bad terms with anyone. Perhaps a solution of the mystery will prove that this was a crime perpetrated solely out of revenge upon society as a whole. Such cases have been known. Deep, hardened criminals, possessed almost, it might be said, of a bloodthirsty nature, find a comfort and a consolation, bo to speak, for the wrongs and haidships, as they think them, inflicted on them under the laws of society, in devising and carrying out some terrible crime that will startle the worldy and horrify that society that has been so cruel to them. It is a dreadful revenge, but there is a pleasure in it to the criminal mind, We apprehend that this is a possible theory to account for the crime which has been committed in the present case. However, whether the murder was committed by a maniac, by an individual wißhing to revenge himself upon Grant simply, or by a determined criminal such as we have referred to— and it seems a certainty that it must have been committed by one of the three— it stands unrivalled in this city as an example of bloodthirsty ferocity and cruel, pitiless cowardice. DEATH OF MBS GBANT. Mra Grant died at the Hospital on Sunday morning at 12 30 o'clock. Dr Brown, when she was admitted, at once treated her wounds, and as the result of this, during the afternoon she breathed more easily, and slight hope 3 were then entertained of her possibly recovering consciousness. Had this eventuated, the probability is that some evidence would have been obtained from her that would have tended to throw light on the whole matter. But unfortunately, during the evening she sank gradually, and at the hour stated she expired, never having had a moment of consciousness. ABBEST OE THE SUSPECTED MUBDERER. On Monday a man named Robert Butler alias Edward James Donnelly was arrested near, Waikouaiti on suspicion of being the perpetrator of the diabolical outrage. Butler's antecedentsarenotorious. He was discharged from gaol here on February 18th, after serving a sentence of four years on a charge of burglary. Since the commission of the deed, the police have strongly suspected him of being the criminal, and from the first have laid their plans to catch him. Having heard that he had gone out of Dunedin northwards, the two constables stationed at Waitati aud Waikouaiti respectively were ordered from headquarters to go out in search of him. On Monday afternoon these constables — Colbourne and Townsend by name — overtook him on the road about five miles from Waikouaiti. They at once ordered him to stand, when he sprang behind a flax bush at the side of the road, and drew a loaded six-chambered revolver, which he presented at them. The constables, however, rushed upon him and secured him, giving him no chance to use his weapon. He was taken to the Waikouaifci lock-up. A telegram noting the arrest was sent to headquarters here, and Inspector Mallard, accompanied by Detective Henderson, proceeded at once to Waikouaiti. This man Butler, whatever may turn out regarding his guilt or innocence of the crime at present imputed to him, is unquestionably a notorious and desperate criminal. His ago is 28 ; ho is a smart, clever, intelligent- looking man, of prood address and carriage; and he has a really good education (said to have been received chiefly in Pentridge Gaol, Victoria). If not a Victorian native, he has been in that Colony since he was an infant. From the time he was 10 years of age he has been^ "in trouble" almost constantly. In Victoria he served sentences in the total amounting to 13 years his principal crime being robbery under arms We believe he oame to Otago in the end of 1875'0r the beginning of 1876. The first knowledge we have of him in Otago is that for a period of some months in the early part of 1876 he held the position of teacher in the Roman Catholic school at Cromwell, a position his educational attam- , meats enabled him to fill wonderfully well He

1 also establish*^ i rajLl school in the town, which w0,% imauroufly attended. For a time in Cromwell he seemed to be eetiling down to a respectalla life. His antecedents were not known, and he earned for himuelf the character of a decent, deserving-, respectable young man. Bui; the criminal instinct could not be repelled. Although the charge was, we believe, nover brought agakst him in a court of law, there was assumption so strong 1 as to almost justify its lying termed proof tnat from the lesidenca of the Rev. Father Kehoe, the Roman Catholic clorgymau stationed at Cromwell, ho stole a large ram of momvy— Lso or L6O, we balieve. This (heft he is believtd to have effected by his fivourite nrnde of entrance -the window. Through Butle r'a suggestions, suspicion became fastened on a young lad who attended his school ; but it was transferred into what was believed afterwards to bo the right path by the fact that Butler made heavy inveptments in clothes and jewellery. Almost immediately following this, he made a sudden exit from Cromwell society, and made hii way to this city. Here hi Icibfc no time in getting to wo»k. He gave the police a groat dt>al of anxiety.^ His Cromwell history having been communicated to the police here, Ih-re was notion*; a doubt as to who was the chief actor in the burglaries which night after night were reported ; buc tho difficulty wan to dincover the man, for none of tbe Duuedin polica had any knowledge of his appearance. However, detection came at length. Butler's first exploit in Dunedin was breaking into the Queen's Theatre in Princes street on tho night of Sundiy, 23rd July, 1876. He ob tamed admission by breaking open a side donr leading into the theatre from DowliDg street. He stole therefrooi a couple of wig*, a. coi net, and other articles Oa tbe 2ad August he committed some further small robberies ; on that night alsoheentpredthehous?of Bishop Moran. This he followed up on the night of the 6th of that month by obtaining entrancn to the houses of Mr G. K. Turton and Mr T. S. Graham. In all these cases he made very considerable "hauls" in cash and jewellery. He did not long enjoy hi 3 liberty after this, being almost immediately arrested by Detective Henderson, and on the 16th August he was charged with having feloniously and burglariously entered the dwelling of Pairick Moran, Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, and stolen therefrom a gold pencil-case, a binocular, and an umbrella, on the 2nd of that month. On this charge he pleaded guilty, and was committed for trial. He was then farther charged with stealing from the premises of Mr G. K. Turton on the 6th Augußt a gold watch, &c, valued at L4O, and was for this offence committed for trial, reserving his defence. A third charge was preferred against him on tbe same day of having entered the house of Thomas Sherlock Graham on the 6th August, and stolen therefrom jewellery and cash to the value of L7B. He reserved his defence in this case also, and was committed for trial. On the 17th tho Queen's Theatre oharges were brought against him. These robberies were committed on the 23rd July. The charges were for stealing two wigs, value L 5, the pro perty of John B. Steele, comedian j a cornet, value Ll2 10a, the property of William Wilson Oliver; and a brace of pistols, a flask of powder, and a box of caps, value L 5, the property of George Ward. Upon these three charges he was also committed for trial, reserving his defence. To further ohargeg of stealing a crowbar, an overcoat, and a pair of gloves he pleaded guilty, and received a Bentence from the Police Bench of three months' imprisonment. At the October sessions of the Supreme Court Butler pleaded guilty to all these charges in an Abject written statement, and was sentenced to four years' penal servitude, being discharged as above, on the 18th February, after having served his term of imprisonment. THE CHARGE AGAINST BUTLBK. At the City Police Court on Tuesday morning, before G. E. Eliott, Esq., J.P., Robert Butler was placed in the dock. The Clerk of Court read an informationlaid by Andrew Robert Townsend, constable, of Waikouaiti— charging Robert Butler, alias Donnelly, alias Midway, alias Thomas Lees, that he " on the 14th March, 1880, at Dunedin, feloniously, wilfully, and of his malice aforethought, did kill and murder one Jame3 Dewar, Elizabeth Dewar, and Elizabeth Dewar, an infant, against the peace of our Lady the Queen, her crown and dignity." Inspector Mallard asked that the further information might also be read. This was done. It waß also laid by Constable Townsend, and read that the prisoner " on 15th March, 1880, at Main North road, near Danedin, did present, point, and level at and against one James Andrew Townsend certain loaded arms— to wit, a pistol, then loaded with gunpowder and six leaden bullets — and did then feloniously attempt to discharge the Bame at the said James Andrew Townsend, vdth intent in bo doing, then and there, feloniously, wilfully, and of his malice aforethought, to kill and murder the said James Andrew Townsend." Inspector Mallard said: The accused was apprehended on Monday by Constable Townsend, of Waikouaiti, and Constable Colbourne, of Blueskin. His Worship : He was apprehended, I preBurae, on the first of these informations. Inspector Mallard: No, your Worship; on the second information. He was apprehended on the charge of attempting to shoot Constable Towneend and Constable Colbourne. Subsequent inquiries, made by myself and Detective Henderson at Wai kouaiti, caused the charge of murder to be entered. And since we arrived in Dunedin this morning with prisoner, I deem it my duty to point out that, from what we have learned, It is likely there will be a third charge laid against the prisoner. At present lam not prepared to say of what nature that charge will be— whether it will take the shape ot a charge of arson in connection with the burning down of Mr Stamper's house, or whether it will take the shapeiof burglary at Mr Stamper's). A man — or at laast someone — was seen about the place, and jipon the prisoner some of Mr Stamper's property ha 3 been found and identified this morning. So that the third charge will take the shape of burglary or arson, I cannot say which. I only mention this now so that the prisoner cannot say I have kept anything back I know. His Worship : Then do you ask for a remand because at present you are not prepared to go on with the charges ? Inspector Mallard : No ; I ask for it because it is necessary tbat tbe prisoner should be present at tbe inquest. We only got into town a little while ago, and I have not had time to see the Coroner. He did intend to hold the inquest to-day, but at my request last night he deferred it, and no precept has been issued. I have not had time to see the Coroner. Matters have now assumed such an aspect that I cannot say at the present moment what course I shall have to take. I have just been informed by Detective Bain that the Coroner intends holding the inquest to-morrow. I will go at once and see him, At present the application I make is that the prisoner may be remanded on those two charges. HfeWorßhip Until when? Inspector Mallard : I suggest until Monday, find then, of course, if we want a further re-

mand wo can apply iov it. ).: is Worship (fco pcitvaar) : You are remanded until Monday next, tka 22nd inst., on both charges. Prisoner waa then removed.

From the above, it will be seen that the man now arrested for the suspected commission of the murder of Mr and Mrs Graut and child, and for the attempted arson of the premises, in a man having a very unenviable notoriety as a criminal. Of course in the meantime we have no knowledge as to the evidence the police have against him in connection with this crime. But we understand he is also suspected of being concerned in the attempted burglary at Mr G. P. Farquhar's residence on Friday night, the 12th, and with having burglariously entered and set fire to the house of Mr Stamper, solicitor, the particulars of the destruction of which will be found elsewhere. Grant and his wife are everywhere Bpoken of as havißg been quiet, respectable people. Grant, in his capacity as rider-out for the butchers with whom he was employed, had the character from customers of being most civil and obliging. He is aaid by his employers to have beou a quiet, inoffensive man. Mrs Graut, aa we have previously said v/as highly esteeuv-d by Mr aud Mrs W. N. Blair and family, with whom sha had been in sarvica before marriage, aiid she is on all hands ♦;baraeteri*ed as an eminently respectable woman. It is stated tbat Mra Aitcheson, hetmother, was on Monday on her way down in the train U> visit her daughter, being all unconscious rf the deplorable event; but that, at Paliuereton she received a rude awakening to tne truth by hearing a stranger reading from one of the newspapers an accmnt of the murder.