THE MOTU TRAGEDY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2318, 4 August 1898, Page 30

THE MOTU TRAGEDY.

VRATH OF A SUSPECTED MAN.

SUPPOSED SUICIDE.

GiscoflXE, July 29. Joseph Smith, a settler at Motu, suspected of the murder of J. K. Scott, was found dead in his whare this morning, apparently from the effects of poison. He left v note on the table ad follows: — "I am innocent of the murder of J. K. Scott."

July 30. Joseph Smith was the man who brought tidings of the murder to the police, and who conducted the police back to the spot where •Scott, had been murdered.

After the inquest Sergeant Black and Detective Benjamin intimated their intention of jirocofiding to Motu to further investigate the. crime, and they requested Smith to accompany them. This lie did somewhat reluctantly, stating that he wanted to go lo GifJjorne. What discoveries tlie police officers made will not, be known till they return, but it is evident, that they found sufficient to justify them in suspecting Smith of the eiiinc

Whctlior f'jniili obtained ;ui inkling of Iboir suspicions or not it, is impo^siblp to .Seiy, but wlien the police went, to his wliare afc 11.30 3'esterdny morning they found him dead, and a scrap of paper Iny on the table on which was scrawled in Smith's' hniulwritin# :—"I: — "I am innocent of J, I. Pcolt's murder — T. Pmitb."

The body will be brought to Tvarercka over Jb.3 roucli' track on which, a week aco the

, ] mutilated remains of Scott were borne, anc . an inquest will be held at Karercka on Mon day niurning. (iiijjJoiiNJi, August 1. : The closing scenes ot the Motu tragedj moved with great lapidity, and were totally : unexpected. From the statements made by ■ Detective Benjamin and fclergoant Black, it ; appears that Joseph Smith undoubtedly I "iunkecl" the possibility of arrest. Beyond the fact of finding cartridges with wads and shot similar to those found in the body oi J. K. Scott, the murdered man, the detective and sergeant found absolutely no cluo nor any i evidence lo connect Smith with the nviuleroi Scott. It is undoubted, howevei, that the Lw'j men had words over M'Uuilough's sec1 ton Both Smith's and Scott's sections arc at present bare of feed. The question of sufficient pasturage was one of equal importance to both men. Smith considered that as he hud paid for the grass &cccl ou the section i'or some years he had fiisL claim on it When aii.l where the quarrel belflcui t!.- 1 iv.o men, v h c!i ended fatally to both, l>)->\. p'.^e is not kncui, and probably will e\o. ltmain a mystery. One of the pcjulur things noticed by the sergeant and detective v. hen they went to Motu wit h_ Smith was tli .1 v, inivt other settlers in the^cli.striU weie p;ui;i--- and ready with suggestions as to the cause 01 the murder, and the probable rmnderci, Smith main- ' tamed a stolid silence, and only answered questions put to him, and that with signs of reluctance. ! Last Tuesday Detective Benjamin and Sergeant Black, with Smith, who accompanied them at their request, left Karaka for Motu. They arrived at Smith's whare afc dark the same night. Smith made tea, and gave them a shdke-down for the ni^ht. Next morning the detective quietly intimated to Smith that s it was their intention to search him and his ' whare, at the same time producing his war- ' rant. Smith made no objection, and was ex- | amined. He produced the tiousers which he said he hod been wearing ior the last three , months, and though a minute examination ! was made, no sign or trace oi blood was found on them. The wh ire was ne-vt seai died, and Smith's gun was found and examined, also the cartridges, of which there ! were 46 found. The gun was a single-barrel breechloader, and a close scrutiny revealed th-> Tact tint from the breech clown to near tin niu/izlo it was greasy, and without signs lof rust. The muzzle, however, was found to I be thickly encrusted with dust, and so thick was it that both the detective and the sergeant came to the conclusion that it had been artificially produced. There was a great deal more dirt than would have accumulated within the three weeks that Smith averred it had nnt been u).-ed. Inside the muzzle was rusted as far as one finger could reach, and Detective Benjamin said it h«d evidently been rusted with salt and water. The cartridges were next examined, and found to contain No. 2 shot, the same as was taken out of Scott's skull. The police officers found nothing of a definite "or tangible nature for which they could arrest Smith, and they then proceeded through the district and instituted inquiries amongst the settlers, but the only fact elicited was that there was no one in the district likely to have seen Scott on the day of the murder except his nephew ond Smith, the nearest settler being five or six miles aivay, and there was no stranger in the district. On Friday morning they left for town, and shortly after 11 o'clock arrived at Smith's whare, where they found Smith had poisoned himself with arsenic. A note was left on the table, written on an envelope, as follows : — "I am innocent of J. K. Scott's murder. — Joseph Smith." So fur as is at present known, Messrs James and Arthur j White were the last persons to see the deI ceased alive, and they saw him -on Thursday afternoon. Ia his evidence at the inquest Detective Benjamin stated that Smith did not appear to be melancholy or in any way peculiar. The bunk on which lie was found lying dead lwd beon broken clown on account of Smith's convulsions. Neither witness nor Sergeant Black hod said anything to him to lead him to suppose that they intended to arrest him. When they examined his clothes he said, "I j don't blame you for what you are doing ; you are only doing your duty.*' In the whare th'jy found some while powder and an empty bottle labelled strychnine. Dr Laing gave evidence that he had made a post-mortem examination of the body of Joseph Smith. In witness's opinion, death was caused from acute arsenical poisoning. The white powder (produced) was probably arsenic. Deceased might have taken both arsenic and strychnine, bub tho traces of arsenic were the only ones apparent. A verdict that deceased commit fed suicide by arsenical poisoning was returned.