THE MANSFIELD TRAGEDY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2358, 4 May 1899, Page 13

THE MANSFIELD TRAGEDY.

A DAUGHTER ARRESTED FOB MURDER OF HER FATHER. ! *-~ MELBOURNE, April 28. ' Anastasia Butler has been arrested .at Mansfield on a charge of murdering "ier father, whose body was recently found after ths tragedy. N Anastasia made a statement that she gave her father £5 to enable him i to take a holiday, and that was the last 1 she saw of him. William Butler, wEose charred and decomposed remains were found in the- back yard of the cottage in Mansfield, evidently came to his death by foul means on the afternoon of Easter Sunday, April 2, or possibly on tho morning of Easter Monday, April 3. Butler (s.ays the Argus) was 74 years of age, and had lived in the district for 50 years. He was formerly a farmer at Butler's Crossing. There he had a selection, and brought up a family of two sons and one daughter. lie moved to Boorolite, where he was also farming. Misfortunes overtook the family, so ft is reported, and they lost their laqd. His wife died a long time ago. About four years ago Butler went to live in a cottage at Mansfield. One of his two sons has not been heard of at Mansfield for 13 years, and the other was about Mansfield until two or three months ago, when he left for a situation on a farm at Mulwala, New South Wales, owned by » man named Taylor. That son is about 40 years of age. The daughter, named Anastasia, who is about 35 years of age, remained single, and was in the service of Mi J.-Buckland, an auctioneer, of Mansfield, at a house abp'ut a mile from where her fathet lived. Butler apparently had no means of his | own. His sole support- seems- to have corru \ from his son' in New South Wales and from his daughter. The daughter visited^ him generally once or twice a week, and would^-on those occasions leave him a supply of food, „ etc., and a little money. She called on him on Easter Saturday, when .he told her that he wanted to go away for an excursion, and needed money to do so. She' told him she had no money with her then, but subsequentlyagreed to let him have some on the following day (Sunday). Accordingly on Sunday afternoon, between 2 and 3 o'clock, she again went to the cottage and gave him a £5-note. j The detectives conjecture that the murder ; was committed in the large room late on Sun day afternoon or night, or on Monday morning. It is probable that the murderer knocked the old man down; that he 'fell dead, and hia body lay on the spot where the post mortem | stain marks the floor, near the front door. j The body- lay there for some days; at any | rate, long enough to leave that stain. Then | the murderer returned, dragged the body close t to the back door, set alight to the clothing j or some other inflammable material, ana left j the house, expecting it to burn down com- ! pletely. Unfortunately for that scheme, tha I floor, and, in fact, all the cottage, is of hardj ■wood. The fire must have smouldered a long j time, for it burnt a large hole in the inch thick : hardwood, which forms the floor, before i( j went out. The murderer, who was apparently I a novice in crime, returned again, and. finding j that the fire had failed, became frightened to j try any further; so ho put the decomposing half -burnt, ghastly remains in the bag and threw the bag on the rubbish hear) in tha backyard, pulled up the slab? of wood neai } the back door, and thtew them roughly aorpsa I it : then re-entered the house, bolted the back j door from the inside, went out of the front > ! door, locked it from the inside, and took tht } key away. ' »