THE ALLANTON TRAGEDY

Otago Witness, Issue 2507, 9 April 1902, Page 13

THE ALLANTON TRAGEDY

RESUMPTION OF THE INQUEST. AN OPEN VERDICT RETURNED. The peculiar circumstances and miserable surroundings of the gran tragedy at the little township of Allanton on the night of March 26, whereby an unfortunate woman met a horrible death, have naturally quickened public interest throughout the colony, and 111 the district in the centre of which the tragedy occurred it is almost the sole tonic of conversation. The deceased woman, Annie Sinnott, \ws the widow of a once well-known farmer and contractor at Waihola. who died about ?ix or eight years ago, and since that she seems gradually to have given way to drink. Ihose who knew her well at Allanton, Caversham, and Waihola describe her as a well-formed, fullblooded woman, who had once been rather strikingly handsome. She was very well connected, and it is stated every effort was made to reclaim her, but in vain, and her brothers at la't left her at Allanton, despairing of being able to induce hw *to give up her intemperate habits, and had arranged for a competence of 10s per week for. her. Ihe man Hugh Sweeney, who had for some years otcasionaliy resided with her, is a labourer, and seoins also to have given w<ty to drink rather frequently. He is a,, .man of about 50 or perhaps more, squarely and stoutly built, and with gr&y hair and moustache turning grey. As already stated, he was placed under arrest on the charge of murder. Residents of Allantdn state that though the deceased was of intemperate habits there were occasions, sometimes lasting for months, when she had abstained from liquor entirely. The house which was burnt down stood in ? hoHotv beside the Main South road, but not in a lonely position, as there aie several residences within full view of the site, and one house is not 40 yards away, while there is a btore directly above it. The hut occupied by Sweeney latterly is opposite the site of deceased's house, at the other side of a small paxldock. 'Ihe eile now i=, of course, simply a heap of charred debris, and only the chimney remains standing. The fire must have burnt fiercely, as not a trace of wood of any sort remains. On the site ot what had been the livingroom lie a few sm;ill bones, a heap ol copper wire springs, some burnt glas=, and a heap of burnt roofing-iron. The site of the other room (for there were only two) shows little or no trace of furniture. It is a quiet locality, and naturally both the deceased and the accused were known by all the inhabitants, who all speak of the deceased as having been good-natured and of a kindly disposition. It goes without saying that the burning building must have been a veritable furnace, as evidenced by the extent to which the remains were cremated — the legs being burnt off and the heart itself burnt. The hole caused by the instrument is a round, smooth perforation, and it does not seem probable that it could have been made after death. To drive the instrument into the position in which it was found m,ust also have necessitated the use of considerable force, as. in order that the long prong should be through the heart, the second broken prong, by its length, must have not only entered the body but have been almo t t touching the heart. It must be remembered, also, that this broken prong is not sharp. It is probable — in fact, natural to suppose— that the metal prong, becoming red-hot, would sear the hole right through the heart. Of course the fire destroyed all evidence that would naturally be looked for in a case where crime is suspected. If a struggle had taken place there could be no means of discovering any trace of disordered dre^s or furniture, or bloodstains— and such a wound would, if inflicted during life, have caused a copious flow of blood. The inquest was to have been held in the commercial room at the hotel on Thursday, but as it was not large enough the Public Hall was requisitioned for the purpose. The proceedings seemed to caus>« considerable sensation in the. township, antl both mornine; and afternoon the building was well filled by the public The accused seemed to take a keen interest in the evidence, and was occasionally somewhat agitated; but after the verdict he e\ineecl no -lfiiib of excitement, and ga\e instruction* calmly for the disposal of the personal effects in his hut. A -mall crowd gathered at the railway station a= he was placed on board the train 111 the cu-tody of Detective Cooney. THE INQUEST. The inquest on the body of Annie Sinnott nho=c chprred remains weie found in the reLent fue at Allanton with a caiving fork alleged to have bc-3n thrust in her heart, van resumed at Allantou at 9.30 0:1 Thmsday morning, before Mr C C. Graham, coroner, and the tame jur}Mr J. F. M. Fiasei, Crov.-n Prcserutur. appeared on behalf of the Crown, and Mr A. C. Hanlon watched the case for the aci used, Hugh Sweeney. Inspector O'Brien repre = e n tecl thr. police ' HiiL'h Sweeney, who is under arrest on the chm^e of murder, was present 111 custody The medical evidence was fust takrn Dr E Blomfield, Dunedin, -.talc-d that he had examined the body at Allanto.i on Good Fr'day, m compel. y with Dr Cat tan, of Outrun, and Constable" Carmody. He first examined the scene of the flre, and the position of ilip bones and remains that had boon found amongst the debris. The room in which the remains had been was about lift by lift About 2ft 10m from the wall opposite the door was part of the thigh boin j . and Win from this-, towards the bedioom, he had found a portion of the- left lpg bone, and near t'-us a piece of one of the foot bones, while 12in from the thigh bone, towards the dror. he nod fo-md a piece of the lower end of the rifiht tln<»l> ho-i" , and belcw this, pieces of le" bone and al"O the remains of the right foot Near tho top of the thigh bone were portions- of some hairy material, probably the rema'iis of a chair, and outside this, neai the clcor. a ma = = of burned paper. About 20in from the wall opposite the door ho had discovered portion 01 an aim bone, 31in from the same wall a portion of the right side of the skull , anci in front of this two pieces of ribs. About 14m froni the skull bones was a portion of the right arm bone, ai.d extending from this lemams of the right aim and hand. The p ccc cf the head bone was VJt from the fireplace Near the wall were spring^, probably from the couch or bed. He also noticed one or two gl<os bottles and a i knife and a spoon To Mr Fra=er ITe h?d proceeded then to the Crescent Hotel, where, in a shed, he saw the charred remains They consisted of the trunk, with thr- front walls burned away and both legs burnt off, leaving about Gin. The body ws" I Unit i»f a female The right arm was missing, ' und th^ left arm from below the elbow Parts o f the skull were missing', and a good deal of 1 the face wa= burned away. The ikm over the I buttock was little affected. Tho Jungs were

shrivelled, and the heart was also shri7elled, and in it was embedded one ;;rong of a twopronged fork, the other prong being broken. The .fork produced was the one he had seen extracted. The prong had entered at the upper part of the right ventricle, pierced 'his, and the point had appeared near the apev of the left ventricle. Mr Fraser Conid the V.ow have 'jee'i delivered during life, and would it have cutised death instantaneously? The Witness said it would probably have been a quiet death. In many cases of wounds of the heart the victims might survive an hour, or death might be instantaneous. The handle of the fork was lying obliquel>, and with the point towards the right collarbon-. The portion of the fork embedded in the heart measured 2Jin. The liver was present as a large dried mass, and on the outer side of this was c omp soil. Most of the bowels had been burnt away, but a portion of the large intestines remained, and was -very red in colour. The brain was very much shrivelled up, and the he-ad was much retracted, and portion of the lower jaw and the tougue remained. The right cavity of the heart contained some clotted blood, and the left was empty. To Mr Hanlon . The point of the fork just protruded from the heart. ICo part of the broken prong had entered the heart. That organ was very nxich shrivelled, aud.^ judging by the size of tb,s remains, he should* say the heart must have *,'.,runk to about half itewjcuvrua] size. Dr Ca'.'.m had extracted the instrument. ■ . t , x >?rtiiess added that at the place of entry of the^instruiner.t into^the heart there was a clean hole, sharply defined. • To the Coroner . He would regard it impossible to say" whether the forlf "hfcd bsen inserted in the heart before or after the burning. If it had bc-en inserted after the burning, during: the course of the removal of the tiunk, it would have probably made a more jagged hole, and would probably have had the effect of tearing the heart from its attachment. Dr Cattan, of Outrara, said he had examined the remains in company with Dr Blomfield. He had heard Dr Blomfield give his evidence, and he (Dr Cattan) agreed with the result of the examination, excepting one or two little details about measurements. To Mr Fraser- The heart had been very much shrivelled and blackened. He had seen the fork prong embedded in it. and had extracted the instrument. It was firmly embedded in the heart, and required a considerable pull to dravy it forth. The appearances he noticed about the j heart were consistent with the theory that the | woman had been stabbed with the fork during life, and death had resulted therefrom. That was ceitainly tha most probable deduction. John Curric, storekeeper at Allanton, stated that the deceased had resided about 50yds from his store, on the Jiain South road. He knew Hugh Sweeney, who had been charged with murder. Mrs Sinnott had been of intemperate habits. He had last seen her abottt 10 o'clock on the night of the day before the fire, and she had then called at his store for some candles, and was then slightly the worse for drink. She had lived there about four years, and sometimes slie had been by herself and sometimes Hugh Sweeney had lived with her. On March 26 witness had been out travelling, and had arrived home about 8 p.m. He notice-1 a bright light in the direction of the deceased's house, and called out that Mrs Sinnott's house was on fire. There were two men on his veiar.dah, Thomas Christie and Henry Hasler, and they ran in the direction of the glare, and witness ran for a bucket of water and then proceeded to the fire. When he arrived at the scene the flames were coming from the window of the bedroom and from the door. The sash of the window had been slightly opened,, and the bulk of the- fire appeared to be in the bedroom. He could not get into the house. After some time, when the fire had subsided, he discovered tlie body in what 1 had been tho kitchen. Part of the body had been covered by a piece of roofing jron. Constable Carmody had then arrived and thrown water on tho body and removed the iron. The body was on its back, with tfie feet towards the bedrooiu door. He h?d procured a. rake, and with this the body had been removed. He had assisted to remove it, and it was laid on the- top of the bank at the back of the house. He had paid close attention to the body when laising it, and he had seen the clothing taken out from under the body, recognising it as having been portion of some garments he had sold to Mrs Sinnott. He ha<l been in the habit of drawing Mrs Sinnott's income, amounting to £2 a month, from the Perpetual Trustees, and had done so for the last four years. He had seen Sweeney on the night of the fire, about five minutes before witness noticed the fire, and before he (witness) had pulled up at his store,' in Grey street, between the Public Hall and the hotel, coming from the hotel, and about 50yds from 'the hall. There had been a boy with him, and he was eomg in the direction of Mrs Sinnott's' house Witness had seen Sweeney at the fie, and he lnd arrived before the constable. Sweeney seemed then slightly the worse for liquor, a id lnd said,, " Try avl get the old girl out ef th" fir» This had been pjcnerally addressed to thos-- '/resent. A man named Finnic had been mesent. and witnejg heard SvvcQney accuse Finme of having set firo to the house Witness had photograph- d the lemains, and the photo produced was the result. To Mr Hnrlon The deceased was :i stout woman, who had been lather pocd-!ookir.g. Witness had found a piece of cors°t with the clothing he had 1 rr-v,ously referred to. Henry Haslei, baker, Allanton, said he resided 111 a hous-* adjoining the site of the deceased's home. H° had known tha deceased for about fi\e year-», and also knew Sweeney IT ■ did not know what relationship existed between the deceased and Sweeney, '■omptimes they lived together si id sometimes apart. Occasionally vv'tni--^ h.'d heard quariellmg, winch he j look to b r I'etvvcii the deceased and Svverney. He hud last «-pc:i the deceased alive Oil the Mor.dav (March 21) She had b-en at Ro:bursli's> c tnr" that liiorrnns, and seemed (juite sober. On Wednesday, the night of the fire, vvitne'i had pa'-'-ed Mr 1 - Smnott's house about •S o'clock, aiid had >;r>iic to Curries store. Just thei. Curru had drj\en up. He had then ran 1 to the fire \*'iien pacing the house previously | ho had heprd decea-ed's voice raisod, as though 1 waa in arger and excited. He had heard no othei \olce Witness and Christie had been fir-- 1 on thr scene of the fire, and when they airivcd he fnuid th" smoke ar.d flames coming fiom the bedrcom window, which was open I from the bottom about 4in 01 sin. There w»s only one door, which was closed, but not locked. Witness had opened the door and tried to get 111 but the smoke and heat drove him back. He had gone down on his hands ami knees to get under the smok.e, but could hear nothing. Later on he heard a small dog crying out. He knew of a. small dog which had "been the propeTty of eitner Sweeney or Mrs Sinnott. Witness had seen Sweeney at the fire, but had not particularly noticed, his condition. Constable Carmody had arrived about an hour and a-half after the fire appeared. On March 25, at night, lip had heard loud talking in the dt ceased'b house, after witness had gvut- Co bed. Sweeney had been residu g for some time before the fire 111 a little hyt opposite the hrrso occupied by witness. Ilieie had, on this occasion, seemed to be iiiorc tnan one voice 121 Mrs Sinnott's house. To Mr Hanloii He could not di-tinguish what 1 Mrs Sinnott \va>- saying 011 the night when hi passed, but "-he had seemed agitated. David Finme, labourer, Allanton, &aid he bad. known the ekec^bed foi the last eitht years.

During that time she had sometimes lived alone and sometimes Sweeney resided with her. Witnesj knew Sweeney quite well, and Sweeney ha«l been living in a hut opposite deceased's house during the week preceding the fire. Witness, on the evening of the fire, hari been going to the Presbyterian Church about 6.15, and opposite the Catholic Chapel he had met Sweeney, who said, " Good evening, Davie. Witness replied, " Good evening, Hughie." Sweeney had said, " You are in a hurry, and witness replied, '" I am behind time." Sweeney was then going m the direction, of his hut, and had been accompanied by a little white dog, which, was now in -witness's possession. Witness had been at the church practice about an hour, anS , had then gone to his house, which was besidv the Main road and between the •deceased's hous« pnd Cuirie's store. Witness had stopped ai his doer a while, and Sweeney came up then from the direction of the deceased's house. He had aslred if witness the little dog. Witness replied that it had been with Sweeney earlier in the evening, and Sweeney hael then gone away. Sweeney was then under the infix: ence of drink. Sweeney had had a conversation with witness on March 16. Mr Fraser. What did he accuse you of? Mr Hanlon objected that this v/as not relevant. Mr Fraser -urged that it might throw some * light on subsequent events. Witness • He accused me of speakirig about Eis character. • - Continuing his^ replies, the- witness said Sweeney had struck him, and had said that Mrs Sinnott was keeping him (witness.) in food and had been -doing so for ihe last tw;o years. Sweeney and Mrs Siunott had occasional quarl'als, but. witness had not seen any blows exchanged. Witness was not the cause of the quarrelling. Sweeney had often spokeh to witness about the deceased, accusing him (witness) of being down at her house. Witness had beeu at the fire, and Sweeney had said, " You old , it was you that set fire to it." Witness had replied, " Xo!" Antoni Velenski, butcher, AUanton, said ho had known the deceased for about two years, and Sweeney for a number of years. Sweeneyhad resided in the deceased's house occasionally. On Tuesday, March 25, witness had last seen the deceased alive. On Wednesday,- -March 26, about 7 p.m., he had seen. Sweeney sitting in font of Mrs Sinnott's bedroom window, and he was calling out, "Annie, let me in, repeating these words several times. Witness had . later heard him say, " Annie, you old , let me 111." Shortly after witness had seen him stagger to the door md go 111. Witness had seen Sweeney at the tire, and hearu him say some one ought to go for Cor stnble Carmody. Witness had also hecrd him crying and say ing, " Poor Annie." To the Foreman : This was on the night of the file. Martha Velenski, wife of the previous witness, stated that on Wednesday, March 26, she hael been opposite deceased's house, about 7 p.m. She corroborated the evidence of her husband as to seeing and hearing Sweeney in ficnt of the deceased's house. After Sweeney had entered the house she had heard no further sound. " " To Mr Hanlon : She judged the time by the time sihe had left a house where she had been visiting, it being then 25 minutes to 7 o'clock exactly. She had not heard the deceased reply to Sweeney, arid did not know if she had been ' inside at that time. Rosalia Kreft, wife of Jossph Kreft, residing at Allanton, stated that on March 26, the night of the fire, she had been on the Main road, and 1 had seen Sweeney. She was then in full view of deceased's house, and had seen him. locking through the window and calling out, ''Annie, let-m=»iii. ' When ihe fire was burning Sweeney had called at witness's house. Witness saic['" It is awful about Mrs Sinnott," and he replied, " I haven't been across the road until the flic. Witness said, "Hugh, you were." He had replied, " I was not." She had then said, " Hugh, I was seeing you." She thought then that Sweeney was '" full of sorrow, ' as he waa crying at the fire. Witness, was^too excited to notice whether he was sober or not. She had seen blood on his face. Witness identified 'the rings produced as having been the property of deceased. To Mr, Ha^nlon • There had been no one about except Sweeney, when sh« had heard him saying, " Annie, let me ir." Some considerable time after this the fire had broken out. The blood had been a streak on his cheek. She had .not seen . Mrs Vaienski on the road. Joseph Kreft, labourer, Allanton, corroborated tha evidence of the previous witness as to Sweeney living with the deceased, and said he had heard occasional quarrels. Sweeney had not been living with the deceased lor about a fortnight pnor to the firu-. Witness had seen the deceased alive on 'the forenoon of Wednesday, March -2G. He did not think she was quite bo«j"i. She i\p= 'hen proceeding homewards. He had «cen Sweeney on tl.c ni-'ht of the fire between b and (5.J0 o'clcv-k. He had bec-n at deceased's door, and had then gone to tho becT100m window, but witness h.'d >iot heard him call cut. After the fire Sweeney had come to witness's house. Witness could hardly say .Swee-iey wat, sober. Wit.'ic-s had toJd him he (Sweeney) was there, and he had denied peeing Mr^ Smnctt Witness had said, " Hughic, you was. Il it was not you it was your ghost. ' Sweeney li.'d replied, " You -ire a • bar." Witi.os, h. - (! not replied to this, and Swear ey had theii gowe awn*. There had been a smail sircak 01 blood running down h:=; cheek, buS vvitu'ss could not say vvhethc* it was wet oj dried. At this f-tage the :nquo=t wvs adjourned, it being noon, until 1.30 p m. When the proceedings \seic if=mned, Albert Biocket, Allanton, labourer, stated tiiat about 7.30 pm. om ihp c! 1 . o; tho fire he had seen Sweeney, who athoil him if he had fcrcn ills (Svveeji'y's) dog. Svveeuey then appea'^d somewhat undei the influence of liquor. About 6 o'clock he again -- aw Sweeney in. Casteltou street, and asked him if he was goiog to work on tne rest day. He liail replied that it would be too wet. Witness had walked up with him towards the Mam load, and Sweeney had asked him " i?ot to get at him about being drunk" when they ivenl to the mill again. Witness's bi other passed them, and said that Mrs Sinnott'a house was on rire. Sweeney had paid something, but witness could not remember what. They both lan to the fire then. At tho fire he had heard Sweeney say, " Oh, my • God!" ' ___ John Slr.oler.9kl, labourer, stated that on the night ot the fire, at G. 30 o'clock, he was grubbing a, gorso fence near Mrs Sinnott's house, and had seen Sweeney go past Curries store. Witness had vvatcli2d him go to Mrs Sinnott'rf house. He tried the handle of the door, and called out twice, " Ani.ie, open the door." The door was not opened, and he had 'I^ll gone to the bedroom window, arid, .siiar];ng his eyes with Ins hand, peered 111 Witness hud then gone across the road, and hid not seen feweenej again. Thomps Hrir'P' Christie, farmer, c aid he haO last seen the deceased alive on the morning o: the clay 01 the fire. Sh<> was not sober then. She had to him to arrange about the leasf cf a cottage Thoina, 11. Latchford, labourer, gave evidence legarding the deceased and. Sweeney having 1 elided together sometimes. Witness hacß given Sweeney a "shakedown" some months' ago. They had had a conversation, and -wit-1 ness hs3 asked him, when he had knocked a^? the door. "What was the matter?" Sweeney

Of 2,100,000 miners employed in the world, 1,400,000 are English or citizens of the United States. When the exploring vessel Discovery had left Lyttelton a Christchurch lady who had obtained from the members of the crew the necessary addresses wrote to the mothers and sweethearts of iho men giving particulars of the good health and spirits of a!! aboard the vessel, and of the farewell from New Zealand. By last mail this lady reserved five replies from England, four from mothers, and one from a young lady who is engaged to be. married to cue of the men. The letters all convey deep gratitude for the kindness extended in New Zealand to the crew, of which they have e\idently •writt«n Home glowing accounts. One mother refers to the pleasure of the men in the organ presented them Lv Cliristchuich J?eopl^ ~ \

Trout are dying in some of the Hawke's Bay stream- owing to the scarcity cf watei. A rhubarb leaf grown in Daunc\irke was 2ft 10m acroi;, the stalk being 19m long and Vgin round. This is how the Mafeking Mail speak* out: — "The Treason Court is ;i good ex ample, to the Continental Anglomaniacs of how savagely and brutally the British carry on this -war. One Van dor Merwe, a Capo colonial, took up arms against the Government, then surrendered, and was received with open arms: he was a. dear rebel, not an uninteresting loyalist. Again he took up arms against hie country. He knew it was all right whenever he chose to surrender again, and when the chance? of loot na'gpJ he did surrender the second time. A pci fcpicaeious judge discovered " mitigating circumstances/ and instead of the twice prrlured hound being shot on sight he i= re!eftjg£sß te cziattt isxs. a year os £wo.

A corie=pondent of the Daily Mail, writmg from Teignmouth, *ay-> that «ome years ago lie was present at a tennis match played there between Mr Pine-Coffin, Mr Tombs, 'Mr Sexton, and Mr Par.-on Another singular combination of name- from the same locality occurs to us. At Teignmouth there u«ed to be a boatman named Onions, while at Dowlish, near by, there was a Tripe. Whilst the barque County of Pembroke was at anchoiage near Pencarrow Head on Sunday, eight members of the crew broached a case of whisky and indulged in the liquor to excess The captain signalled for the police, and three members of the force went out to the vessel in the Loyalty. They discovered that the men had consumed the contents of a casn of whisky, and were in a state of drunkenness. Measure? wore taken to prevent a lecunenco of the offence, and thr police took then depai line. —New Zea-

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Lad r.ot replied, but had entered and sat down. Then ho said, Well, I hie c got turned out. He then told witness that two iue:i cama to the house of deceased, and he could see he wasn't wanted, so ' cleared out. He h?d gone back and looked through the window, and saw one Jacob Switalla m bed with Mis Sinnott. He had then drawn his pocket kiin?. and stated his intention of going back and ' ripping up oae of these men. He had met Sweeney again the day after the file, hut had not conversed with him. Mr Fraser But did you not spsak to him since the fire? "Witness- >fo. sir. M: Friser But you have made a statement to the police and detectives to that effect. Witness I was under the Influence of drink then. °ir. I was undar the influence of drink the day after the fire, and when I talked to the police. Hr Fia^er. Your wife look >ou home that Light ' Wili'.cst Well, she said she did. Annie LatchWc!, wife of the previous witness, stated that she had been at Mri Sirinott's house about 6.30 p.m. on the day before the fire. Jncob Switalla hid been there, and there h?d been whisky and bsei passed louud. When she left, about 9.30 p.m., Switalla, Sweeney, and the deceased wei'e in the house. Jacob Switalla stated that he had known Mrs Smrott for about eight years, and Sweeney for about 18 or 19 years. On the mcrht of March 25 he had gone to see the deceasedT between S and 0 o'clock, and had taken a bottle of whisky After a time Sweeney had arrived, and had asked witness " What are you doing here/" Witness replied that he had come to sec how he (Sweeney) was getting on, and then invited him to drink. The rest of the evening was passed at the house, slid Sweeney had procured more >vhisky. Mrs Sinnott had been in and out of the house, and about 10.30 she had gone to her bderoom, Sweeney following her. There hod been a " bit of a scuffle " in the room, and he had heard the deceased scream out slightly. Witness had gone to the door of the room, and had seen Sweeney holding her by the arru=. Witness hoc) said, " Leave the woman alone, and don't go knocking her about. Sweeney had replied, " You have no business interfering, clear to out of heie. Deceased was moaning then. Witness left imTiiediate'y afterwards. Witness was about the hotel all next day (the day of the fire). Sweeney and deceased had always «eemed to be on fairly good terms, but Sweeney was on bad terms v ith witness because of witness's having gone to see Mrs Sinnotl orc.isioi.aliy. Arthur Ede, labotner, pave evidence to the eft'ec* that late on the night of the fire, about midnight, Sweeney had gone to witness's house. Hi" had .=aid it was a ' sad affair about the fre." Witness had asked him if he was going he me, but he had lephed that he was frightened. Witness saw him home to his hut, but he did not go msidc, sitting outside on the door step. Patrick Carmody, constnble, stationed at Outram, stated that on the night of March 26 he had been called at 6.45 to Allnnton. He had arrived at tue scene of the fire about 9.30. The j house was then burned down, aikl a number of people were standing round. The body was pointed out to witness by Mr Currie, and it was 1\ ing on it 3 back in the space formerly occupied by the kitchen. Witness had procured water, and had it thrown on and around the body. He had then removed the sheets of iron, and, a lake being procured, he had drawn the body out ot the fire. Witness had placed some bags ronnd the body, and then, with assistance, laid i* nu' on the bank. He then lifted the bags, and, L\ the aid of a light, saw that the legs, Lcjd, .c cl l '^iit ,11111 wen- burnt off. He had j noticed, a carving fork in a rounded, black substance in tho bedv, which he took to be the heart The handle of the fork was then lying towards^the neck. Only the steel shaft of the handle remamed, the bone or wooden sheath having disappeared. AVitne3s had improvised a stretcher, and had the body removed. When the bedv was ly_uig on the bank, covered with j sacks, Sweenev had com? up to it, stooped j down, and paid " The deal old girl. ' He had j put his hand under the bags. SVitness, seeing j that Sweeney was ynder the influence of liquor, pushed lum away. Witness had asked him when he had last seen Mrs Sinnott, and he had replied, " Oh, I haven't been her this evening . I've not seen her since last night." About i midnight witness had gene to Sweeney's hut, | and had seen lum Ihere, Bitting on the door j step He had gone towards the gate to meet vntness, and said " This is a terrible affair. 1 <ant rest.' Witness replied that he had come to see if he (Sweeney) could give him any information. Sweeney had said. " Eight o'clock last night was the last time I saw her, and I have not been near the place or seen her since." Witness had asked him further questions, and he had said, " I stayed with her on Monday night and all day Tuesday. ' He had also admitted to drinking going on, and said that Mrs Sinnott had asked him for some money to go for beer on Tuesday uight, but he said he would not as she had had enough drink, and she replied that she would go and j get some without money, and had gone out. Sweeney had further related the conversation which took place when Mrs Latchford .arrived, and told him (witness) about Switalla's arrival with a bottle of whisky. Thi* had been emptied, and Sweeney had gone for another. He had said that he and Switalla had quarrelled, a3 Switalla wanted to stay with Mrs Sinnott in her bedroom, bui after the quairel , Switalla had left, and he (Swe°nev) had left a | few minutes after. Witness had asked Sweeney '

he had not seen her cr been near the place siuce. Witness had asked about the bottle of i whisky, and Sweeney had said that it was lefb with her. Witness had asked him if he thought Jirs Sinnot: had got drunk and caused the firo by accident. Sweeney had replied that ho could not say, as he hadn't been there that day. Witness had asked him if Mrs Sinnott had any carving fork in the house, and 1 Sweeney had said, '" ISTo." But witness asked him again, " Are you sure?" He had then said, ' Oh, yes, there was an old broken carving fork there." Witness had got more information, from him later, and theo. arrested him foe murder. He had said, " That's pretty hard, constable. " Witness then warned him, ancl hi said he couldn't say any more than he had » heady said, and he had told tho truth the previous night. Witness had searched the debris, and he now produced various articles, including the door lock and a carving knife. Detective Cooney stated that on the day aftii? the fire he, Constable Carmody, and Mr Currie had visited the scene of the fire. He had found a candlestick, turned upside down, an»i lying beside where the body had been. Near whore the head had appeared to be there htd bsen a lot of broken crockeryware and several knives and forks. Witness had been present nt the post-mortem examination. The heap oc burnt paper lying near the door had been composed of copies of the Otago Witness, and it had evidently been a close hcao, as some pieca3 of the printing were still distinguishable. This concluded the evidence, and counsel made no address to the jury. The Coroner, in summing up, said the Crown, had Taken great pains to get every possible evidence of the fact 3. The crime seemed to have been sifted to the utmost possible extent. i There were two palpable issues. Either tho 1 deceased was burned to death, or death had been caused by stabbing. The two, Swesney, p-id the deceased, seemed to have bsen living on f?irly good terms, although latterly thero had bsen some disturbances. It was quite evident that Sweeney had gone to the house on the night of the fire, and had got inside. He was seen to go in there at 7.30, and the fire took place about 8 o'clock ; but yet he hsd persistently stated to the constable and: others that he had not been near the place that day or seen the deceased. This was a, serious discrepancy. He had been seen to go in before the fire, and had been seen just before the fire was discovered. But there was nothing to prevent him causing the fire-, and then coming up the Main road five minutes before the fire obtained sufficient force to break out thiough the building. The most telling evidenco against him wa- that he denied, in the most plain manner, seeing the woman since the night before The man must have been lying; if so, many of the witnesses were to be credited. If he was attached to the women — as there was no doubt he was in some degree — there was no ien son why ho should have Jied about this if he was innocent ; but he had denied seeing her or entering the house on that day, point b;ank. There was also thp fact that the Krefts had scon blood on his face, of which the prisoner did not even teem to have boeu aware. Ho (the Coroner) did not think much strain could be laid on thnt point. If it were assumed that the blood had been a spurt from tho wound inflected on the dec-eased, and that spuit had been of such power to gush through a? woman's loose clothing, it would also have fallen upon his clothing. There was the theory that m hurrying away he had scratched himeelf in a hedge or fence ; but that was entirely suppositious. Of course, it was quite po«3ible that the woman, being drunk, had caused the fire herself; but then there was the circumstances of the fork sticking in the heart, and the theory of accident did not tally with th's. Then there was the theory advanced that the fork might have become inserted in the heart subsequent to death, by the dragging of the body from tho debris. The jury had viewed the hody, and no doiibl had noticed for themselves. Tho doctors had said that if such were the case a. more jaggoti hole would have bsen made, and the heart would also have been dragged away from its attachment. He (the Coroner) had notice! this, and he felt bound to mention it. There was no doubt whatever in his mind that tho fork had been inserted before death. Regarding the theory of su cide, it was hardly possible that the deceased could hpve stuck the instrument into herself and then caused the fire. It might be said that she had pet file to the building. aJid. drefding the pain of burning, had slabbed herself. There was not a shadow of puspicion attached to anyone but Swear ey. There was the circumstanc of quarrelling and evident jealousy. It was for the jury to say whether the cause of death was stabbing or burning. THE VEItnICT. At 3.45 the Jury retired to consider their verdict, and a fey n^nutes after 4 returned. The Foreman then announced that the jury found — "That the cause of death was by the deceased ha\ ing bfsn stabbed m the heart by a fork, the bouse st tho same time having been set on fire, but there was ro evidence to show by whom." The jury was then discharged, and the prisoner was brought to town by the 7.10 p.m. train and removed to the gaol, from whence he will be taken to the Magistrate's Court to stand his trial on the capital charge.