THE INQUEST. CHRISTCHURCH, October 19.

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 62

THE INQUEST. CHRISTCHURCH, October 19.

An inquest concerning the de<tth of the victim was opered this afternoon before Mr W. R. Haselden, coroner, and a jury. Chief-detective Bishop, who conducted the inquiry, said he proposed to call Burns ; to prove identity and then ask for an adjournment. The suppo?ed offender had been arrested at Prebbleton. but would not bs in town until late in the afternoon. Alfred Burns, proprietor of the Silver Grid boarding-house, in Manchester street. ' said that the deceased, Alice Edith Newman, was in liis employ. She had b*en in his service as domestic servant for tae past frix months. On Monday ev*ni r ;g, after putting the children to bed, it was her duty to ccme down to take charge of the office until 10 o'clock, until witness's v.'ife came- on to relieve her. Shortly nft** 8 p.m. she tapj«d at witness's bil-liard-room window, and a.-k?d him to come into the snop. She a^k-ed witn<\-s to give a loon, to a man whom the knew as Robert?. Witness said .- 'I told you before that I would nob allow that man to stop on the premises." Witness felt worried at seeing the man about, and kept a continue! eye on the shop. The n'ar. loitered about the place. Witness went to the office, and said to the deceased, " There must be something more between that man ar.d you than strangers. You aopoar to me to be a bit fast." She said. ' How dar>j you. Mr Burns, speak to me like that. I have been Jong enough with you now for you to see whether I conduct mj-seif propeily." With that, witness went back to the billiard-room. He afterw aid* rama out into Manchester street, ;>nd cares in again about 9.30 ond told the giri that the man was still outside, and that ehe had better go to bed. She said it was oard i~>i a woman to have to hide from a ram. She then went :n the direction oi' the s-tairs. W tnebs letuined to the billi.ird-room. and thinking Fomelhing was wrong, stood by the door. 4o lizard a tlisht cracking nci^. r.n<l nl*o h^ird '■on-cone shouting "Aluid"»r!"' and " I'oiice !' and s-aw a man named W.i : wick rns'iing downstair* with blood mi oik- of his hand*. Warwick fetched a policeman, and they wont up to Warwick's room ana found the deceased lyinw on the floor between two bed? on her back in a pool of blood, and with bloud issuing from her mouth. Witness sent for a doctor and the police. The girl appeared to bs dcpd. Medical evidence was given, and the inquest was then adjourned until Friday. statemextsFby boarders. Mr J. W. Warwick, a young Englis>hmrjl, who arrived in the Dominion about 12 months ago, and lias been in Christcliurch for a little while, was unpleasantly and unwillingly connected with the affair, although be at no time had any suspicion that a tragedy was imminent. Speaking to a Lyttelton Times reporter on Monday ni^ht. Mr Warwick snid that he had been a ledger at the Siher Grid for a lew duys, and had a room on the floor where the girl was murdered. On Saturday night the man who he suspected was tlie murderer had come to him and spoken to him about Miss Xewman. Mr Warwick said that he had himself been speaking to the girl, and had walked out w ith her three times. The stranger of Saturday night, whom he did not know, had said. " You should not have anything to do with her. She is somebody else's wife." At the same time "the man introduced a thiid person, whom he said was Miss Newman's husband. On Monday evening, Mr Warwick continued, lie went to the office to pay for his board, and spoke to Miss Newman on the way. The man who spoke to him on Saturday evening appeared on the scene again and beckoned to him to come over, eukl they went upstairs. The man said : "What business have you got with the 5111 if You had better drop her or else there will be trouble." Warwick replied Lbit he had not had anything to do with bhe girl, and did not want to have, specially if she was married. Miss Newman had joined them by this urne^ and

Mi* Warwick said; "Is this woman that ; man's wife?" He received no reply, arxl Miss Newman said "That is a lie." Miss Newman turned to go to her room, awl he walked to the door of his room. The man turned 1 to go downstairs, as he was not a lodger, and he remarked over Ms shoulder to Mr Warwick, "I'll ccc you at 8 in the morning.'' " I went in and closed the door," said Mr Warwick, "never imagining for a 1 moment that the man was excited. Almost immediately I heard what I think were three shots and then footsteps coming rapidly along the passage. I flung open my door, or possibdy Miss Newman opened it. She rushed into the room, bleeding profusely from wounds in the lower part of the face. She did not in any way stagger, and I thought he had just grazed her with a bullet. She did not speak, but gave several suppressed screams. I left her for a moment to run down-stairs for assistance, and Mr Burns went upstairs while I went for the police."' i One of the boarders in tbs house, Mr j Thomas Samuel Moore, stated (says the j Christchurch Press) that Tie returned home about 9.20 p.m., and saw the girl in the • office, there being no one else about at the time. He went up to his room, and ' had been there about five or six minutes when he heard words on the landing be- ( tween a man and a woman. He could not hear all that was said, but caught frag- i ments of an angry conversation. He heard the woman say, " I am not your wife. I was never married to you." The man said something, and the woman replied. " You cur, you hp.ve woke the children." After more talk the man said, { " I'll settle with you in the morning." | After that there was a pause, and the speaker heard the sound 1 of two shots, which appeared to come from the shop. ' He came out of has room, and s<tw the woman lying in the next room to his. on the floor between two beds, weltering in a pool of blood. He could not say who the man was to whom the woman was talking.