THE GREY LYNN MURDER

Otago Witness, Issue 3523, 20 September 1921, Page 21

THE GREY LYNN MURDER

INQUEST ON VICTIM. (Feb United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, September 12. The inquest on tho body oi Francis Edward Jew, who was found murdered- at Grey Lynn on July 17, was resumed to-day belore Air W. 11. Al’Kean, S.M. Over 50 witnesses will bo examined, and it is expected that the inquiry will lust three days. Jew attended a football match on the •Saturday afternoon of his death, and was seen on the Saturday evening in the vicinity of the spot where l;is dead body was found. But his movements after 8 o’clock are still shrouded in mystery'. Mr Meredith represented the police, and Mr Prendeigaai. watched proceedings on behalf oi Thomas M’Mahon. Outlining the circumstances, Mr Meredith said exhaustive inquiries had been made, 1500 people having been interviewed by the police. 1 he result of inquiries had not justified the police in taking definite steps against any individual. indications pointed to a fatal assault committed on the spot where the body was found, though there were no signs of a struggle. Jew received his wages of £4 10s 6d on the Saturday. lie was known to have £1 the previous evening. Ho had spoken about some bets on horse racing, one on Saturday which might have involved the _payment of £3, but the police were unable to ascertain who he made the bets with, it had been ascertained that on the Saturday afternoon Jew, Thomas IM'Mahon, and one of the Newdicks had a drink at an hotel, and then M’Alahon produced a bottle of champagne j that Jew and the two Newdicks subsequently had a drink at another hotel ; and that Jew went on to Newdicks’ factory in Grey Lynn. Alt. Jew (?), who was a particular friend of the deceased, called at the stable at 6.30 p.m. to invite Jew to tea, but the latter had left. lie was seen about that time under the influence of liquor. He asked a companion named M'Uregor to wait till Tom oi ‘Mahon came, as the latter had a bottle of champagne. M'Mahon arrived with the champagne.. M Gregor left them at 6.45. Jew and M ‘Mahon got on the train, but evidently they got off at Aiiki street and started to walk back towards Grey Lynn. They met three lads. M’Mahon bought two pies. The party went into the doorway of a shop and drank the champagne. Jew got sick and wanted to go to sleep. Tue three lads left M’Mahon and Jew m the doorway a little after 7 p.m. About i.oO Air Nutt saw two men about a vacant section. He could not identify them, but their relative heights corresponded with Jew and M’Mahon. A lady saw a man whom she took to bo Jew on the opposite sice from the v* ant section at 7.50 p.m. That was us .ur as he could trace Jew’s movements. Drs Murray and Shaw expressed the opinion that death was caused by a blow from a blunt instrument before midnight on Saturday. John ’.v, a brother of the deceased, gaie evidence that M’Mahon told him lie was witn the deceased and jU’Gregor on the Saturday nigat, and that deceased left b in to board a city-bound car. Wi;; asiwd, did lie see the deceased return to Urey Lynn. McMahon replied that he did not. Dr Murray testified that about 12.30 p.m. on July If ue examined the body of deceased on a section at Grey Lynn. The body was on its back and inclined to the leti, the isrfr arm being outstretched. Witness minutely desciioed the attitude and appearance oi tiie body and clothing, describing the injuries. Witness stated that the bone e, me nose and the upper and lower yaws w ore broken. A wound extended troin the upper lip to the nostril, and there was a gash to the bone in the upper part ot tiie forehead. Two wounds, also bone deep, wore over the light ear, one of them having fractured tile bone. The uead was resting in a pool of blood that had soaked into the ground, having come from the ears and wounds. At the post mortem rigidity was well marked. The wounds wcie not -elf-inflicted. 'To Mr M eredith : There was no sign of a struggle at tue spot. From the small amount ot blood on the overcoat witness would conclude that the coat had been placed over tiie young man’s legs after he had fallen He would say that death would have occurred not longer than 20 hours before he saw the body, and not less than 12 hours. Mr Meredith; Then you think death must have occurred at ’oast before midnight, and not earlier than 4 p.m. on the previous day ? —Witness : Yes. Among other witnesses were Stuart, Alfred Smith, a professional fighter, who said ho lived at tiie Whangarei Hotel, Whangarei, but in July lust he was living at The Vines, in Symonds street. He was with a man named Prosser on July 17 last, training with him. They left Prosser’s house on tiie Great North Road, Grey Lynn, at about 10 o’clock on Sunday for a 'pin along the road, and returned along the Arch Hill Gully and over the hill. Witness then <1 scribed the finding of the body of deceit-oil with a piece of board lying near it. Continuing, witness said: “I was at Prosser’s house the night before and we went to the pictures. We all left the house at about 7 o’clock. 1 think I returned home with the Prossers. We came out of the pictures about 9 o’clock and went straight home. We had been in the picture theatre opposite the fit rand.” Mr Mcredith: What Was the picture you saw?— Witm s-: Some Italian picture, I think. Did you see the end of that pictuie?—No. Did you see the beginning?—No. then, where did you go? —Across to the Pi ’ai d. and we could not got in. Am! then -We strolled down the road to Courts and got the tram. When you went to catch tho tram at Grey Lynn, did you see a man under the influence ot liquor?—Wo thought he was. lie was silting on a box, and looked half asleep. How elo.-i wore you to him?—About 25ft. V. ran time did you finally leave Prosser’s * to uo home?—Abort 11. Where did you car!, the tram? -At the SB me place. Did you know deceased before ?—No. A number of o’her witnesses were examined at length. tv’pi'onber 13. The inquest concerning tho death of Francis Edvard Tow on July lb m- 17 at Grey I t n, was continued to-day. On tinino. Mr .Meredith ira-'<■ a reqno-' the: while - ■ i. 1 1 e itiv-s was being

examined the other witnesses should he ) excluded in view of the possibility of discrepancies in statements being of some j value. The coroner acquiesced, and for the re- j mainder of the inquest this course was fol- j lowed. A newsboy named Edward Eaton described the behaviour of Jew and Tom M’Mahon outside Shearer’s shop between i 6.15 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. on the Saturday. | Jew said he would bet M’Mahon that he j could stand straighter than M’Mahon. Jew seemed to be trying to get a bottle, but j could not do so, and he told M’Mahon to | stop fooling and go home. They went j down a right-of-way and seemed to be i squabbling for a little while, and then came j back. At that time Jew’s overcoat and fawn coloured coat were on a seat outside Shearers. Other aspects of the same incident were narrated by Wm. Hayes, another newsboy, who stated that Jew bet M’Mahon he could spit further than he could. They had one try. Tom M’Mahon asked a boy r named Green to draw a chalk-line to see who could stand straightest, but Jew declined. Witness thought the two men were friendly, j and did not seem to be quarrelling. M’Mahon seemed unsteady on his feet, but Jew was all right. Three other newsboys gave evidence concerning the incident. One of them stating that he saw two men | eventually get on a tramcar.

Francis Kevin Burns narrated how he travelled to town from Grey Lynn early on the evening of July- 16 in a tramcar in which Jew and Tom M’Mehon were seated. Leaving Shearer’s corner, M’Mahon, who appeared to have taken some liquor, said: ’’Let her go,” or words to that effect. Jew had asked M’Mahon where he was going, and M'Mahou said: “To the King’s Theatre.” Jew told him that he (M’Mahon) had no business there, and should be at home. The pair got off the tram at Ariki street, «nnd walked back towards Grey Lynn. Jew had paid the fares. Both young men had been calling out rather loudly in the tram. Shortly before the tram started -M’Mahon was leaning forward in his seat, and was told by to Jew to “sit up.” Jew got off the tram first and told M’Mahon to get off. He appeared to be looking after M’Mahon. Alexander James Pollock, who was conductor of the 6.55 p.m. tram from Shearers. Grey Lynn, to town on iho evening of July 16, said Jew was sober, but his companion was well intoxicated. Jew called his companion “a cow of a man” several times, added the conductor. Among the witnesses was Frederick Louis Armitage, Government Bacteriologist, who said he received from the police a hat, overcoat, coat, waistcoat, and trousers for examination for human bloodstains. The hat, was marked “T. M’M.” There were no traces of blood on the bat, coat, waistcoat, or overcoat. There were bloodstains inside both the left and right hand trouser pockets. He could not give the age of the strains, as there was no test determining this. It was human blood in each case. The bloodstrains must naturally have come from the knuckles, not from the palms, owing to their position in the pockets. Soph mber 14. The inquest on Frank Jew was continued to-day. Matthew Brodie gave evidence that he was in company with the deceased and others about 7 o’clock on the Saturday night. Jew was pretty sober. Tom M’Mahon was under the influence of drink. Witness and Corden tried to get Jew and M’Mahon to go home, but they would not. Jew was sitting on the stop in the doorway most if the time, leaning against the wall. Jew said he would go to Newdick’s left for a sleep. Cross-examined, witness said he thought ho heard Jew say he would like to go to sleep on a section by the church. lie heard Tom M’Mahon refuse to go to the, section with him. When this question was repeated, witness said he only thought he heard M’Mahon say so. Council for Tom M’Mahon raised the question of tho admissibility of statements made by the witness to the police. The Magistrate remarked that there had been extraordinary reluctance on the part of some of the witnesses to say what they did know, though llioy had not shown actual hostility. He saw no reasons why statements made two or throe days alter the tragedy should not be used to refresh their memories. Witness, replying to a question, said that on Sunday morning he asked Torn ALA taboo how be had got home 'he previous night. M‘Mahon stated that Jew left him at the tram terminus and took a car. Tic could not understand why Corden, who was present at that conversation, could have said that M’Mahon stated that Jew left him at Gregory’s shop. A largo number of oilier witnesses were examined to-day regarding deceased’s movements prior to his death, together with those of his companions. At one stage the Coroner remarked that there had been an extraordinary reluctance on the part of some witnesses to say what they did know. To some extant lie was bound by the ordinary rules of evidence, but not to the extent that- would apply in a criminal trial, and he did not think he should object to the way in which the questions were put by counsel for the police. Although the witnesses so far had not shown actual hostility, there had been a good deal of reluctance to tell what they knew, and he saw no reason why statement-, taken two or three days after tho event should not be used to refresh their memory. Some of the witnesses were subjected to close cross-examination. September 15. The inquest on Ihe body of the murdered youth, Prank Jew, was continued today. Percy Laptop, bus driver, said that he did not see cither the deceased or ’Tom M’Mahon between 7.30 and 9.30 p.m. When M'Mahou, Maekie, and another young man got on bis bus and travelled to Point Chevalier and returned at T 0.15 p.m., all bad pies at Green’s shop. lie had stated that there was a third man in company with Jew and M’Mahou at, The terminus about 7.30 p.m.. and the police brought a man named Kelly, whom he identified as that man. I laving been told that (he police had evidence that Kelly was net there, witness replied that lie was cither Kelly or a man very much of tiie same appearance. He would not swear to it. When they were about to start for Point Chevalier M’Mahou asked: “Is that ‘Putty’ (meaning deceased) under Shearer’s vor uidah. ? ’’ He had not mentioned this since, because he did not want to get anyone into 1 rouble; he had known M’Mahou so long. \ largo number of witnesses were close]v e\ , olnod he the ('''own in reward to hTh

they knew of the movements of deceased and liis companions prior to the murder. September 16. At the inquest concerning the death of Alfred Jew, who was murdered at Grey Lynn, evidence was given to-day by Edmond P. Kelly, who had been identified as the unknown man seen at the Grey Lynn tram terminus on the Saturday night. Witness gave an account of his movements on the Saturday afternoon and evening, establishing an alibi, saying that he was not at the tram terminus or near the scene of the murder. His clothes had been examined by the police and no extraordinary marks were found thereon.