STRANGE TRAGEDY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15316, 11 September 1920, Page 5

STRANGE TRAGEDY.

MURDER OF A LITTLE BOY

! MASTERTON, last night. The mysterious disappearance oi" a child on Thursday morning developed into one of the most tragic affairs that, linre ever occurred in the district," the bhild's body being discovered in circumstances which point to its having been' foully murdered und the body of the supposed perpetrator S of the outrage being found in tse Waii ngawa river with a gun by its sido and t the. head severely shattered < jf It appears that a lad, named Edward

I William Hay, aged eighteen years, was in S the of Mjs| George McKenzio on

* his farm at Fernridge, -about six miles from Masterton. The lad had gone out 6 to fill some hayricks for sheep and the fi three-year-old son of Mr and Mrs Mc- & Kenzie had walked over to tho ricks, !?: which wero "only, a few hundred yards $ from the homestead. The boy and the & child were seen playing together about I 1.15 p.m. The boy Hay is said to have * gone later about half a mile distant to f feed a lamb. *; When Hay returned to the homestead | about 1.30 p.m. tho child was not with' i~ him and Mrs McKfenzre asked whore he '■;" was. Hay stated that he had not seen him and was sent out to look for him. Hay • returned a short while afterwards and reported that lie could not find the f child. . Mrs MeKenzie became alarmed, and sent tho boy out again to look for FP the child. Hay wenfr to. the property of a neighbor (Mrs Gorring) and asked if

anything had' -been seen of Gavin (meaning thd *fehild), Ho' was told that. .there •had been nothing seen of him and when he returned to the homestead liny re.ported to Mrs McKenzie that he had been unable to find the child, and said, "You call Gavin; he might answer." Mrs McKenzie went out and called, but could get no answer. Tin's was about two o'clock in the afternoon. On returning to the house Mrs McKenzie found that the lad had disappeared, nnd that a double-barrelled gun, which was in the

I front portion of the house: was missing. 1 As neither the lad nor the child asjain appeared, Mrs MeKenzic- became alarm-1 ', eel, and . communicated with the neieh- ! bors. A search was made, and eventually ' a nipssage^was sent to the police in Masj terton. * •- ' [ • As niglit drew near tlie. search party ! increased in numbers until abput forty | wero engaged in the attempt to solve i tlio mysterious problem. Neither lad nor i infant child was found, although Hay's i coot was discovered, and the search wris I ronowod at daylisht on Friday, About 11 I o'clock Stanley Drongpol announced that !'ho had found the body of the^lad Hny. ! The body was lying in the water on the I southern bank of the Waingawa river. : with a shotgun on the top of it. A piece of bootlace was attached to the trigger of the gun. Apparently «Hay had waded the river before^ committing suicide and fallen back into the water. " The body I was removed from the water, and it. was found that the mouth and back of the head was shattered. It was evident, therefore, that the lnd had placed the muzzle of the gun in his mouth and discharged it with" the assistance of a bootlaco on hie foot. No other marks of violence was found \ipon the body, which was fully clothed. An examination of the gun showed that the right, barrel had been discharged and the Joft was loaded. The search party then* returned to the homestead nnd resumed its search for the .child. About midday the body was found, in a creek about two hundred yards from the homestead. It was lying on. its side in about eighteen inches of water and was covered with loosefgorfee. The infant had been frightfully mutilated, its head having boon split open with a- sharp instrument. The wound was about four inches in lerigth, but no other marks of violence was discovered. An axp was found in the creek about a van? away from tho child's body, and it is

quite apparent that this was- i ho weaDon wiih which the deed was committed. Bnfh bodies -wore' removed to tho house of Vtr<= McKenzie, 'where an inquret will be held on Saturday morning by tho District Coroner. The bd liny, who appears to have been responsible '•for <ho outrage, had been employed in tfha district for several -years. H> had been for nhout two years «i workon the farm of Mr McKenzio. Uo had boon an inmate of an industrial school and was licensed out. His ' pjronta«»e is somewhat uncertain, though his* father is, supposed lo hav>> committed suicide.-^ Press Assn.

MASTERTON, this day. Additional particulnrs in connection with ilio trrriblo frafjodv at Fernridge show that a party of 24 engaged , to spread across a* wide stretch of counfry. The body of Hay was . found, first. The body was lying in the water, on the bank of the Waingdwa- river, with a shotErnn.pn top. It -was found that the moul.h rind^back of the honcl wore shattered. It was^ evident the lad had placed the muzzle of the' gun in his mouth and, discharged, it with the assistance of a boot-" lace j>n the- foot. The search party then returned" to ihe homestead, and resumed the search for the child. " They found tue body in . a creek 'about two hundred yards* from the homestead. It, was covered with gorse. Its head had boon split open' with a sharp instrument. An axe was found in the" , creek about a yard away from the child's body, and it was apparent this was the woapon with which tho deed was 'cbmmittrd.-^Prcss Assn.