SECOND EDITION. TORERE TRAGEDY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16209, 6 December 1926, Page 8

SECOND EDITION. TORERE TRAGEDY

ALARM GIVEN BY GIRL FURTHER DETAILS (Special to the Herald.) OPOTIKI, this day. Tito investigation of'the Tome tragedy, in which Jeremiah Williamson met a violent death, allegedly at the hands of his workmate, John Sullivan, has brought to light details mussed in the earlier messages. Sullivan came before Justices at the Opotiki Court on Friday morning, and when charged with the murder of his mate, appeared to be astounded, and could only reply, "No, no." The spot where the body of Williamson was found is surrounded by dense manuka-, and the signs of a terrible struggle easily identified it for the investigating party which on Thursday visited the locality. Here and there were to be seen patches of dried blood, on the roadway, on sticks, on bottles. and on a newspaper. The marks made by Williamson's assailant in dragging the body across the road and into the scrub were plainly discernible. One chapter of the story, it is alleged, was that on the track to Torero, where Tie sought the postmaster, Mr Drake, the man now in custody met two Maori girls, and accosted them. Addressing the elder girl, he asked her to wash his bleeding hand in a nearby creek, but the girls were so frightened that they separated and ran in opposite directions. A settler who had last seen the men on the roadside, heard that a drunken swagger was chasing a girl, and he mounted a horse and rode down to where he had left Williamson and Sullivan. He reached the spot sometime between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., and discovered the evidence of a struggle. He saw the feet of a man in the scrub, and heard what he took to be stertorous breathing, but, intent on finding the girl, he rode on and eventually arrived at Mr Drakes' house, where he found Sullivan. The latter turned as he rode up, and pointing to the settler, declared to Mr Drake: "That's the man who killed my mate." The settler didl not approach Sullivan, whom he believed to bejn an ugly mood, but took steps for the relief of the man whom he believed to bo lying in the scrub. He took water and disinfectants back to the scene of the assault, intending to assist the victim, but on arriving there found Williamson dead. When found, the body had the coat dragged down from the shoulders over the arms, and had Williamson faced his assailant in that condition, he would have been unable to protect himself.