THE SHORTLAND TRAGEDY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 3501, 25 June 1884, Page 3

THE SHORTLAND TRAGEDY.

Regarding the mysterious death of a Mrs Shortland, which caused her husband to be arrested on a charge of murder, and his afterwards acquittal, the “Western Daily Mercury” furnishes , some supplementary details : After the wedding, Mrs Shortland returned to her parents’ house at Oldstone, The newly-married pair never lived together. Mr Shortland, it is supposed, lodged either at Mod bury or at Ivybridge. At any rate, for two or three days after the marriage he visited his wife daily at her parents’ house, and they took walks together. The last visit was paid on Thursday, April 10— the day before Good Friday. From the statement made on oath by Mrs Dimes before the Coroner (Mr Edmonds), Mr Shortland then wished his wife and her family “ good-bye,” stating that he was about to start for Australia and New Zealand, presumably on the business set forth in the speech of April sth. He evidently did not leave for some days, as on the following Monday, April 14, letters were received from him dated from Mallett’s Hotel, Ivybridge. This was the last heard of him by the Dimes family until Tuesday, April 29, the day on which Mrs Shortland’s dead body was discovered. On Monday, April 28, Mrs Shortland went out for a ride, leaving the house at 10 o'clock in the morning, and returning soon after noon. Her mother did not see her, bnt there is no doubt of the fact, because it is deposed to by other witnesses, that she changed * her riding habit for a walking dress, and went out into the grounds accompanied by her favorite collie dog, which she was fond of taking to the pond for a bath. Mrs Shortland is said to have been in her usual health and spirits when she left the house on Monday afternoon. She did non return, and was never seen again alive by any member of the household. Strange to say, no systematic search was made for the missing lady on the Monday night; and from a reply made by Mrs Dimes to the Coroner’s very natural enquiry on this point, it seems to have occurred to that lady that possibly Shortland had not after all started on his journey It New Zealand, and that her daughter had met him and “ gone somewhere with him,” as she put it. Mrs Dimes became alarmed as the night wore on and her daughter did not return. Once during the early part of the night she went down to the pond, thinking that Mr and Mrs Shortland might be walking about the grounds, but saw nothing of them. Next morning Mrs Elizabeth Lucraft, the wife of Mr Dimes’ hind, went in search. She seems to have had her sus picioos that Mrs Shortland might have fallen accidentally into the pond; and going thither she was greatly horrified to find her worst fears realised. There was the body of the unfortunate woman, standing erect in the water, about three feet from the wall of the pond, her bands held up in front of her, the water covering her hat by an inch or two. Mrs Lucraft at once called her husband, and a man named Langworthy helped him to take the body out of the water. The deceased wore a blue walking dress and a hat, and her hands were gloved. The body was examined by Police-aergeant Mills, of Blackawton, and also by Mr R. W. Soper, surgeon, of Dartmouth, both of whom agree that deceased’s clothing showed no indications of a struggle having taken place. The closest scrutiny of the path around the edge of the pond also failed to detect any traces of a struggle. The only marks of violence on the body were alight scratches on the left temple and on the right-hand side of the tip of the nose, and these, the medical man thought, might have been caused by contact with the wall of the pond. Mr Soper’s theory was that the poor lady might have fainted when near the edge of the pond, and have fallen in when unconscious. He could not say positively that death bad been caused by drowning, the body having been so long in the water, but the appearances were consistent with that deceased was alive at the time of immersion.

Yesterday morning P.C. Dunsford went to Kyder’s house, where he found Mr Shortland. Whether or not Shortland expected the constable’s visit is not clear, but be made no attempt to avoid arrest. P.C. Dunsford told Shortland that he was about to take him into custody on suspicion of having murdered bis wife, Laura Shortland, at Blackawton, on April 28 or 29, and gave him the usual caution, Mr Shortland, who appeared pale and excited, replied “I am innocent; I have been here all the time, and I can prove it.” William Ryder, senr., Mrs Ryder and their daughter, a girl about 19 years of age, all admit that Shortland has been staying in their house since April, 10, the day, it will be remembered, on which he paid his last visit to his wife and her friends at Oldstone. but this does not exactly accord with Mrs Dimes’ statement at the inquest, that letters were received from him dated from Ivybridge up to April 14. All the Ryders, however, are very positive that Shortland remained in their cottage the whole of the time from April 10 to the day of his arrest, and upon this they rest their belief that “ Mr Shortland couldn’t have bad anything to do with the murder, if the poor thing was murdered at all.”