MURDER CHARGE

Southland Times, Issue 21656, 18 March 1932, Page 7

MURDER CHARGE

PADDINGTON CASE TWO MEN COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. DISCLOSURES AT INQUEST (United Press Assn.—By Telegraph—Copyright.) (Rec. 8.2 p.m.) Sydney, March 17. The inquest into the death of Alexander Barrie, aged 85, at Paddington on December 14 took a sensational turn to-day. Leslie Skeen, a police witness, turned King s evidence and confessed he was associated with William Morton, who was arrested on a charge of murder. The - latter, he said, hit Barrie on the head with a revolver several times and also struck Barrie’s wife with a loaded hosepipe, then gagged her. Skeen merely held her while she was tied with a rope. Morton stole what money he could find. He examined Barrie and remarked : “The old is dead. ’ Skeen said he removed the gag from the old lady’s mouth before he quitted, otherwise she might have died. ’ The Coroner committed Morton and Skeen for trial on a charge of murder. Two men bound and gagged Alexander Barrie at his home in Paddington and battered his head with fatal results on December 14. His wife rushed to his aid and was brutally attacked, receiving injuries which are expected to be fatal. Robbery is supposed to have been the object, as it was reported that Barrie was fairly well-to-do and kept a large sum of money in the house, where he lived for many years, because he feared to deal with tire banks. Months of painstaking investigation, during which detectives disguised as tramps travelled New South Wales, were rewarded by the arrest of a young man, William Morton, who was charged with the murder of Barrie.