MURDER CHARGE

Southland Times, Issue 23650, 27 October 1938, Page 11

MURDER CHARGE

Woman’s Death At Napier HERCOCK APPEARS IN COURT STORY OF OPERATION ON GIRL (United Press Association) HASTINGS, October 26. The hearing of the charge against Colin Herbert Hercock, aged 21, of murdering Mrs Isobel Annie Aves began in the Magistrate’s Court at Napier today before Mr J. Miller, S.M. Hercock was also charged with attempted murder, but this was stood down pending the hearing of the major charge. The case for the police is being conducted by Mr H. B, Lusk, Crown Prosecutor, and Mr G. Harker, Waipawa, is appearing for Hercock. An inquest into the death of Mrs Aves is being held in conjunction with the hearing. Hercock’s counsel did not cross-examine any of the police witnesses who appeared today. The first witness was Percy Sorrell, photographer, who produced photographs taken at the home of Mrs Aves. Dorothy Alice Stafford, single, aged 19, of Otane, said she had kept company with the accused for the past two years. About four months ago she found she was in a certain condition, the accused being responsible. The accused had wanted to marry her, but she was opposed to this. She suggested ■ that she should go to Mrs Aves, but the accused objected. Finally the accused was persuaded, and witness went on Thursday, September 29, to Mrs Aves’s house at Westshore. Later that night Mrs Aves performed an operation on witness. Witness remained in the house until Saturday, October 1, when the accused took her home. Next dav witness was very ill, and when the accused saw her he was worried. Witness did not want a doctor, but the accused brought one in the evening, and witness later went to hospital at Waipukurau. PATHOLOGIST’S EVIDENCE Dr Philip Patrick Lynch, pathologist, of Wellington, described the examination of a silk nightdress and quilted dressing gown sent to him by Detec-tive-Sergeant Nuttall. He said that both were heavily stained with human blood, while there was a bullet hole in each, indicating that the person who wore them had been shot in the chest on the left side. Witness also described the examination of a bullet, and said that there was no blood visible on it

Dr Donald Young Allan, of Waipukurau, said he went with the accused to Otane on October 2 and examined a young woman, whom he had removed to the Waipukurau Hospital. The recovery of the rifle was described by a diver, James Donovan, who said he searched from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., when the gun was found about 30 yards offshore. Constable R. H. Moss, of Waipawa, produced a permit to procure a firearm made out 'to Colin Walter Hercock. The permit was for a .22 calibre lightshot Browning automatic rifle. No application had been made for a transfer of the rifle from the accused to any other person. Arthur Anderson, of Otane, a farmer who had employed Miss Stafford for the past three years, said ha knew she was keeping company with the accused. Miss Stafford left on September 29 and returned about 1 o’clock the following Sunday morning. The same day the accused saw her. Later in the evening he called again with a doctor. Miss Stafford was removed to the hospital. After the ambulance left the accused said he would walk along and pick up the first car that came along and get home. The accused seemed very worried.

Thomas James Hercock, single man, of Waipawa, a brother of the accused, gave evidence that his brother slept in the same room as he did on October 2. Witness had been out in his car until 9.30 p.m. While reading in bed the accused came into the room and asked witness where the bullets were, as he was lending his rifle to another man. Witness said he did not know where the bullets were and warned the accused against lending the rifle, as, if anything happened, the accused would get into trouble. Witness continued reading. He did not see his brother leave. The police called at the house

on the morning of October 3. His brother had not been.home, and his bed had not been slept in. The car was then missing.

CONFUSION OVER NAME The accused’s mother, Beatrice Margaret Hercock, said she had always understood her son’s name to be Colin Walter. When she got his birth certificate recently she found he had been registered as Colin Herbert. On the evening of October 2 the accused told witness he was going out. A discussion arose about the accused’s birthday. He then'kissed witness and left. He seemed his usual self, but when he left his face seemed very white. His eyes looked stony. She knew her son had a rifle in his room. Robert Buddicomb, a watersider, stated that on the evening of October 2 he was at Mrs Aves’s house at Westshore. The deceased was a friend of his. About 11.30 he was standing in Mrs Aves’s bedroom, the latter being in bed. Witness was near the window. He heard a car slow up at the gate, but it moved on again and pulled tip about 25 yards past the gate. He then heard footsteps coming in the gateway. He heard a man speak to Mrs Aves. Witness put his head out of the window and asked who was there. In response to the voice Mrs Aves left the room. Witness heard a scream and then what he thought was a thud. He ran to the door. Mrs Aves grabbed hold of him and said she was shot. Witness could see a figure outside at the bottom of the steps. He took Mrs Aves back to the bedroom. He saw a man go out of the gate. He seemed to trip as he passed through, and then ran along the road. He got in on the right-hand side of a fiveseater car. Witness could not give any description of the man. Other people were in the house at the time. GUESTS IN HOUSE Ida Scott, married, an hotel worker, said she knew Mrs Aves very well. Witness was at Mrs Aves’s house on the Saturday and Sunday nights, October 1 and 2. She went to bed. about 9.30 on the Sunday night, sleeping on a porch. The foot of her bed was two or three feet from the front door. Later she awakened and. heard Mrs Aves talking. Mrs Aves went to the front door and soon after she opened it witness heard a report that sounded like the report of a firearm. Mrs Aves said “He’s shot me.” She did not say who it was. Buddicomb caught Mrs Aves and dragged her into her own room. Witness did not see who fired the shot. Joan Josephine Percy, single woman, who before Mrs Aves’s death had been living at the latter’s house, said that on September 29 a young girl arrived and remained until the following Saturday. She went to bed early on the Sunday evening. Later she heard an Alsatian dog bark and then screams. She rushed into the sitting room, where she saw Mrs Aves come into the room holding her side. WOMAN’S WOUND Dr A. J. Berry said that shortly .before 11.40 p.m. on Sunday he received a message that Mrs Aves had been shot at Westshore. He arrived at the house less than 10 minutes later and did not pass a car on his way to the house. When he arrived Mrs Aves was sitting in a chair in the sitting room. .He identified the nightdress and dressing gown produced as those Mrs Aves had been wearing at the time. Dr Berry said he found a small wound below the right rib margin. Blood had stained her nightdress and it was still wet. Her pulse was quite good but rapid. Dr Berry said he then made arrangements for Mr Aves to go to hospital and he also rang the police. On arrival at the hospital Mrs Aves was conscious but her general condition was worse as the result of haemorrhage and shock. After a blood transfusion and an Xray he operated and found a small wound on the left flank below the eleventh rib. There was another wound below the right rib margin and two small wounds through the right breast. There was a large quantity of blood in the abdomen which had come from a large lacerated wound in the liver. He made an effort to control the bleeding. • There was also an opening in the front wall of the stomach about ,an inch in length, he said, and a similar wound on the back wall of the stomach. He closed both openings. “I don’t think Mrs Aves fully regained consciousness after the operation,” Dr Berry said. “Death was due to shock and haemorrhage from injuries caused by gunshot wounds. I consider the bullet entered on the left, passed across the abdomen and left below the right rib margin. If the person who fired the shot was standing about two feet below the level of the floor of the house that would account for the direction in which the bullet travelled; it was an upward wound.”

“About 12.30 a.m. on October 2 I was using the telephone in my office at the Police Station in Napier,” said Senior Sergeant W. Pender in evidence. “I heard a knock at the door and when I opened it I found Hercock standing outside. I asked him what he wanted and he replied, ‘You are looking for me,’.l told him I was not looking for him but asked him who he was. He replied, ‘Just a bloke.’ ACCUSED IN WATCHHOUSE Senior Sergeant Pender said he again asked Hercock what he wanted and Hercock asked if the senior sergeant wanted him.

“I said ‘I don’t want you’,” said the witness. “He replied, ‘All right.’ He then walked away toward the front door of the station and I told Constable Harding, who was in charge of the watchhouse, to go after him and see what he wanted. A minute or two later I saw Hercock in the watchhouse. I asked him what his trouble was. He replied, ‘Ring 1544 and they will tell you.’ I said, ‘Who is at 1544?’ He replied, ‘I don’t know but they will tell you.’ “Just then the telephone rang,” the witness said. “I received certain information from Di- Berry. I said to Hercock, ‘What did you shoot Mrs Aves with?’ He replied, ‘I did not shoot her. I only frightened her’.” The witness said that he searched Hercock for firearms but did not find any on him. He also searched Hercock’s motor-car which was outside but again did not find anything. Evidence of the search carried out at Mrs Aves’s house was given by Detective H. E. Campin. He said that while searching a shingle and shell patch at the front of the house on the morning of October 3 he found a .22 calibre live cartridge which bore a striker mark. It was lying on the path 10 inches from the bottom step by the front door and appeared to have been there for only a short time. He also found the case of a .22 calibre cartridge lying on the path. It had apparently not been there for long. Later he saw Sergeant W. O’Donnell find .a .22 bullet on die path. Gregory C. Kelly, arms aavisorj’ officer at Wellington, gave technical information about tests carried out on the rifle and about other exhibits by the P° lice - , , „ , x , “I am of the opinion that the fatal shell was discharged from the rifle produced and that the misfired shell was struck by the pin of the same rifle and could not have been struck by the pin of any other rifle,” he. said. Detective Sergeant H. -Nutall read a statement by the accused. Hercock had been advised by Mr Harker to show the police where he had thrown the rifle. This Hercock had done. This concluded the evidence for the police and when Mr Harker said that he did not intend to present any evidence, the Magistrate committed Hercock for trial at the next Supreme Court session. , , The charge of attempted murder was dismissed. The verdict at the inquest was as follows: “That Isobel Annie Aves died at the Napier Hospital on October 3, 1938, the cause of death being shock and haemorrhage due to wounds in the abdomen caused by a rifle fired by Colin Herbert Hercock.”