ARREST OF McKAY

Southland Times, Issue 23774, 23 March 1939, Page 4

ARREST OF McKAY

SENSATION IN PIHA .CASE

BEARDED MAN IN MOTORCAR CHARGE OF INTERFERING WITH BODY (Special to The Times) AUCKLAND, March 22. The Pihi case reached a sensational climax outside a house in Parnell tonight with the arrest of Gordon Robert McKay, aged 43, the Australian hide and skin merchant, who had been missing since the early morning fire at a Piha bach on February 12. Acting upon information received early this week that a strange man with a beard had recently taken up his residence in the Parnell district, De-tective-Sergeant J. Trethewey and F. N. Aplin made inquiries. They ascertained that a man answering to McKay’s description was living at a certain house. They worked quietly and as a result of careful investigation they decided to wait at the address given them.

The two detectives waited for two hours this evening, and about 10 o’clock they intercepted a motor-car with three persons in it—a bearded man, another man and a woman. When the car stopped the police officers accosted the man with the beard, who allegedly denied he was McKay. The detectives believed he was the man and asked him to go with them to the detective office in O’Rorke street. Upon his arrival there he was formally charged with improperly interfering with human remains and taken into custody. He is spending the night in the cells at the central police station. It is said that the man who was arrested was dressed in ordinary street clothes, his one distinguishing feature being his beard. Exactly five weeks ago DetectiveSergeants Trethewey and Aplin, under the direction of Detective-Inspector R. R. J. Ward, began their investigations at the instance of three insurance companies which discovered after the fire that McKay was insured for a total of £50,000. The case began with the arrival of McKay and his fellow Australian, James Arthur Talbot, aged 38, by the Mariposa from Sydney on Monday, February 6. On the following Saturday, February 11, McKay had his nine remaining teeth extracted by a Queen street dentist. Talbot was arrested recently and charged with improperly interfering with human remains. He was remanded until March 30.