THE KAIMATA TRAGEDY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXVI, Issue 92, 22 August 1913, Page 7

THE KAIMATA TRAGEDY.

THE JXQFEST COXTLXUED. ONE OF THE SEEVIVORS. Hi heavy mourning, wearing a bi„ black luu ami far, tilts central tigur U,i uie proceed mgs alter the luncueon I adjournment yesterday was Miss Don. I toy Julian, daughter oi the decease.. ! Ed-,card Julian. j ' Hue looked no more than her sixteen 'years, though her dark eyes were veil |ed m sad memories and over nor whole j demeanor was cast a pensiveness tluu ' went straight to the hearts of her listeners. Seated in front of the witness i Ij.ix, Miss Dorothy told the story c. I her awful experience. ! in opening, Miss Dorothy corroborated the preliminary evidence of her brother in regard to bringing the caiItlo from Warca to Kaimata. Sh j knew the driver of the furniture wagIgon as “Frank.” The company ban a sociable evening, and Miss Dorothy said she went to bed about 8.30. Sh corroborated the evidence of her brother as to the position of the bodies. Virgin slept in the room opposite to tb. one in which she and her sister slept. The doors of the two rooms were immediately opposite cacii other. Tin j blinds in the dining room had noi i been taken down, as her father hau bought them. There was a fair-sized | window in her room, but no blind on j it. She knew which' was * Virgin’s ; room, because when looking through Hie house the carter said, “That’s Mi Virgin’s bed, and i. have to pack i in the morning.” AVitucss and hot sister were wakened by what s!n thought was the door knocking agains* the bed, and' she saw Mr Virgin look ir.g at them. Gladys said: “What dr you want, Dad ” Virgin started hie ting Gladys on the head with whawitness thought was a piece of firing. We both cried out for Dad. Virgin struck Gladys half-a-dozen times, and then ho started hitting me. and. 1 crawled down to the bottom o' the hod. I got about half-a-dozer hits. Virgin left the room then, am,: | went down the passage towards the I kit: hen. I tried to wake Gladys, bu i could not. Her face was covered with j blood, and there was a gurgling souno I.coming from her throat. As A irgi; was coming back to the room, I la} quiet under the clothes, but ho onh looked in and went away. I again tri.d to waken Gladys, "but could gel no answer, and so I put on my skim i and blouse which were hanging on tin wall, and got out o tho house. A I h ft, T saw a -light coining as a H flee lion from the verandah. lan quitd sufe that - ‘the man' Vltd httackbf us was Mr Virgin: I went out of tin 1 house by the 'ft'bi/d (loot and'bit tb’ Mf Death's, where-my brother had readied before.' ■ Before 1 left tho house I could smel tho kerosene, and J saw the reflectioi fiirbugli ‘tho bedroom window.

OUT IN THE NIGHT. ~ ~ 1 X. ,l>lHill : ,'t 1 '■ ' ' You are qidfe,. certain i,t was you, sister with i'acej'4-Oh, ye;.. I didn't ,f>p.e muneiii Irum tin burning house .until 1 got to M Death’s. When 1 got to Death’s J heard the, clock strike one,, and 1 on quired what the.time was and was tot. it w as half-past three. Did the blows hurt you much?— Ye,.;. You felt them pretty severely ?- Yes-, the blows were on flic Jolt arn and on my back (making the necessary movements to show same;. la answer to another question: Oh it didn’t take long to get to Death’s Before we went to, bed that nigh everybody seemed to be sociable, an. everything was all right. Looking at Smith’s photograph : Yes that looks like “Frank.” Mr Thomson: Miss Julian, you tok us tiiat when your sister and yoi woke, you could see a man standing b the doorway?—Yes. And your sister said, “What do yen want, Dad?” —Yes. She could not sec plainly?—Well 1 don’t know; it may have been, > think, because she was not properl, awake. U was not, then, Miss Julian, pos si bio that you can swear positively i was Virgin and no other? —Yes. You could not sec him plainly; yoi could not see what was in his hand?— Na - You could not shy whether it wa. wood or iron? —No. Did lie speak at all?—No. Before retiring to bed that niglu what did lie say?—He said “Goo; night” to my sister and i. Ho wa; reading the paper. What was his demeanor; just hi oreinary one ?—Yes. You saw him standing in the door wav. How long do yon think he wa; there?—Oh, just a very short time. ! i'oai where lie was standing, In could reach your sister? —Yes. You were lying on the far side o. tin bed from the man?—Yes. Ji.o would be about two yards away and could have reached you also fron where ho was standing?—-Yes. The. bjows were struck at you fron the same place as he struck at you sister?— Y think so. You could see the expression on Ids face?—Yes. Would you tell us, then, the expresLinu on his face?—His hair soomc; 1 ■■nlib'd. Ho was glaring at us. j apparently was in a very cxcitl ,>■! condition ?—Yes. i Did you hear your brother speak 'i.i the next room?— After Mr Virgin >, ant out, 1 heard my brother scream. I Was there any attempt made to follow you by this man?—No. 1 ' )u told us before that after he ! ; ;tt eked vonr sister and yourself and i we:A down into the kitchen, yon hid vm..self under the clothes and that

be came to the floor \ou <lifl not actually see him?—No, one can tell' vlien another is looking at \on. ' Ho came up the passage and did not further molest yon, and then went into the other room?—Yes. Ho was fully dressed when you first ,aw him?—Yes. The Coroner: Can you say that he vas fully dressed at that time?—Yes, 10 had all his clothes on. Any bat on ?—No. After that, did your sister make any noise at all or any indication that she .vas alive?—No. That was immediately before you .eft tho house?—-Yes. Your sister did not attempt to speak tnd make a, noise?—No. Was she moving in the bed, or did die lie perfectly still ?--She lay quite juicily in the bed. That was immediately before you left the house?—Yes. Was tho man wearing the same lothes when he came into the room as on the night before?—l could not say. I did not take particular notice. THE DOCTOR. J)r. Nutting/ qualified jlnithitioner practising’at*lnglewood, said he went ant to the'scene of’the fire, and was diown certain human remains that .verb lyihg'on wire mattresses. The Doctor isaid : These Were rluiiq\h >cl for I C:tn say that hey were the remains of three separite individuals. The one lying on the "naffi'css by itself was" that of a wonan. .1 am not able to state tho sex if the other two on the one mattress, .from tho position in which he found die remains he.presumed that the de.■cased had died on the beds. . The joclies were far too much di.sintegj'ated or him to express, an. opinion., as, to ,apw tho persons ,had died. , ;i Tim boy. had a slight abrasion above the right qyp-hrow, and the eyelids and nssues wore bruised and torn. Miss Julian had bruises on tho right, arm. n his opinion these were produced by ,ome blunt implement. The reason »iven by Miss .Julian for tho bruises vas quite consistent with her story.

Mr Thomson: In your opinion, Docor, would it be possible for a 'human body to bo so consumed that no whole bones would lie loft r l —Well, the renains were those of three separate >ersons. Yes ; but would it be possible for the 'nurth remains to bo wholly destroyed? -1 would regard it as exceedingly loubtfnl that a body would be altogether burned in a bouse of that dud without leaving .some trace. Ti.'i'a vas, even, a bit of fur,- left on a dog. The Coroner (referring to the two logs): Can there be any doubt of the further remains not being those'of the 'mirth human being?--] am quite sure me of the remains was that of a dog, ■nd the other was not those of a hunan being. 1 saw them in a different >art of the building, away from the beds. To Sergeant Haddrell: There was io doubt whatever in Ids mind about die matter. There were other animal •emains fojfnd on the scene of the house, such as a jawbone, much like ;hat of a greyhound. THEIR MASTER’S VOICE. blaster Vernon Julian, recalled, gave evidence as to taking a greyhound ind two cattle dogs to the farm. He thought two were burnt, as the greylound and the black-and-white dog were missing. He saw what he believed wore the greyhound’s bones near the well. The dogs were not dint in anywhere, and he did not know how they got in the house. THE XEAREST XEIOHHOER. The next witness added fresh interest to the ease, for was his name not Heath! Mr Samuel Death is a wellknown and respected resident of Katnata. He is a fine-looking man of striking appearance, thin featured, with almost snow-white hair and quite i fair moustache. In the witness-box lie did not seem to be altogether at ;ase. The memory of that awful night had left hitter memories. .AD 1 Death said that the road separated his farm from that of Mr Virgin’s, and the distance between the houses would ho about 12 chains. There wan x fairly unobstructed view of the house from witness’s place. He was wakened about 3.15 to 3.30 last Thursday morning by tho boy Julian, who

' was followed about five minutes aftciI wards by Miss Dorothy. ibe boj called out that Mr Virgin was murdering his father. Both children were very much excited. As soon as ho I went outside to let the girl in he noticed that the house was on fire. Witness went to the cheese factory and gave the alarm, going through the j paddocks, and then the house was well on. fire. Ho went to Mr Mackie s I and then went to the scene of the lire, but did not see anyone except ( those men he roust'd up. There was no chance of saving anyone from the fire, as the house v. as a mass of flames and too far gone. He could not say if. had he gone to the scene of the fire when on the road to the factory, he could have saved any of the inmates. To Mr Thomson; The hoy used the words ‘murdering my father” when he came to the door. The Coroner: Could you say, from your view of the building, in what part of it the lire broke out?—No, sir; 1 could not tell from my place.

FIRST ON THE SCENE. Charles Stanley Nicholson, assistant at the Kairaata cheese factory, said lie was awakened at about a quarter to four on the morning of the tragedy, and he went to the scene of the fire. When near Mr Virgin’s gate ha thought he saw someone on the road. He say a man walking towards him on the road at a distance of a chain or a chain and a-half, and he thought it was someone coming to assist at the lire. No one else appeared to have seeti the man. Witness was the first on the scone; and all those present afterwards were known to him ,nd came from the same direction as the factory. The front part of the building, where the bodies were, was all in flames, and it was impossible to got inside. He did not form any idea of the individuality of the mysterious person. No one from the other side of the bridge was present at the fire. The back part of tin house had not caught at all, and he got out a few things before it got too hot for him. To Sergeant Haddrell: The light was ■.ufficient to make it ..quite certain that a man was walking in the middle of 'iio road. The Coroner: Was there anything about that man to indicate who he was: —I did not see him close enough tc be able to say who it was. ■Witness said be kept on the side of ho house away from the fire and endeavored to save what he could. At the time he clid not know anything was wrong except that the place was on fire. To the Coroner: He clid not remember Mr Death saying anything about the murder: all he remembered was that the house was tin 1 fire. 1 The (Coroner; Did you not think it was strange none of the inmates of :he house were about? —No. Yon knew the place was changing '•amis P—Yes. Witness: The whole front of the dace was 'on fire ami' in about five ■.Juntos the roof fell in. The Coroner was rather particular yith'this witness in endeavoring to, lucidate the fact that he knew somehing was wrong besides the fire, but o admission was made beyond the foregoing.

DISCOVERY OF CLOTHES. Eri Bennett, county foreman, said in found a coat, vest and hat on the Jangouui bridge about 7.45 on the aoming of the tragedy. The coat nd vest were hanging on the rail at he end of the bridge, and the coal .■/as on the ground. There had been i shower of rain on the clothes before - e found them. To Mr Thomson: I would not have noticed the clothes myself had the horse not shied at them. THE LOCAL STOREKEEPER. George Maekie, storekeeper at Kaimata, said Mr .Virgin was up at the tore between 7 30 and 8 o’clock on he night before the tragedy, and apparently was in his ordinary condition. Vitness was called next morning by Mr Death, and after getting into com immication with the police, went to iho lire,, by which time the place was hopelessly in a blaze. The morning /as decidedly showery. The clothing was brought to the store about 3 o’clock, and he discovered by a leter in the pocket that they were Mr ,'irgin’s. The clothes were handed to Detective Boddarn, who, with witness, thoroughly examined the contents. There was a cheque book, letter, and purse containing £1.3 3s 4d in notes and odd amounts. The clothes were not those worn by Mr Virgin the night before. ‘ ‘S()METH TNG 1 TESTER A TE. ’ ’ Thomas Julian, farmer and contractor, Warea. and brother of deceased Edward Julian said Mr Virgin was present on the 2nd inst. on his brother’s farm at Warea awaiting the sale on the following Monday, as the result of the exchange of farms between Virgin and his brother. In the course of conversation, while together, Virgin said to his brother: “Well, Julian, is there any chance of you crying oil’ this deal?” Witness’s brother said, No, as he had got all the winter feed im. Virgin then replied (said witness dramatically); “You will drive mo to do something desperate.” ITis brother retorted : ‘T did not ask von to come here and buy the farm. You came here after travelling from White Cliffs to Wanganui looking after other places. 1 want no further dis-(us'-ion about the deal whatever,” Vi’gbi did not seem a man that would joke. He soemed Wry dnwn- .! Parted, being dull and low-spirited. To Mr Thomson : 1 don’t think the

I deal was complete on [Tie 3rd Just. My brother told me he was to take pos- , session on the 9th inst., and that an ■ agreement was signed and a deposit had been paid. The words “You’ll drive | me to do something desperate” were , the exact expression. Witness's brother did not take the matter as a : threat. To tlie Coroner: His brother never ! said anything to show that lie took it as a threat. VIRGIN’S CLOSE FRIEND. George Capper, farmer, Kaimata, | said he bad known Mr Virgin well lor the past 8 or 9 years, and had been a near neighbour for the past four years. Witness know Virgin’s business affairs fairly well. At Eltham, on May 10, Virgin and witness slept in the same room together, and they talked over the purchase of a White Cliff’s farm from 10 p.m. till after 1 o’clock in the morning. On witness : advice, Virgin cried the deal off. In June, witness understood that the exchange of farms between Julian and Virgin was practically arranged. On 17th July, Virgin said he was getting nervous and for a “fiver” would not miss the train. Later in the day Insaid lie thought he had made a bad bargain. At Eltham the remark was passed “What is the matter with Virgin?” He seemed to be very downhearted. Vi hen. asked to have a drink, he refused. Witness explained the. position thus;—“Well, Sergeant Haddrell, it was a strange thing, as we have never gone to Hawera and Eltham without one or the other of us shout-

mg. Virgin said lie felt very much leaving the Farmers’ Union, of which he was treasurer, and lie felt parting with old friends very much. He stated to witness that he would give or offer £IOO to bo released from the deal, if tire place did not suit him. A irgin asked witness if he had ever had pains in his head and said : “1 have one very badly. 1 wake up at one and two o’clock in the morning and wander about and I can’t rest.” On another occasion, Virgin said: ‘‘Something feels as if there is something going to snap just here” (tapping the top of his head). According to witness, Virgin felt that ho had “had” himself over the deal, and had not done such a thing before in his life. Generally, ho was very excited. However, on Tuesday before the tragedy, he seemed quite himself. EXAMINING THE CLOTHING. Detective-Sea rgr • am, ol New Plymouth, said that in the breast pocket of the coat he found a small leather purse containing a £5, eight single £1 notes, and 4s 3d in silver, and a watch key. , There were also gold-mounted spectacles "hind case, cheque hook on the Bank of New Zealand, envelope addressed, Miss A irgin, Kaimatal6-6-13, and containing tnreo postal notes for 15s, 2s, 2s, and five penny stamps. The postal notes ueie dated Stratford C-S-13. The overcoat was found between the house and the gat© on the road leading into the property at Kaimata.

MISSING. Sergeant Haddrell gave formal evidence that Virgin had not been seen since the fire. This was all the evidence, and at six o’clock the inquest was adjourned till 7.45. THE CORONER’S VERDICT. The Coroner delivered Ids verdict as follow: I find on the evidence before me that—(l) Edward Julian, Gladys Eva Julian and Frank Smith were murdered about 3 a.m. on August 14, 1913. (2) That the evidence is not sufficient- to prove conclusively whether they all died from blows on the body, administered by some heavy blunt instrument, or whether they were rendered unconscious by the blows and subsequently were burnt to death in the house of Frederick John Virgin. (3) 1 find Frederick John Virgin administered the blows on the three above-named persons, and the evidence strongly indicates that Virgin wilfully set fire to the house, whereby all three bodies were burnt. (4) The evidence tends to show that Virgin had suddenly lost Ids reason .through worry and want of sleep. It is proved that all the parties were on friendly terms until the time of retiring to rest on the night of August 13.