Motu Mystery is Still Unsolved

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 667, 20 May 1929, Page 11

Motu Mystery is Still Unsolved

MURDER OR ACCIDENT? MOTOR THEORY UNLIKELY (From Our Own Correspondent) j OPOTIKI, Today. j The report that the mystery surrounding the death of Samuel McAleese, the roadman. had been solved received little credence j here. The police still have nothing to re- j port. A further report that no weapon was found which could inflict the injuries to the face is not correct, as the shovel has to be taken into consideration. This could easily have inflicted the gash on the upper lip, and broken the nose. Whether the man was murdered or killed accidentally still has to be solved. NEW LIGHT ON TRAGEDY It is now reported that the Maori Makarini was working on one side of McAleese and “Scotty” Lappin on the other at the time the roadman must have met his death. This is quite news here, as all previous statements were to the effect that both Lappin and Makarini were working at a good distance away cn the Motu side of the spot where the body was found.

It was about one o’clock, after lunch, when Lappin told McAleese to go J down the. hill to work there. Lappin j was working near the top of the hill j with Makarini. If Makarini was work- j g ing on the Opotiki side of McAleese, as i •• is now said to be the case, he would i have accompanied McAleese down the t hill, and McAleese would hardly have ! waited until the Maori was out of sight before putting his rifle down. The fact that the wounds on the face contained fragments of rubble could be accounted for in two ways—either the roadman was hit with the dirty shovel, or, when he was carried , to the edge of the road the body was ‘ put face down in loose rubble. i SHOVEL WAS WASHED? It must be remembered there is ] every indication that the shovel had - been washed when it was examined by i the police after the tragedy. The fact 1 that there was a bruise on the back of 1 the head could also be easily ae- . counted for. If McAleese, had been struck a heavy blow on the face he , would almost certainly liave overbalanced backwards, striking his head on the road. CAR THEORY RIDICULOUS The theory that the body was struck by a passing car, either before or soon after death, appears ridiculous. At the time death occurred it was early in the day. There was a good light on the road at the spot, and inquiries made yesterday show that the body was found 15 yards above the corner nearest to Opotiki. The road travels upward from this corner, and a car having to negotiate the' corner could not have been travelling at a fast rate, and with the up grade could easily have been pulled up many feet away from the body. The top corner on the Motu side is about 30 yards from the spot where the body was found. This distance also gives ample room for a car to be pulled up. The head of McAleese nfust have been lying in the middle of tije road and it seems hardly likely that a driver would put the wheel over the head, unless he took a violent swerve on •iiher side. If this had been done marks would probably have been noticed. Had the body been lying parallel with the road the car could easily have been driven past without the body being touched. The injuries to the head are not consistent with the face being struck by the wheel of a car. NO DOUBT OF SHOOTING The fact that McAleese was shot with his own rifle has never been doubted, everything pointing clearly to this theory. That there is no known motive for the murder does not do away with the possibility of one having been committed. Many murders have taken place through sudden quarre's. So far as can be ascertained no motorist has yet made any statement ' admitting that lie ran over McAleese, [. and if the police had this information, , then the accident theory would pro- ■ bably be correct. The fact that no l arrangements have been made to re- ■ open the inquest point to the police : not having any admission from any motorist.