MYSTERIOUS MOTU TRAGEDY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 674, 28 May 1929, Page 1

MYSTERIOUS MOTU TRAGEDY

“Accident” is Still Police Theory NO MOTIVE FOR MURDER Inquest on Death of Sam McAleese

(SUN'S Special Reporter.) OrOTIKI, Today. THERE are not likely to be any sensational disclosures at the inquest today concerning the death of the roadman Samuel McAleese who was found shot on Papamoa Hill on May 9. Police evidence will be given to prove, if possible, that death was due to accident, and that investigations fail to disclose any motive for murder.

A representative of the Colonial Ammunition Company was brought from Auckland to give expert evidence regarding the bullet which killed McAleese, and also that the rifle would discharge easily if dropped suddenly on a hard road. This morning it was thought that the inquest would conclude tomorrow at mid-day. ] The inquest opened at 10 o'clock before Mr. F. J. Short and a jury of six. Detective-Sergeant J. McLeod, of Gisborne, led the police evidence. Inspector O’Halloran, Gisborne, was not present. CROWDED COURTHOUSE Bitterly cold weather did not prevent the Courthouse from being crowded with interested spectators, as the case has created a great deal of interest in the district. Detective McLeod in outlining the case to the jury told how the body of McAleese was found dead on the road on Papamoa Hill on May 9, by “Scotty” Lappin and a Maori named Makarini. Evidence would be brought forward, said Mr. McLeod, to show that there was an entire absence of any motive for foul play. A curious fact was that there was a small quantity of blood where the body was lying, but a total absence of blood on the road nearby. New evidence would bo given by two motorists who passed Lappin and Makarini when they tiere going to meet McAleese. McAleese helps motorists After lunch these men had had trouble with the car, which stalled when they stopped to speak to McAleese, and he had helped them to start the engine. 1 Evidence would also be given to | show that the injuries which caused ; death were consistent with crushing : and not with a blow. There was no | doubt about a bullet being fired from ! tbe pea-rifle owned by McAleese, and ! which was found in a bag near the aiody. Makarini moved this bag, but was told by Lappin to put it back and interfere with it. Archibald Bryce Bremner, engineer for the Public Works Department, gave evidence regarding the exact spot where the body was found. DOCTOR’S EVIDENCE 'Dr. H. M. Budd gave evidence of the state of the body when he first saw it. The doctor said: “Lappin told me he had turned the body over and the blood alongside it confirmed my opinion that the body had been in a different position from that in which I first saw it. I estimated that death had taken place only a few hours before I saw the body. There were several severe injuries on the face.

Continuing his evidence, witness said the body was clothed in the top piece of a swimming costume, over which was a black flannel shirt and trousers and working boots. The face below the eyes was covered with blood, and there were abrasions of the nose and cheeks and a lacerated wound on the upper lip, extending from mouth to nose. A circular wound was in the chest wall and extended through the space between the fifth and sixth ribs. There were bruises on the shins, apparently inflicted some days previously, an abrasion two and a-quarter inches from the right ear, parallel with the upper, part of the ear. a vertical abrasion above the left eyebrow, a small abrasion above the left temple-bone, and

severe abrasions on the nose below the bridge. A small wound on the right nostril contained fine grit. The skin below the bridge of the nose was completely torn off and the top lip was cut through. After giving details of other injuries to the face. Doctor Budd said one nostril contained fine grit and in a cut on the upper lip grit was embedded to the bone. Continuing, Dr. Budd said that the opening found in the singlet corresponded with the opening in the shirt. The position of the bloodstains suggested that after the wound had been inflicted McAleese was lying on the slope with his head down. The bullet was found in the back of the chest. It had pierced the heart and right lung in its journey from left to right. Such a wound would cause instantaneous death. An examination of the stomach showed that a meal had been consumed an hour before death. To Detective McLeod: A meal would be consistent with McAleese having lunch between twelve and one, and dying between one and two. Witness said there were bloodstains on the cuticle of the nails of the first, second and third fingers of the left hand, and similar stains on the right hand near the index finger, and on the left forearm above the wrist. Death was caused by a gunshot wound. “Taking the position of the body as found, and the position of the bloodstains, clothing and body, I am satisfied,” said the doctor, “that the body was shifted from the position in which it lay after the wound had been inflicted. Had the body fallen into the position in which it was found, the bloodstains would have been from the wound to the feet, instead of toward the head. lam satisfied that after the fatal wound was inflicted the body lay with the head lower than the feet. NO SIGNS OF DRAGGING There were no signs of the body having been dragged. The boots showed no signs of that, and there were no signs of dragging on the clothing. “The head and facial injuries would not have been caused by a fall after the fatal gunshot wound,” said the doctor, “because of their distribution and severity, and because they were confined to the head. If the head and facial injuries were received after the fatal gunshot wound such injuries received after death would only bleed by slow oozing, but before death blood from the injuries would have spurted everywhere, and there would have been distinct signs of bleeding from the injuries, which to lip and nose were particularly severe, and could not, in my opinion, have been caused by a fall.” The injuries were not confined to the prominent parts of the face, such as the tip of the chin or cheek-bones, which were not touched. The four facial injuries could not have been received after he received the gunshot wound. Detective McLeod: Could the injuries have been caused by a shovel. —I hardly think so from their distribution. Detective McLeod: By a blow from a rock?—No; for the same reason. INJURIES CAUSED BY CRUSHING? Dectective McLeod: What caused them?—Possibly by a crushing on the road. DetectiveMcLeod: Assuming a shot was fired frm the bag at close range would it account for no scorching on deceased’s clothing?—Yes. To the Coroner: A car striking the body could have caused the injuries. To a Juryman: The soil in the wounds was the same as that of the surrounding country. Dr. Budd explained to the jury that there were pieces of rock in the vicinity which could have caused the wounds. It was difficult, he said, to account for the blood on the cuticle of the nails. The bullet went through the body almost on the level, there being only a rise of 2i in 10 inches. It was difficult to account for the angle of the bullet. To a Juryman: The wounds on the face could possibly have been caused by a car wheel passing over it. RIFLE FIRED IN COURT Gregory Gerald Kelly, of the Colonial Ammunition Company, Auckland, who examined the bullet and the rifle, said to satisfy himself that \ the bullet found in the body had been j fired from McAleese’s rifle, he, wit- ] ness, fired bullets into soap. The i experiment proved the marks on the 1 bullets, after being fired, to be similar [ to those on the bullet from the body. ] The mechanism of the rifle had also : been tested. j “X was able to demonstrate to the i police that the loaded rifle would dls- ! charge easily if thrown down carej lessly in a sack,” said the witness, j Witness proved this by discharging : blank cartridges in the court room, by dmpping the cocking piece of (he j rifle on a table. Even after the rifle had been taken to pieces the rifle i would discharge, even at an angle of ! 45 degrees. To the Coroner: The rifle would ! have discharged if the sack had been 1 thrown carelessly over McAleese's shoulder, and struck a rock. (Proceeding.*