“BURIED ALIVE”

Taranaki Daily News, 15 August 1931, Page 11

“BURIED ALIVE”

PHYLLIS SYMONS’ DEATH DOCTORS EXAMINE THE BODY ■TRAGIC EVIDENCE GIVEN MURDER CHARGE HEARING INVESTIGATION BY POLICE By Telegraph.—-Press Association. ■ Wellington, Last Night. Tragic evidence of the death of PhylJis Symons and the finding oi her body an a soil dump at Hataitai was given to-day when the preliminary hearing of the charge of murder against George Errol Coats, was continued before Mr. E. Page, SAf. Isabela McKenna, Adelaide Road, said she knew" Coats. He called to see her on June 2D at 1.30 in the afternoon to let rooms. He agreed at 7s 6d a week. Witness went but at 2.30 and Coats had not come back thenf She returned about four. Coats came about 9.30' at Bight and told her he had sent his luggage in the afternoon,, Coats stayed till July 6. No girl tq her knowledge Came to see him during that time, and he did not mention the name of any girl. He fiad no dog and; mentioned nothing about a dog. ■ Olive Irene Claire . Smith,; widow, of 140. Adelaide Road, said that. on or about April 2 she let a room to “Mr. and Mrs. Coats” at 18s 6d a week, plus 2s 6d for gas. She recognised Coats as the man and recognised the woman in the photograph produced as “Mrs. Coats.” Witness suspected that Mrs. Coats was pregnant a few weeks after her arrival at the place.' Mrs. Coats had very little clothing and they appeared very hard up financially. Mrs. Coats was very shy and quiet. They frequently had two visitors, a lame man she now knew was De Maine, and the other Glover. A woman she understood to. be Coats’ sister was there several times during the short period.

. About June 24 witness asked Coats if he could let her have the rent that week. He was two weeks behind. Coats jfaiid if things did not get better with him he would have to send his wife liome and take a cheaper room. On the night of June 26 she heard footsteps of, she thought, two people coming dbwn the stairs. She took them to .be Mr. and Mrs. Coats. After 10.30 or later someone returned. She was in bed and. could not say just what the time was.

COATS “SENDS PHYLLIS HOME.”

On the afternoon of June 27 witness again mentioned rent. to Coats, asking him if he could let her have the money. He said he had not the money then, but was expecting to receive some and that he had sent hie wife home the previous night. That was the first knowledge she had that Mrs. Coats had left her place. Mrs.; Coats did not say good-bye, and never mentioned to witness that she- was leaving.

On June 29 Coats said he was leaving. He said he had sent -his wife home though he did not like doing it as he and the girl’s mother were not on good terms. He said he was going to & place in Brougham Street. He said his •wife would return after tea and clean up. He took his suit-ease. That was the last witness saw of him. Later that afternoon someone came and collected the box Coats had left outside his door. She went to his room and turned, the handle of the door, expecting it to op'cn, but it was locked. De Maine called in the evening about 7 p.m., and witness took the key, from him and got the cushion herself arid gave it to him and returned the key to De Maine.' Mrs. Coats did not come back to clear orit the room and witness never saw her again. Witness cleaned the room. There whs a lot of burnt paper in the fireplace and a bottle on the duchess table labelled “poison.” There was a- broken effing of beads on the floor by the fireplace which Mrs. Coats..used to wear. Witness identified property she handed tct; the police—a pair of pink slippers aAd two pairs of boots with clay on tlibm. She did hot search under the mattress , and did not = notice the letter subsequently found by, Glover. . . j €LUE OF VEGETABLE SACKS.

While Coate was at witness’ house he did not have a dog. From April 23 to May Mrs. Smith said, she conducted a small greengrocery in a shop in front of the house. She used to get Teeling, one of the boarders, to buy vegetables. She bought six sacks of vegetables, and as the sacks were emptied they were put- in the coal-house. The sacks were numbered and marked when she received them and the numbers and marks were shown on the invoices produced. Witness identified five of the sacks produced. On July 18 she was present when the police checked the sacks with the invoices, and the five corresponded with the invoices. The missing sack, according to the invoices, was marked 16. They had contained parsnips. The sack produced was similar to the one ■Which had been missing.

To Mr. Treadwell .witness said the Coats gave the impression of being a happily married couple. He was always very affectionate to her. On the last day. witness saw Coats his manner was normal and friendly, a manner he had always adopted towards witness. She had never on any occasion heard them quarrelling during their sta; in her house. When she received the sacks of vegetables jshe entered details in a hook which -was in the possession of the police.

.Alba Cooze, single, storeman at D. Bowie and Company, and Charles Henry Buchanan, carrier, gave evidence in regard to the marking and delivery of sacks. . i •

: A book was produced and witness said that while in • the greengrocery business she purchased only six sacks of vegetables; the rest of the supplies came in boxes or-small bags. Coats once brought in a sack, of wood, but it’was .of-a different type from those in court. Witness did not see Glover at any time after Coats left. Glover would probably go up to Coats’ room if he did not know Coats had left. If she had been in the room underneath Coats she might not have heard him. If she had heard anyone moving about she would have gene up to Wilo* V.isiis'Share.

Clover did . not comq .to you, and tell you he lAtit'fdurii'Jt ieftpl 1 ?~Np.

To Mr. Macassey, Mrs. Smith said that all the boarders entered the house by the back door, and she would not take any notice of visitors, who used to go upstairs without seeing her. Glover could quite easily have gone upstairs without her seeing him. Maurice Erie Teeling, single, a relief worker, gave evidence as to buying the provisions for Mrs. Smith at the market. When he bought vegetables' at auction he gave the initials T. and S to the auctioneer. He saw some of the sacks marked by the storeman and identified the invoices produced as ones relating to his purchases. Witness said that as the sacks became empty he put them in the coalhouse. There were six sacks, the only ones about the premises. According to the invoices the sacks of parsnips he bought had the identification -number 16. When the police inspected the sacks at Adelaide Road there were only five. The missing sack corresponded with one shown on the invoices. A sack shown to him was similar to the missing one.

Lancelot Lee, married, said that he had worked with Coats on the Hataitai relief works during the latter part of April. They were working together oil the lower tip and became friendly. Coats mentioned ■ that his wife . was dead and that he had six children in a home; He also said he had a girl and that she was in a certain"condition, and mentioned about a woman sending away for some, stuff, he understood to bring about a miscarriage. About April 27 Lee was working with Goats on the tip when a young man carrying a sack .came along. The man ■said that 'the sack contained a dead dog. He said that his father was' a chemist and that the dbg had been cun over by a car, and that he often got a job to poison dogs for his father. Lee scratched a hole and buried the dog in the side of the bank. Coats was present and witnessed' the burial. He had visited several times it Coats’ room. On the night of June 27 Coats told witness that Phyllis had gone back to her brother’s place, and would be all right there. ' ' l . * BURIAL OF A DOG. Noel Evan Burbery, shop assistant,; said that his father was a chemist. He gave evidence as to taking a dog that had been run over to the tip for . burial. James Edward Taylor, carrier, said that he had known Coats for over two years. He said Coats’ wife died last year, about June 20. This year witness was telephoned by Coats, saying he had the sack from the relief job and did witness know where he could get a job. He asked if he could ride on witness’ lorry to pick up jobs. He picked up Coats practically every day. Coats found an occasional job, witness paying Is and up to 5s at most. Coats was living at 140 Adelaide Road. He told witness that the room was too dear and he would get a cheaper one at 7s 6d on Monday. Towards the end of June Taylor collected a box and stored it at his house in Kilbirnie. Subsequently witness handed the box to the police. Coats meanwhile had called and taken a couple of books from it. Taylor said that De Maine once or twice met Coats at witness’ office in Bond Street.

To Mr. Treadwell Taylor said the box was only wired and could be opened by anybody. Alfred Victor Smith, architect, interested in mission work, said he helped people when he could. He recognised a photograph produced as that of the girl Phyllis Symons. He had known her about six years. Phyllis called on him either early in June or very late in May seeking financial assistance. She saw him on four occasions. He gave her assistance three times, and on the fourth occasion lent her £1 for her husband. That was the last occasion he saw her„ EXAMINATION OF BODY. Dr. P. P. Lynch, pathologist at the Wellington Hospital, read and put in a report of his investigation of the body of the girl and the result of the post-mortem, examination. He described the position of the body when he ;was called to the spot where it was found on the afternoon of July 12. The body was hunched and the face was pressed into the earth. A small sack was lying over the lower part of the body and a muffler or scarf was over the face. When the body was removed an impression of it was left in the clay. Further examination the same' day showed that the scarf was bound; two arid a-liaif times round the head, covering the face, eyes, ears and the back of the head. It was snugly but not tightly bound, and was caught with a small pin. On the next day, with Dr. Hector, a further examination was made, and it was revealed that the girl had been pregnant. The body was in an excellent state of preservation owing to the cold. Dr. Lynch detailed the head injuries. He said there was no fracture underlying the bone. He deduced that the girl was struck a violent blow on the right temple and a blow, or very likely a series of blows, on the back of the head and the neck. He thought it very unlikely that a single blow would produce haemorrhage to the extent described. Injuries to the right side of the head and neck were, he thought, caused about the same time. He considered either would cause unconsciousness.

With regard to the weapon used, all he could say was that it was a weapon with a broad surface. The immediate cause of death was asphyxia due to the stomach contents .being vomited into the windpipe. He thought the scarf had been placed round the mouth to lessen the sound of stertorous breathing or other noise. He. concluded that death occurred in the attitude in which the body was found.

Dr. C. M. Hector agreed with and confirmed Dr. Lynch’s report.

“ALIVE WHEN UNDER GROUND.”

Air. Macassey: Tn your opinion was this girl alive when she was buried?— In my opinion all the indications point out that she was alive when she was under the ground. Air. Macassey: Did the attitude in which the body was found correspond with the attempting of the girl to rise from the ground?—Yes, attempting to rise against difficulty caused through weakness or a euperencunrbent weight. Detective Frank Hayhurst said that on the afternoon of July 7 while making search of the. plantation and reserve between Ruahine Street and the tip at the new recreation ground he had found the shovel produced in court. It was concealed underneath the branches of a fir tree 75 feet from where the body was .-subsequently found, file described the digging operation# and the discovery cf' tits' bbdy. Hi*'ldeai G"' - ' . I ■: ;;

tified the sack produced as that covering the body. The spot where the body was found was the lowest part of the' gully. It was buried under 14 to 16 feet of soft clay. On the morning of July 14 witness and Detective Murray interviewed Coats in the gaol and told him the girl’s body had been found. They told him then that medical opinion was that the girl had been murdered and that he would .probably be charged with her murder. Coats was told that the police had been informed that he had dug a hole at the relief works early in June and that he had said it was for shelter and to bury a dog.

DETECTIVES INTERVIEW COATS.

"We told him that De Maine had told us that Phyllis had agreed that he should kill her and that early in June he and Phyllis had gone to the relief works and that he had hit her with a piece of pipe and, stunned her,” continued the detective. “He was told that he had said to-De Maine that after lie had done it he did not feel like doing it and felt sorry for her. Coats was also told that De Maine had said that on June 26 he had left De Maine, telling him that he was going to Hataitai to ask a cobber to leave a shovel out for him. We also told him that we had been informed that' he had tried to borrow a shovel. Coats was asked if he had anything to say or any explanation to make. He replied, ‘No, nothing to say.’” Mr. Macassey: During that interview how did Coats appear? —He seemed quite calrii and listened seriously to what was said.

On the morning of July 16, with Detective Murray, Detective Hayhurst said, he was present when Coats was charged with the murder of the girl. He was cautioned in the usual' way but made no'reply. Detective Nelson William Baylis said that on July 12 he was with Detective Hayhurst, Acting-Detective Holland and a police party under Sub-Inspector Ward at Hataitai when the body had been found. A line of stones appeared to have been placed there to hold the earth or prevent the body from rolling. ', Detective William Robert Murray said he interviewed Coats with Constable Smith on the morning of July 6. That was in reference to a complaint made by Symons in respect of the girl, upon whom it was alleged that an attempt to perform an illegal operation had been made. Coats made a statement which Detective f Murray was about to read when Mr. Treadwell interrupted and .asked that he should be allowed to read the statement first. It bad been made some time before Coats had been charged with the murder.. Mr. Treadwell was permitted to examine it. He then cross-examined the detective as to the circumstances under which the statement had been made. TAKING OF STATEMENT. Detective Murray'told him. ■’hat the statement of 18 pages had been made between 0.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m., before which Coats had been questioned for perhaps 15 minutes. Detective Murray was the only one who took r i active part' in the interview. Pages 9 to 12 of the statement were taken in the latter part of the afternoon between 4 ‘ and 5 o’clock, or possibly between 4.30 and 5.30. It took about an hcur. The last two pages were taken between 11.15 p.m. and midnight. Mr. Treadwell: Well, according to my instructions he was called from his bed at eight o’clock and did not get back to his cell until a-quarter to two the next morning, and that he was questioned almost continuously all that time. —That’s ridiculous. We’ll see how ridiculous! How long after making the statement did he go to bed? —I can only say that I charged him in the watchhouse at half past one a.m. and left him.

The cross-examination of Detective Alurray continued for some time, during which the witness said Coats was sitting in the detective office all day smoking and reading. He made himself at home. He was accompanied when he left the room. Detective Murray then told Mr. Macassey that after taking the first statement he told Coats that he would like to'go through his room and make some inquiries. Coats assured them' that the girl had gone to a friend’s place. . COATS THANKS DETECTIVES. After they had given him some dinner, witness, Constable Smith and Coats went to the room Coats was then occupying where certain articles were found, and then to the room in Adelaide Road, where they made inquiries. When they got back to the detective office they interviewed him further. Coats had tea there and sat smoking and reading most of the time while witness went out and made further inquiries. He returned late at night. Coats then made a further statement in connection with those further inquiries. At the end of the statement Coats signed the whole statement and said it was true. He also thanked the detective for the fair treatment he had given him. "Throughout these interviews,” the detective said, “he was not cautioned because I did not know he was going to be charged. The charge laid was of attempting to supply a noxious thing • for the purpose of procuring a miscarr*ge. At this stage the magistrate said he wished to hear evidence from Constable igmith before deciding upon the admissibility of the statement, and the court adjourned until Monday morning. Copies of the statements will be available to ■Air. Treadwell, who said he thought counsel for the defence were entitled to the intervening time for the consideration of the legal aspect of the admissibility of the statements.