BAYLY FOR TRIAL

Taranaki Daily News, 29 January 1934, Page 7

BAYLY FOR TRIAL

RUAWARO MURDER CASE LOWER COURT HEARING ENDS EVIDENCE UPON ANALYSES AWAY OF BURNED EXHIBITS NO COMMENT BY DEFENCE By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. When Inspector J. W. Hollis told of the extensive search throughout New Zealand for Samuel Pender Lakey, dead or alive, and said that it had failed, evidence in the lower Court hearing of the charges of murder against William Alfred Bayly was completed. Bayly, a Ruawaro farmer, aged 28, charged with murdering Christobel Lakey, and her husband, Samuel Pender Lakey, at Ruawaro on October 15, was committed to the Supreme Court at Auckland for trial. It was precisely 4.30 yesterday afternoon when the Crown’s case was concluded—one of the longest lower Court hearings in the history of New Zealand criminal jurisdiction. The total number of witnesses heard was 64. The wide variety of exhibits produced totalled the surprising number of 251, and the number of foolscap typewritten pages used for evidence was 245. One of the features of the prolonged hearing was the efficient manner in which Constable J. B. McLean handled the numerous exhibits. He was specially selected to direct the presentation of the exhibits and, with a brief in front of him, and a special file containing the index to the exhibits, he handed one after another to. the witnesses as they were called for. Without the excellent system which Constable McLean controlled there could have been considerable confusion with so many exhibits. After the Government analyst, K. MGriffin, had completed his expert evidence this afternoon a textile designer was called to identify various pieces of material, and he was followed in the witness-box by a dental expert, who described false teeth presented to him for examination, a hand-writing expert, and Inspector Hollis. No comment was made by counsel for the defence, Mr. E. H. Northcroft, when evidence concluded. As soon as Bayly had been committed he left the dock, and the crowd at the rear of the Court, which had thinned during the afternoon, went its way. The Court was quickly cleared, even of officials, and a special police guard was again placed on the exhibits. CARTRIDGE SHELLS. Further expert evidence on guns and cartridge shells was given ' when the case was resumed to-day, but most interest was aroused by about 40 bottles arranged on the tables that two days before had been covered with boxes of bone fragments. The bottles are to be produced later in evidence by the Government analyst. They contain charred substances, some coarse and others fine and powdery, all labelled and classified. Gregory Gerald Kelly, firearms expert of 30 years’ experience, said he examined a Winchester rifle covered with mud, also a .22 cartridge shell. He cleaned the bore of the rifle, fired several shells from it, and compared the striker marks with the striker marks on the shell which Detective Snedden had shown him. They were identical. He was of the opinion that the shell had been fired from the same rifle. John Waddell, who said he had been engaged in the manufacture of steel and in the chemistry of the engineering trade for 40 years, examined a large oil drum on the floor of the Court. He said there had undoubtedly been ah open wood fire under it. He formed the opinion that the heat to which it had been subjected had been fairly lengthy rather than fierce. A short drum had been cut in two, and in his opinion it was cut after the fire had been in it. Kenneth Massey .Griffin said that on October 18 he received a glass jar of the stomach contents of Mrs. Lakey and two days later other organs. He examined these for poison and found none. He then produced numerous bottles of exhibits of wood charcoal, burned bone and other substances. He said he also found lead weighing .3 grains and molten lead weighing 17.4 grains. He had since weighed two 1.C.1. bullets. Four each weighed 28.7 grains. griffin said he examined both portions of the oil drum. From the lower portion he obtained ashes containing charcoal, burned bone and globules of molten lead weighing 3.2 grains. The drum had been strongly heated, but not since it was cut. CIGARETTE LIGHTER. Griffin next produced pieces of concrete which he said had been subjected to heat on one side, and a piece of charred white rubber footwear containing canvas. He produced a cigarette lighter and wick and said he found the wick exactly similar to the wick of another lighter produced and to a ball of thread produced. From a large jar of wood charcoal Griffin extracted the wad and paper of a shotgun cartridge and a piece of charred leather. Another exhibit contained a burned nail, bone and sacking. He compared the charred sacking with the sack produced and found that the material and construction were similar. Witness said that he examined two false teeth which had charred vulcanite adhering to them. Both teeth had been burned from their setting. Witness also found that screws and springs produced fitted the cigarette lighter previously produced. Witness next produced exhibits of burned cloth and sacking, which he identified and described. Further exhibits were metal buttons, a rivet, buckles and brace fasteners, all of which had been heated. One brace fastener had portion of the burned brace material showing. There was also charred leather with long nails embedded. This was from the heel of a boot or shoe. Sheets of galvanised iron had had a hot ’smoky flame played on them. . Altogether from the various exhibits he recovered 21.4 grains or melted lead.