WITNESS SHOT

Taranaki Daily News, 7 June 1934, Page 19

WITNESS SHOT

WAGGA SENSATION ECHO OF MURDER TRIAL. TRAGIC AFFAIR AT DUSK. Moncrieff Anderson, 33, a Crown witness in the Murrumbidgee River murder trial, was shot in the head early last Thursday, night, the bullet entering the brain. His skull was' fractured, and the bullet is presumably lodged in the brain. The man died on the following day in hospital. Anderson was with his wife and child drawing water from a horsetrough in a lane when the shot was fired, it is believed, from the cover of a large acacia tree. He fell flat on his back with a cry. His wife aiid child screamed and ran towards some huts, where hundreds of unemployed are camped on the Wagga flats. RELATIVE’S TRAGIC STORY. While waiting at the hospital that night, Francis Krause, a relative of Anderson, told the story of the tragic occurrence. “I called out for helpers,” he said, “and my two brothers, Leslie and Emanuel, rushed to my side. There must have been 100 other men nearby, but no one volunteered to come with me, so I said to my brothers, ‘Come on, be game! They can only shoot one of us, and we must get Crieffy.’ Les said, 'All right, we’ll go alone.’

“Emanuel took the lead, and in single file we ran the 75 yards to the trough, where we saw ‘Crieff’ lying on his back with his legs spread out. Emanuel gave me a hand to lift him, and while we were gettipg hold of him we heard the faint whispering of two or three men, who were hiding in the dark beneath a large acacia or pepper tree. 15 or 20 yards from us.

“I told the others to watch out sharp tn the direction of the stockyard, where the shot came from, and I slung poor Crieff across my shoulder and hurried aWay with him. We placed him on the ground near the hut of Mrs. Pearce (another witness in the murder trial). He was still breathing. We did not know where he was shot, but when I took my hand away it was covered with blood. Then the detectives arrived.” HOLE IN BACK OF SKULL. At the Wagga district hospital Dr. Milligan found a hole in the back of the skull about an inch from the top of the left-ear, but could discover no exit mark of a bullet. All that Mrs. Anderson could say in her hysterical condition was: “He was leaning over the trough holding a bucket under the tap when a shot was fifed, and he fell.” With tears rolling down her cheeks the distraught woman collapsed. . Anderson and his wife are residents of Narrandera, and they came to Wagga on Monday, so that he could give evidence at the trial of Ed,ward Henry Morney bn the. charge of having murdered Percy Edward Smith on December 18 last year. His evidence was that he saw a man drive on the Narrandera Common on October 25, who gave the name of Percy Smith. He remained there 28 or 29 days. Anderson identified in Court an axe, a pair of reins, and a waggonette as having been the property of Smith. Some years ago Anderson was hit on the head with a bottle, which fractured his skull. Since then he has been an invalid pensioner.

CROWN WITNESS ABUSED. In the hut adjoining that of the Andersons, lives Mrs. Susannah Pearce, a deaf woman, and next to her, Mrs. Lillian Vera Isabel Mclntyre. Both were witnesses for the Crown at the murder trial, and it is stated that they have been abused and called “police pimps,” for having assisted the police, though they have not been threatened with violence. Another line of inquiry being con- [ ducted by the police is that Anderson was reported to have had £5 in the afternoon of the shooting, but when picked up after being shot he had only sixpence in his pockets. He spent all day in the Criminal Court, and had a drink or two on his way home. The scene of the shooting is the desolate Saleyards and camp about a mile out of town. Visitors are usually warned not to walk to the flat at nignt, and detectives warned journalists after the shooting of Anderson that they went there at their peril. They went, and were met with surly remarks like “We know nothing” and were also told to get out before they vzere hurt. Within 20 minutes of the shooting Detective-Sergeant Mcßae and Detective Crosby, of the Sydney C. 1.8., were at the camp. With thetti were Detective Ramus and Constable Dowell. Inspector Mclntosh directed operations from the town. They made a hurried search of the stockyards, but could find ho one. They have thrown a cordon round the area, and all roads are patrolled. , A subsequent cable message from Syd- ! ney stated that Anderson’s wife had been arrested and charged with the murder of her husband.