POISONING CASE

Taranaki Daily News, 2 August 1935, Page 7

POISONING CASE

DEATH AT BLACKBALL HEARING AT GREYMOUTH % — — DISTURBANCE IN THE DOCK PAGE’S DISJOINTED TALK IRRATIONAL BEHAVIOUR By Telegraph-Press Association. Greymouth, Last Night. Many disjointed remarks were made from tile dock to-day when the hearing was continued in the Police Court of the charges against John Skikelthorp Page that on September 24 at Blackball he murdered Margaret May Smith, and that on September 22 at Blackball he attempted to murder Jean Kennedy Clark and Ethel Annie Bragg. The Crown’s case will probably conclude on Saturday. Percival Henry McLean, a winchdriver,. gave evidence that he had a hut at Moonlight. Page was camped in a hut five chains away. He saw Page on September 24 between 6 and 6.30 a.m. He saw no indication that Page was in his hut between Friday afternoon and Monday morning. He fed Page’s horse at the week-end. Frederick Donovan, farmer, Camptown, said he knew Page when Page was working for Burr. He purchased strychnine three or four years ago to poison dogs. Ho. did not use it all, and put the remainder on a shelf in the bam. Detectives called on him on October 4 and he gave them the strychnine. The bam was not locked. . To Mr. Patterson he replied that it was hardly possible that the strychnine used * in the chocolates came from his bottle, as the same quantity was in it and -.the bottle was covered with dust when the police called. Alphonsus Henry Lima, Greymouth, gave evidence that his shop stocked boxes of chocolates similar to that produced. Dulcie Lima, who gave similar evidence, said she knew Page, by sight, -but did not remember where she had seen him. ; ... p : ; ■ . ; _ r ••••'.;■“ > Doreen Hanrahan, employed at Lima’s shop, gave evidence that she knew Page, but not to speak to. She could not remember where she had seen him, but she thought it was in the shop. • Robert McKay Patterson and Thomas O’Dea, storekeepers, gave evidence regarding the stock of chocolates. SERGEANTS EVIDENCE. Sergeant D.„Austin, Dunedin,, gave evidence that on October 20 last he Was district clerk of police records at Greymouth. He cleared the mail on the evening of that date, receiving a letter addressed: “Chief of Police, Greymouth." He handed it. to Inspector Cameron. He served the notice on Page setting out the ,present charge. «.... ........ Inspector Cameron said he received on September 24 a report respecting Miss Smith’s death. On October 12 he/received a telephone message from Page from Barrytown, requesting an appointment at the police office on the following evening. He was at the office, but Page did not keep the appointment It was a wet night and he concluded that was the reason Page did not attend. Oh October 20 Sergeant Austin handed him the letter previocsly referred to. That was the only anonymous letter he received in ■connection with the Blackball inquiry. : On . November 11 Page called at his office and . asked if he could give him any mformatioh about the Blackball tragedy. Page said he had a suspicion of the postmaster. On November 19 Page again .called and said he was leaving the district. He had a box at Ngahere, and if the detectives wished to examine his effects he would gladly show them. ? Mrs. Maty Dunn, of All Nations Hotel, Barrytown, said Page boarded there during the whole of October. “USEFUL INFORMATION.” Reginald W. C. Stuart, engineer, stated that on October 10 he went to work at Barrytown. Page was employed on a gold claim there. Page told him the detectives had called about tiie'Blackball murder and that he could give them useful information if approached in the right way. Page was advised to communicate with the police. Charles Elwyn Griffiths, lorry driver, said he shared a room with Page at Barrytown. Page said after the police visit that he thought someone had been forging his handwriting. Page appeared worried and was not sleeping well. He had seen .Page with a syringe, but not with a first-aid outfit. When the Court resumed after lunch Page turned- to the crowd at the back of the Court and made a rambling statement in the course of which he declared his wife was undergoing an operation upstairs, and he demanded respectful silence. Harold Spark, clerk at the Greymouth post office, said the envelope addressed to the chief of police bore the Greymouth cancellation stamp of October 20, 11 a.m. It would be stamped by him and placed in the Police Department’s box. The service car from Westport arrived about 10.15 a.m. Edgar Olliver Palmer, supervisor of the chief post office at Greymouth, gave evidence of the clearing of the boxes and of the cancellation of stamps. John Thomas, miner, Taratu, Otago, said he worked with Page at Barrytown in September, October and November of last year, when he and Page were picked to go to a job at Macetown, Central Otago. There he was told by Page that he had been • interviewed by the police in connection with the Blackball tragedy. Page was extremely indignant, and said he knew nothing about it. Page complained about bleeding in the stomach, which he said was the after effects of war, Thomas said there was no indication of it. INTERVIEW WITH POLICE. He and Page went to Dunedin about ten weeks ago, where they were interviewed by detectives. After ten days at Dunedin both secured employment at the Taratu coal mine. Page discussed the interview with the police. He conversed ordinarily. Some of it was a pack of rot, however. Page, reading from a paper held in front of him, here interrupted with a string of disjointed words, including: “King Edward ■ the Seventh,” “Queen Alexandra,” “Long life and prosperity to everyone, for the betterment of the world,” “Carry on and' be content, and to all in seniority give obedience,” “the Emperor of Japan, Edward the Seventh and the Princes Joy are at the seaside in Otago.” Page continued to talk in a similar strain for some time, refusing to be restrained. Thomas said Page told him a very unpleasant thing was over. He hoped it was finished for good. Page also told him the police had shown him an envelope which he had seen in a friend’s house on the West Coast. Page gave him an explanation for having addressed the envelope. He said his friend passed him an envelope and asked him if he would mind addressing it. Page wanted him, Thomas said, to go and see a justice of the peace to see if the Justice Department would give him a free pardon and to see the police to tell him all they knew. Page said he

would investigate himself with the assistance of the police to try to get the man who had trapped him into this. Page was very worried at that time. Thomas , detailed further conversations with Page regarding the case. Page said he knew nothing about tits contents of tile letter. He had an idea it was Moore for whom he wrote the address. Page’s distress increased. He was walking along the road at one time at Taratu and saw a white peppermint, and said: “There is the poisoned chocolate. I have found it for you.” Thomas said he had three days of it. Page would be talking quite rationally, and then say “dogs,” or something stupid. He would keep his arms up in the air. He said: “Find me a baby. Ha, ha!” At night in his bunk he would be praying, and asking for a Bible. He made his peace with his Maker, and “that sort of thing.” Page said once to him: .“Don’t be frightened of me, Jack. I won’t take my life, and I won’t hurt you.” He was constantly breaking into tears, and it was a job to tell whether he was rational or not when he spoke. Thomas rrtade an application to have him committed to a mental institution on May 19. He had to do it. Page gave him the impression that some person had induced him to address an envelope, and then made use of it. BROWN PAPER EXHIBIT. Thomas Walter Moore, labourer, Clifford Street, Blackball, said Page visited his home. He had been shown a piece of brown paper by the detectives, but he had never seen it before. As far as he could recall, he had never received anything wrapped in brown paper. If Page said he addressed an envelope for Moore it would be a lie. Moore had never posted any letter at Atarau. He had never attended a dance at Atarau. Page told him that the brown paper the detectives found in his hut must have come from Moore’s place, although he insisted it did not. Page said he thought someone was putting one over him. When detectives questioned Moore he put similar questions to Page and received quite frank evidence. Some of his children once told Page that people at Blackball thought he was a “peeping Tom.”

Moore discussed opossums eating Page's food with him. The word poison may have been mentioned. Page told Moore he knew- Miss Clark by sight, but did not know Miss Bragg. Moore had never purchased chocolates at Lima’s. If Page said Moore asked him to address a brown paper for him it was not correct. He had never seen the wrapper before. At this stage Page addressed Mrs. Moore at the back of the Court, saying: "Mrs. Moore, would you like to join your husband?” Later he whistled for about a minute.

Mrs. Hilda May Moore, wife of the previous yzitness, said she had never known her husband to ask Page to write an address for him. She had never known of any unpleasantness between her husband and Page. She had never seen the writing on the brown paper produced. When her children remarked about a “peepins Tom” Page only laughed.