TRAGIC DEATH OF YOUNG GIRL.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, 12 January 1927, Page 9

TRAGIC DEATH OF YOUNG GIRL.

Station Hand Suspected. CRIME MYSTERY OF THE YEAR. By Cable—Press Association —Copyright. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. SYDNEY, January 11. At the inquest on Joan Smith, the father gave evidence that lie had frequently to find fault with Hughes, who was at present in custody, and had finally been compelled to discharge him. He did not tell the police why lie discharged Hughes but told them lie suspected the lad of minder. Dorothy Schmidt, employed at another station, where Hughes had been working, gave evidence that .she told the accused of the finding of the girl’s body, and Hughes replied that she.had been buried too long to • see any marks of violence. Witness had not referred to marks, the suggestion coming first from Hughes. COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. IMPORTANT MEDICAL TESTIMONY. <°r L'abie— Pitsa Association—CopyngbS (Received 10.30 p.m., Jan. 11.) SYDNEY, January 11. Tlie inquest on Joan Smith resulted in the Coroner committing Janies Hughes for trial on a charge of feloniously and maliciously murdering her. Owing to the decomposed condition of the remains, and one of the neck hones being missing, the medical experts were unable to state the cause of death, beyond saying that no bones were broken. There were no signs of violence, and that it was possible that the neck was dislocated by a fall from a horse.

Tho crime mystery of the year in New South Wales was dispelled on Tuesday, when the body of Joan Smith, missing since August 2-1. Irani Poohiniacca Station, near Broken Hill, was found buried in a rabbit burrow .less than 300yds from tlio homestead (writes the Sydney correspondent ol tho . Auckland "Stai” under date, December 31). As a result,-fit the chance discovery, a youth of sixteen bar, boon arrested and charged with the murder, lie is remanded to January 10. One of tile employees on tlie .station having cleared up the woulshod on Tuesday, reported to the owner, Mr Moss Smith, that a dead sheep was lying in the bed of the creek, and lie suggested that lie should burn it. Smith agreed, and tho man was gathering twigs and brambles to make the fire, when lie discovered the leg and foot of the girl protruding fi om the sandy soil. The shoe and part of the sock were still adhering to the dried flesh of the leg, and he reported his find to the station owner.

Smith notified the police, and in the presence of tho coroner and the Government medical officer for tlie district, the remains were disinterred. A swift investigation by tlie doctor showed chat no bones were broken, and so the cause of death was not ascertainable.

The police wasted little time there, but a .few hours after the discovery they visited another station in the district, and arrested a youth there. He is James Hughes, and, at the time of the disappearance of Joan Smith, ho was employed at I’oolamacca Station. When the police were inquiring in August, they questioned the lad, who told them he had seen nothing of the girl after lunch on the day siie disappeared. Since his arrest, however, Hughes has made a statement as follows: “Joan Smith’ was killed by a fall from her pony. I became frightened and buried the body where it waa found.” The utmost secrecy is being maintained by the police in the case. The youth was brought before the court, which was virtually held behind .closed doors, before the usual opening hour on Yvcdnesday. He is being shielded from the public gaze, and a large crowd which filed into the court when it was opened at the usual' hour was disillusioned when a few small cases were heard and the magistrate left the bench.

During the search for Joan Smith, which was of a month’s duration, even shops in Broken Hill closed down for days to allow their employees to join in the hunt. It was stated at the timo that every inch of ground for miles round the station had been carefully searched and re-searched by many parties, for the army of volunteer;; numbered ns many as 1,000 l'cr weeks on end. Aeroplanes wore used, too; while dogs and trackers were employed from the start. How they failed to see the leg protruding from the ground is a mystery to which none can now provide the answer. It is explained that, at that time, the leg was probably covered over; but it is a remarkable thing that tiro dogs did net scent the body there, or that the stench from it was not discernable by the hundreds who must have passed within yards of the place. At first £5)00 reward was offered by her parents; but in September they doubled that sum. One of the earliest statements made when Joan Smith was reported missing was that,of a drunken man, who called at the station and said that the girl was very near the wool.sbed. No notice was taken of his maudlin ramhlings then ; but the police would like to he able to find him now. Whatever the true explanation of how she met her death, the person who buried her in the rabbit burrow must have acted with extraordinary speed, as Joan left the table soon after 1 p.m. while the others were at dinner, and was inquired for at 1.30 p.m., by which time no trace of her was to be found. Sensational evidence is anticipated at the mauest on January 10, by which time tiie police expect to have their case fully prepared.