MURDER ALLEGED

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21677, 11 June 1940, Page 6

MURDER ALLEGED

The Waikino Tragedy Accused Before The Court Evidence For The Crown By Telegraph— Press Association WAIHI. June 10. Arrested at Waihi at the beginning of May in connection with the Waikino tragedy on the night of April 2, Douglas Herbert Cartman, single, aged 22. previously employed as a trucker in the Martha gold mine and who had been several times remanded, appeared before Mr W. H. Freeman. S.M., in the Waihi Magistrate’s Court this morning, charged with the murder at Waikino, on April 2. of Mrs Elizabeth Agnes Hamilton, aged 27, whose body was found next morning in the scrub by , the wayside on the Waikino-Waite-wheta road, three miles away from that of Lloyd Moran, aged 15. son of i the then proprietor of the Waikino Hotel. Mr J. J. Moran, now of Auck- | land. Young Moran and Mrs Hamilton. | who was a cook employed by his I father, had gone for a stroll on the ' evening before the tragedy. The, arrest was made by DetectiveSergeants J. Thompson and J. Walsh. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr V. R. Meredith i with him Mr N. I. Smith, is conducting the case for the prosecution. and Mr F. McCarthy, of Auckland. is appearing for the accused. Twenty-eight witnesses have been subpoenaed and it is expected that the hearing will last at least two full days. I Surveyor’s Evidence The first witness was Stanley Eric I Anderson, a Public Works Department | engineer at Paeroa, who surveyed the | Paeroa-Waihi highway from 15 chains on the Paeroa side of the Waikino Hotel. He detailed measurements taken including one of 150 feet where a car tyre track left the roadway to where it rejoined the road. Two skidmarks. one of 77ft and another of 21ft. ' were observed, together with a mark six feet in length beginning at the end of the former mark. Other marks appeared to have been made, he said by an object having been dragged over consolidated clay. Witness also produced plans showing where both bodies were found and i detailed the position of numerous i bloodstains in the vicinity of where; the boy was found at a point 16 feet ! below the road, from whence blood-1 stains led. He added that Sergeant T. Dunn had .shown where a tyre lever and part of a woman’s clothing had been found near Mrs Hamilton’s body. Photographs of Localities Constable Arthur Albert Gudsell, of Hamilton, produced photographs of the two bodies and of the principal localities mentioned in the previous witness's evidence. Constable Victor Naylor, of Auckland. produced further photographs relating to the site of a motor-car accident near the Waikino Hotel and of the accused’s house and garage in Walmsley Road. Waihi. A skirt, found ! in the gully in Willow’s Road, and a j shoe in the scrub at the back of the 1 accused’s house, were subjects of other photographs. Olwyn Mary Shaw, a waitress at the Waikino Hotel, said that Mrs Hamilton, on the evening of the fatality wore a smock over her costume and jumper, canvas shoes and no stockings. A few minutes later she came to witness’s room wearing the same clothes except that a green cardigan had replaced the smock. As the witness was not ready to go home. Mrs Hamilton ' remarked that she would go for a walk i with Lloyd Moran and then went j downstairs. Several articles of clothing ! were identified by witness as having I been worn by Mrs Hamilton on April | Marie Elizabeth Owen Phillip, a domestic, said that on the evening of the tragedy she saw Mrs H Alton and Lloyd Moran leave the hotel, cross the road and walk in the direction of the Owharoa bridge. The night was fine but dark. Catherine Mary Watt, of Waikino. said that shortly before 8 o’clock on the night of the tragedy she heard and saw a motor vehicle with only one light burning approaching from Waikino on the Waitawhetu road. The car continued on towards aihi without stopping. Never Returned From Walk John Joseph Moran, father of the deceased boy and now licensee of the Ellerslie Hotel. Auckland, said that Mrs Hamilton had been employed at the Waikino Hotel for three years before her death. Since her husband went into camp she had been living at the hotel. Shortly after 7 p.m. Mrs Hamilton asked him to permit Lloyd to go for a walk with her. Lloyd failed to return home and about 1 a.m. witness decided to make a search. He was accompanied by his wife and daughters and later made a further search in his car. but was unable to locate either Mrs Hamilton or his son. Witness said that Lloyd wore spectacles similar to the frame produced by the police in Court. Continuing the search early next morning, witness proceeded over the Owharoa bridge and found the body of his son. Witness also found a woman s wh: e shoe in an old quarry opposite where his son’s body lay. At this spot there was a good deal of blood. Woman’s Body Found Robert Archibald Lindsay and Trevor Charles Marshall, employees of the Ohinemuri County Council, Paeroa deposed to finding the body of Mrs Hamilton in the course of a bridge survey. The body was devoid of almost all clothing. Constable William Harper, of Waihi, said that with Sergeant T. G. Dunn he inspected the position of Lloyd Moran’s body. On the roadway above he noticed that a good deal of blood was spattered. The boy's body was fully clothed but was covered with blood and dirt. In addition to finding the lenses of a pair of spectacles he found 14 pieces of the headlamp glass of a motor car about 300 yards from the Waikino Hotel. Inspection of Car Detective H. F. Miller said that he | examined a 1929-30 open coupe Nash owned by the accused at the accused’s home at Waihi. He asked the accused if we could examine the car He had no objection and actually helped to remove the car from the garage. The right hand headlamp glass and bulb of the car were missing. When he pointed out the damage to the accused Cartman replied that it had been caused by a collision with another car at Auckland on March 22 last. On April 25 witness made a further examination of the accused’s car and under the right front spring platform found three small strands of a woman’s hair. Sergeant Dunn gave evidence con-

cerning the finding of Mrs Hamilton s body which he said was practically without clothing except for a green cardigan, a striped blouse and a pink slip which were rolled round her neck. Detailing the injuries to the body Sergeant Dunn said there were severe injuries to the head and left leg. A tyre lever covered with bloodstains was lying about six inches from the head of the body. Detective John Hayes, of Hamilton, gave evidence regarding the examination of the body carried out by Dr L. R. Hetherington, of Waihi. On May 1 he was present when the accused pointed out a certain spot in Willows Road, Waihi, and after daybreak witness and other searchers, after clearing the scrub at that spot, unearthed the missing skirt of Mrs Hamilton. Later the same day witness found a black leather shoe at the accused’s home identical in every ./ay with the shoes worn by Lloyd Moran on the night of the tragedy. The Court adjourned till to-morrow morning.