A MURDER TWELVE OR FOURTEEN YEARS AGO.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 86, 22 August 1868, Page 3

A MURDER TWELVE OR FOURTEEN YEARS AGO.

„-*,&, — (From the Wagga Wagga Express, July 2.V) James Scully was, on Tuesday hint, brought up at the Police-court, on tho charge of murdering Robert Huzzdootto, at Cnddeli Creek, in tho yoar 1850, Tho pHtioner had beon brought up on two provlouß oooftflloim, and had been ronmndod, as all tho witnesses itgainßt him had to bo brought from Yafw nnd Murrowo, Ib appoaro that somo timo in tho yoar 1860, or In 1854 as ono of tho wltneisoo depoHcd, Bomo ilvo or moro men, amongst whom wero Hcully (tho prinonor) and nuzza« ootto (tho docoanod), woro drinking In a hut at Ouatlell, All prcaont woro moro or Ic«a drunk, and oomo wordu pnsaing between tho primmer and tho docenHod, Iho former took up a bottlo lu\\ of »pivitfl, and standing up, wtniolc tlio deGOiuod, who was sitting on a fltool. over tho head with it, The bottlo liroko, leaving tho jaggod neok in tho prisoner'fl hand, and with this ho mado another blow, a#aiu striking tho doccatiod on tho hoad, Tho ocaurrenco did not! seem to attract any very grout amount of notico amongst tho remainder of tho party, nnd, though tlio deccmoil Mod a good deal, ho would not let tho wlfo of ono of tho mon, who was in an adjoining room when tlio blows woro struck, nor ono of hl« own companions, wash tho wound, nnd tho whole party hood after retired to bod, leaving only ono man lying drunk on tho floor In tho but with iho ucccaHcd, In tho morning tho lattor was found loaning against a bunk dead, A report was Rent to tho head atittlon, and tho nuporintondent camo down, nnd seeing no blood about, and no wound on thohoadof iho docoaocd, or in fact any (races of foul play, uonoludod that ho died of suffocation, nnd without furthor ado tho body waa burled nour a spot whore there wcro novernl othor graves. One of tho witnentcfl statoi posU tlvoly that ho can show tho oxaot ilto of tho #ravo \ others allirm that they oould not. Homo depono that tho body was enclosed in a hard-wood coffln, wlillo othorrt ftttvto that Iho collln was mado of pino, Tho prisonor has been ngatn romandod for further oridonco, ono of tbo witnesses ngainst him, and who was prospnt wbon tho blown wcro struck, bolng a conflneo In Yaws Gaol. A writ of habeas corpus will bo issued for tbo production of thin man, and tho grave of Uuzzuoottc will, we preiiumo, bo idontlAcd if ponsiblo, and a careful>uroh bo thon instituted to dlfloovcr if upon tho skull o£ tho docoanod any traces of a fracture or out nro dlnocrnibto. But so many yoni'H liavo olapnod sinco tho burial of tho body time wo susnoot that thin Trill prove to bo a tank that will bo attended with coneMerftWo (JifflCttUy, Between the ttmo of tho dls» covcry of tho dead body of tho decoueod and tho arrival of tho euporlntondont from tlio head station, a fluffiolont length of

tlino' «lap.«od to allow o( the removal of all traces of blood from tho body, and from tho floor, on both of which, according to tho ovldoiico of the other witnesses, a good deal had been prctiously viiiblcj and a»it apposvrs that lh««upcrltilon<l<nt<li<l not examine the body very closely, tho abseneo of any suspicions on liU part an to the causo of (loath is easily accounted for. An attentlro examination of tho faottt of tho caw ns far as they havo yet been diidoftcd points to the conclusion that, in tho height of a drunken aprco, tho deceased received a flovoro wound on tho head with a bottlo, and that tho orgies soon after coming to an ond, tho parties to it ditpcraod and loft tho deceased, drunk alto hiinoolf, to blood to death without ercr believing thftt ho had been ecrlously injured. As tho Infllcion of the blown by tho bottlo was witnessed by sercral persons, thrcoor four of whom aro still living and woro present at tho burial of the deceased, and must havo known the canst of Ms death, it in Bomothlng wonderful that until very latoly no uusplelon of tho committal of a murder lms ever been breathed to tho authorities, and if after the lapse of twolve yctrs tho clmrflo In otlll brought home to tho A«<iu«ed, tho CAflo will long rank as ono of tho most extraordinary in tho whole annals of crime.