THE MURDER.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9676, 19 October 1909, Page 3

THE MURDER.

A MAN ARRESTED,

DENIES 'THE CRIME,

CONSTABLE'S SMART WORK. Arthur John Wilson Roberts, who denies that he murdered Alice Edith Newman last evening, has been arrested by Mounted Constable Evans at Prebbleton, and has been brought into the city in the police waggon this afternoon. . As soon as the police were informed of. the crime last night, immediate < measures were taken by Inspector Gillies to have ; all avenues of escape f ro>m the town patrolled, and a strong force of men was sent out td- all "the main roads and railway lines. By dawn there were between twenty and thirty men scouring a large tract of country, and one of the officials remarked significantly to a reporter that " he hadn t a hope/ The man was seen early in the morning, at about' six o'clock, by a man nefcr the town, and he said that he was off to Kaiapoi, asking the way. An , hour*and a half later he was seen near Islington by another man, and inquired the way down the south railway line. At noon he was at Prebbleton, where 'he was arrested, so that he must have . doubled on his tracks, besides throwing out false scents. Roberts was in possession of a six-chambered revolver fully loaded arrested, and was mounted on ' a new free-wheel bicycle. He denied all knowledge of the offence. • The police are somewhat reticent about the man's career, as fhey do not want to say anything prejudicial, but it was to-day elicited that Roberts is a young man about twenty-one years . of age, ( and that he arrived in the dominion from Scotland some twelve months ago. He is a native of Scotland, sft 9in in height, dark, With r *»Mid complexion, brown eyes, of thin and slightly bow-leggeid. ' Constable Evans, who had been sent • out last evening on his horse, -communicated with Inspector Gillies by telephfne at noon to say that -he had arrested a,man who answered the description of "Roberts, who had been suspected by the authorities. The constable asked for help, and added that he. was in a tight corner, as he had the man and his revolver to attend to, and also an escaped lunatic. The lunatic he had come across a few minutes earlier, while on the look-out for Roberts. The Inspector at -once sent Constables M'Cormaek and Dunlop out in a trap to help the mounted constable. A later telephone message stated that the party in charge of the man had set out for town. It is understood that he slept last evening at the Southern- .Cross Hotel, at the corner" of Park Road and Moorhouse Avenue. He was admitted by the proprietor shortly after ten o'clock, ana was let out in the morning about six by-th.& barman, then .inquiring the way to Rarigiota. Files of the "Star" show, that Roberts was arrested and charged on August 28 with being drunk arid having a loaded revolver in his possession. The man had drawn the revolver while in a quarrel at the Caversham corner, and as the Sub-inspector said that, he was hardly responsible f<*r his actions he was remanded for- a week for medical treatment. The gaol surgeon reported that Roberts was quite sane, and as he had sßent eight days in gaol he was, oh his second appearance, cischarced, and a prohibition order was issued^aftainst him. Roberts had been previously, arrested for drunkenness, and had then threatened to swallow a bottle of chlorodyne that he had in his possession. He is a. barman by trade- •

ROBERTS DENIES fIIS GUILT.

CONSTABLE EVANS'S STATEMENT. The constable who arrested. Roberts was seen at the" police station immediately on hi 3 return to the city, and he made the following statement :— "I went urSfr the Prebbleton Hotel about 11.30 this morning and saw Roberts at the bar writing a letter. I immediately went up and seized him, noticing that he tallied with the description of the man wanted. X found a revolver in his right hand coat pocket and took it away. I then searched the man and founds .on- his body tattoo marks and other signs that were identical with thbse'on Roberts. He denied;., point-blank that he was the murderer, and would make no statement' to me beyond that his name 'was Williams, and that he was on his way to Kaiapoi. He had written a letter which he tore in half, but -I secured it, and he then tried to throw the other letter away. This also I got. The letters contained statements to the effect that he wae sorry for the crime and other incriminating evidence. He asked me to teav the' letters up. A minute or two after I had secured the man I saw an escapee! lunatic coming up the^road, and I goi two. men to look after" im while I tool; charge of Roberts and rang up the Christchurch station for assistance. One of the letters said that Roberts could not live without the girl.' He evidently intended to do away with himself and was straightening affairs out. There were no signs of drink on theNman, and he did not say anything on tbe journey to Gbristchurchi except that I had got the wrong man. I brought him to the station in handcuffs. The proprietor of the hotel said that the man had had breakfast at the hotel some time before 7 a.m.'V \ Station-Sergeant Johnston said that the • man denied all knowledge of the • crime/ and that he was very despondent in the cell and was crying. . Roberts will be brought before a Magistrate tomorrow. Roberts was to have started work today with the contractor of the carriage of the mails between Kaiapoi and Waikuku.i and he borrowed his employer's bicycle last night and stated that he , wished to see his " young lady " to tel--1 her where he was working. He was to ; have returned to Kaiapoi this morning, i and two detectives went to his residi once there to wait for him. He did liai ■ return to Kaiapoi, bitt the police . brought to town all his property.