MAN MURDERED IN FACTORY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18045, 4 January 1927, Page 8

MAN MURDERED IN FACTORY.

DETECTIVES SUSPECT ROBBERY WAS MOTIVE (Special to the “Star.”) ADELAIDE, December 25. About 10.30 on Monday morning, Mr James Francis Flanagan, an elderly man employed at the Adelaide Boot Factory, Park Terrace. North Unlev, was found in a dining room attached to the factory with his head battered in. lie was alive when picked up, but died at the Adelaide Hospital shortly after 3 p.m. Robbery is suspected to be the motive of the crime. Mystery surrounds the whole occurrence. What supports the theory of robbery being the motive is that when Mr Flanagan went to work in the morning he had between £4O and £so^in his possession. There was no trace of this when he was picked up. Mr Flanagan, who lived with his wife and son at 286 Hindlev Street West, was employed at the factory of Messrs D. and W. Murray, as a handworker. The premises consist of two blocks of buildings separated by a lane running north and south. At the southern end of the eastern block is a room set apart for an employees' dining room and coat locker; and the lavatories are at the : southern end of the western block, which is used as a machine room. A Mysterious Call. Shortly after 10 a.m., Mr Flanagan was observed threading his way through the machines toward the lane, along which he" subsequently proceeded in the direction of the lavatories. As he passed two girls in a room in the eastern block on his return he said “Good-dav.” lie had not taken four paces when he was hailed, “Flanagan ! by somebody down the lane. That was the last seen of him until he was found injured. About 10.30, his foreman, realising that Mr Flanagan had been absent a long time, sent a messenger boy after him. The lad returned, after a second search, with the information that he had seen a man lying on the floor of the dining room in a pool of blood. The room was opened and Mr Flanagan was found lying between a table and a locker in which he kept his coat, with his skull fractured from the left temple to the back of the head, the main fracture being over the back of the left ear. He was taken to the Adelaide Hospital in an unconscious condition, and never rallied. An Ingenious Contrivance. There are some startling results to the inquiries of Detectives Trestrail and Melhuish, who are investigating the matter. Throughout the remainder of the day, members of the police force were busy interrogating the factory employees, for the theory is held that the murder was committed by some one who “ knew the run ” of the factory and who was aware that Mr Flanagan usually carried a considerable sum in his pocket. Several employees said they saw a large sum of money in his possession, and members of his family declare that he left home that morning with much money upon him. Work begins at 7.45 a.m., and at S o’clock the door of the dining room was locked. There are only two keys to this room, one in possession of the assistant manager (Mr E. W. Molloy) and the other held by the engineer; and their assistance to open the door had to be obtained. According to the girls spoken to by Mr Flanagan, the voice that hailed him came from the direction of the dining-room, and he went toward the door of that room. When the detectives examined the locks—there are two, a Yale and an or-

dinary box lock—they found two strings connected with the Yale lock, which, when pulled in conjunction with the box lock, prevented the Yale lock from latching. Although to all appearances the door was firmly secured, it could be easily opened without the use of the keys. The contrivance was ingenious, and quite new to members of the forefe here. From the position in which the bod}- was found, it would appear that Mr Flanagan was struck as he was bending over his locker. This supports the contention of the police that the murderer called his victim into the dining-room and suggested that he had better look into his locker. The only instrument found which could have been used was an iron-plated wood last, similar to those in the ma-chine-room; but this showed no traces of having been handled. It was found in an adjoining locker. The opinion is hazarded that the murderer used this last, covered with a cloth, which could then be easily placed in his coat pocket. The head injuries were similar to wounds which might have been inflicted with the last. Identification Difficult. Strange to say, no employees were observed near the dining-room about the time the affair happened, and the suggestion that a stranger committed the deed is discounted in official quarters. It is pointed out that had a stranger entered the factory by either of the entrances on Park Terrace he would have been noticed and immediately asked his business; while to gain entrance from the rear he would have had to scale a high gate, protected with barb wire. It is thought that anybody entering by this way would have been observed, and it is also pointed out that no person was left in the diningroom when it was locked. The employees of the firm are greatly distressed at the occurrence. Most of the male workers have been with the firm for periods ranging from fifteen to nearly forty-five years: and even manv of the girls have been at the factory for a considerable period. Mr Mollov, assistant manager, said that for this reason it was difficult to attach suspicion to any employee. A well liked Workman. Mr Flanagan, who was sixty-four years of age. was a well-known identitv in the west-end of Adelaide, where he was born. He was in the habit of carrying large sums of money with him, preferring that method to banking it. Me had been frequently warned by members of his family against his practice in this regard, which was well known throughout the west end. He had only been employed at North Unley a few months, having previously worked for G. and R. Wills and Company for more than thirty years, and subsequently with the Cameron Shoe Co., Limited, and Skitters, Limited.