MAN KILLED AT WANGANUI.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 296, 14 December 1931, Page 7

MAN KILLED AT WANGANUI.

Wife Arrested This Morning on Charge of Murder. VICTIM RUSHED FROM HOUSE. Per Press Association. WANGANUI, December 14. AT TEN O’CLOCK last night, Alfred George Donaldson, a carpenter by trade, rushed out of his home at No. 10, Dublin Street, calling for a doctor. He collapsed on the front lawn, and died shortly afterwards from loss of blood caused by a deep wound low down on the left shoulder, which had severed the jugular vein.

A long, iron-handled bread knife was discovered near the scene.

This morning, the dead man’s wife, Elizabeth Donaldson, was charged with- the murder and remanded until December 23. The inquest was adjourned sine die.

Mr B. Brewer, living upstairs in a flat next door, stated that he heard a woman rush from the house followed by a man, calling for a doctor. Brewer rushed to the scene and found the man covered in blood. Brewer called for someone to get a doctor and then ran to St John’s police station. The constable was not in, but his wife rang up the Central Police Station and two constables were soon on the spot. When Brewer got back to the house, he found a doctor attending to the patient. A towel had been wrapped round the man and the doctor was looking at the man’s chest. When the towel was taken away, it could be plainly seen that there was a deep and sharp wound running right across the jugular vein. The bleeding had been very profuse. Describing the wound, Mr Brewer said that it was about an inch and a-half long and had evidently been done with a very sharp instrument. Dr Reid was called to the scene, but the man was dead. The body was taken to the morgue. Before her marriage to Donaldson, Elizabeth Donaldson was married to a man named Walker. There was one son of that marriage, Walter Walker, said to be about sixteen, who had been living at the home until recently. A relative, Amelia Kerr, also lived in the house.

A tradesman states that he knew that the parties had numerous quarrels. One evening recently Mrs Donaldson called at his home with her clothing badly torn. She said that she had quarrelled with her husband and intimated that she intended to leave him after Christmas.

NO SIGN OF STRUGGLE.

(Special to the “ Star.”) WANGANUI, December 14,

A search of the house showed that everything was in perfect order within, and there had been no signs of a struggle. A large bread knife, fairly sharp, was handed to the police. The house was comfortably furnished. On the table crockery had been set for supper for three, but the meal had not been eaten.

Three persons were in the home at the time, Donaldson, Mrs Donaldson and Mrs Amelia Kerr, stepmother of the accused.

Mrs Donaldson had been previously married to a man named Walker, now deceased. There was one son of that marriage, Walter Walker, who until recently had been living at home. Mrs Donaldson is about thirty-five years of age. Donaldson was a middleaged man. He came originally from the West Coast and had worked for Wanganui builders for the past twelve years. He was what might be termed an expert labourer on building work. He is spoken of highly by his late employers. Recently, on account of building work being slack, he had been engaged on relief works. Previously, the parties lived in flats in the locality, but about six months ago they moved into the house which was the scene of the tragedy. After the tragedy, Mrs Donaldson rushed up to a neighbour in the street calling for help. Further inquiries show that Donaldson arrived home only a few minutes before the tragedy. He had been out spending the evening with a friend. No doubt this accounted for the table being set for supper. His wife and her stepmother had apparently been waiting for his return before partaking of supper. : a m a is ® in m ® ® ® n si si ® ® ® ® be ® ®