Death of a Diamond Merchant.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXVII, Issue 5119, 11 June 1907, Page 1

Death of a Diamond Merchant.

[United Press Association]

[By Electric Telegraph—Copy right. J

MELBOURNE, Saturday.

Mr Barnett Bauer, a well-known diamond merchant, was discovered in his office in Modern Chambers, Collins street, last evoning, with his skull fractured in Several places. He died on removal to the Hospital Though there are no| signs of a struggle, he was evidently brutally murdered. The affair is a complete mystery. A friend who saw Bauer ten minutes before the body was discovered, found the door of his office locked. No one in the building heard any suspicious sounds. Snnday. Evidently robbery was the motive of the murder. Bauer was in the habit of carrying a bag containing thousands of pounds worth of precious stones and pearls and depositing them in a bank' overnight. The bag is missing. It is stated that it contained gems worth £2OOO to £3OOO. There are indications that he was struck down when weighing diamonds. The scales were on the office table, and his hat was pierced where the fatal blows were struck.

Bauer was a partner in the firm of Bauer, Shauraer and Bauer, importers of nnd dealers in precious stones, doing a very large business throughout Australasin, nnd owning a pearling fleet at Broome, Western Australia.