MURDER CHARGE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 155, 3 July 1934, Page 3

MURDER CHARGE

MAN SHOT IN CHAIR VANISHED FORTUNE SECRET PAYMENTS OF MONEY New South Wales has had more than its share of murder eases in recent years but the somewhat unusual features associated with the In test crime—the shooting of John Ryan, an aged farmer, at Barry, near Blay noy. about 170 miles from Sydney—place it in a class by itself. Mr. Ryan had lived in the district for years and it was always asserted ihat’he was a very wealthy man. even though he did not live as one. He sheltered in a rude hut, and had lived there alone for years. When he was sick he was nursed by a woman who may or may not have been a relative. One of Mr. Ryan’s grandsons, aged about 20, who lives at his father’s farm about five miles away, called at the hut to see his grandfather on the morning of June 8. On opening the day he saw him sitting up dead. At. first he believed that his grandfather had died from natural causes, in view of his age, but on closer investigation he saw that the left side of his clothing was soaked in blood, which had clotted and was partly dry. The young man ran out of the hut and hurried to his father’s farm and to that of his uncle. The dead man’s relatives rushed to the hut. No Sign of a Struggle. Tt was thought at first that it was a case of suicide, but a careful search bv the police for a weapon, either in the hut or near by, was without result. More police were summoned and a search of the surrounding country and hush was made for any trace of the weapon or tracks. . A doctor’s examination revealed that Mr. Ryan had been 'lead for several hours. His death had probably taken place on the previous night, but there was no sign of a struggle. The deceased was sitting in his chair in a peaceful The window of the room was closed, but the door had been J unlatched when the grandson had entered. Mr. Ryan was not facing the door, and it was assumed by the police that he had been shot dead by someone who had actually been inside rhe room. There were no marks of gun-pnwder on his clothing, ami it was therefore assumed that he did not shoot himself. The bullet had passed through his heart. Surprising Discoveries ’■ ft was thought that Mr- Ryan had been engaged in conversation with his murderer when he was shot dead. He had been sitting in his chair, and as death wa.« instantaneous ho lid not move from his position. The nearest house was about a quarter of a mile away, and. as far as the police could ascertain, no one hoard sounds of a quarrel, nor did they hear the sound of a shot. In the hope of finding a motive for the crime, the police commenced an investigation of Mr. Ryan’s affairs, and •were amazed at. what they discovered. If Air. Ryan was not as wealthy as was generally thought the police were gatisl fied that at one time, many years ago, I lie was one of the wealthiest men in I Ihfitafitate. The most extraordinary ref '•b ion was that ’ for 20 ? ears ’ he ? a,i I secretly and unceasingly paying. ■ oath bv month, sums of money that I

ultimately ran into thousands of pounds. Blackmail, or some other form of extortion, seems ti be written on ,-verv page of bis books. Gradually this invisible power absorbed his fortune, his land, his buildings and his money, until having become penniless, the viei,n was shot dead, ami his secret buried with him. Strange Transactions. The police say that Mr. Ryan's assets •0 years ago represented over £40.000. Ten years later they had dwindled to £.30,000, and so the shrinkage of bis rnonev continued year by year. Although many large sums of money, the proceeds from tin- sale oi land and stock were banked from time to time, they could not stop the secret leakage. Another puzzling feature of Mr. Ryan’s affairs was the strange manner of disposing of some ol his property. There are instances where land was transferred to some persons—very often unknown in the district throng i « solicitor. Then, through some other agency, this land was transferred at a not het person, equally unknown, and finally it passed ;o its ultimate, owner. In many of thees queer transactions the money equivalent of the propertv cannot be found in the banking records. The police say they believe that whoever . benefited from these strange transactions had something to do with the murder. It must have been realised that Mr. Rvan had reached a point when all his money had gone. To maintain the secret distribution he would have had to sell the onlv bit of property he had left. If he had done that, the police point t be suspicion- of his relatives might haw been aroused, for up to the time of his death they believed that Rvan was very wealthy. H-e possibly foresaw what was going to happen to his estate, for he had already distributed one large farm in the district among his children. Carefully Planned Crime. The Sydnev Morning Herald recently .-aid that it now seemed certain that Mr. Rvan was shot at short range as he sat dozing in the chair before a fire, possibly by someone he knew intimately. AH the evidence suggested that the eiime was carefully planned and carried out in cold blood. Although many hours elapsed between the shooting of Mr. Ryan and the finding of his body, the. police believe that he was killed some time between seven and nine o dock nt night. A post-mortem examination of the body has proved that he could not have been shot and his body placed in the chair in which it was found. Either he was asleep when the person who killed him reached the hut or he knew that person so well that he was content to go to sleep in his or her presence- When found, the body was in a comfortable and natural attitude facing the fire, and the nature of the wound showed chat the murderer must have stood over the old man and fired down at him. The detectives were still facing a formi J,] task in tracing Mr. Ryan’s commercial transactions during the last fen years. Last week they traveller, hundreds of miles to interview people in firn district who. they thought, may be able to assist them. The gradual dissipation of Mr. Ryan’s fortune may have been due in part to losses on stock and propeiti deals, but the police say they believe that he also made mysterious payments which he endeavoured to keep secret. They have taken possession of the butts of scores of cheque books which were found in the hut. The de tectives also obtained a statement from a woman. A cablegram published recently stated that Charlotte Fowler, aged 58. a married woman, had been arrested on a charge of committing the crime.