MARIE WEST MYSTERY DEEPENS WITH DISCOVERY OF DECOMPOSED BODY

Wanganui Chronicle, 7 October 1947, Page 5

MARIE WEST MYSTERY DEEPENS WITH DISCOVERY OF DECOMPOSED BODY

Police Investigations Round Scene, Of Discovery (Press Association) WELLINGTON, Oct. • Wide examination of that part of the town belt on Mount Victoria where the body of Marie Emily West was found on Sunday, the post-mortem examination and the opening of the inquest were the main features of today’s investigations into the girl’s death. Police investigations are under the control of Detective-In-spector . Bruce Young and Senior-Detective E. H. Compton.

“We are flat out on the ea.:e and are gathering in all the evidence we can and sifting it,” said Inspector Young. He declined 1o state whether anything of consequence was revealed by the wide search of the hillside area and preliminary investigations, particularly of the manner in which the body showed no signs of struggle.

At the inquest opened by the coroner, Mr. R. M. Morgan, the father of the dead girl, William George West, gave evidence that he had identified the body as that of his daughter. Identification had been possible by the general outline of the bodv and the formation of the teeth. 'Mr. West also identified the watch found on the body as one his daughter was wearing when she left home on the night of July 7.

The coroner said h e was satisfied the body wa s that of Marie West. The inquest was adjourned sine die. The discovery of the body on Sunday had evoked varied theories in the public mind as to the course of events between then and the girl's disappearance almost 13 weeks earlier. Withered branches thrown over the body cast a sinister aspect on the case. Had she been lying where she was found all that time? This is one of the questions most frequently asked. If foul play is the explanation of her fate, then it was obviously not for the purpose of theft. The watch was the only article of value she carried, and it was still on the body. The fawn camel-hair coat, brown cardigan and brown shoes Miss West was wearing when she left home could not be found in the vicinity of the body. FINDING OF BODY Investigations started immediately the police were notified by Mr. A. Hazelwood, of Vogel Street, of the finding of the body among scrub alongside the fence separating his property from the Town Belt on Mount Victoria.

The inquiries continued this morning, with a party of police clearing the area where the body was found, and taking samples of soil for subsequent analysis. A post-mortem was conducted this morning by Dr. J. O. Mercer, but his report is not expected to be available to the police for a day os so. Besides the examination of the body to determine the cause of death, chemical analysis of parts of the body will also play an important part In deciding how Miss West met her death.

Marie West disappeared just on ‘three months ago. on the night of July 7. When th e body was found yesterday it had decomposed, but not to the extent where it would be impossible to determine if she died from violence.

The disappearance of the girl, which aroused wide public interest throughout New Zealand, presented puzzling features from the start. When she left home on the night of Monday, July 6, she said she was going to meet a friend at Courtenay Place, only a short distance away. She never arrived to keep that appointment. One theory was that she had been struck and killed by a car and her body taken away and disposed of. Yet the discovery yesterday disclosed the body in a secluded spot, only about 100 yards from her parents' home, and only a few yards from Mr. Hazlewood's house. It appears to be the last place to which to carry a body, for the spot cannot be easily reached from any road in the vicinity. Preliminary police Investigations showed no signs of a struggle, particularly the manner in which the body was lying when found. Soon after the girl disappeared a man known only as "Joe" telephoned the Central Police Station and said that Marie West was alive and well.

When she disappeared she was wearing a fawn camelhair coat, blue pinafore frock, and a brown cardlgawith brown shoes. Yesterday the body was found, still dressed In the frock, but no coat was found either on or near the body.