THE WALKER MYSTERY.

Waikato Times, Volume 105, Issue 17611, 16 January 1929, Page 8

THE WALKER MYSTERY.

INQUEST RESUMED. YESTERDAY’S PROCEEDINGS. NOTHING WRONG WITH MOTOR. FINDING OF THE BODY. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, Tuesday. At the Walker inquest this morning, Roger Butler, a garage proprietor at Papatoetoe, said he took Bayly’s abandoned car to the garage. It had a good drop of petrol in the tank. The car was in good order and started at once. Saw a Strange Girl. Statements that he had seen a strange girl at Panmure on the morning of October 2 were made by David Baldwin, of Panmure. The officer in charge of the investigation of the mystery, Detective-Ser-geant Kelly, was then called to the witness box. Mr Meredith: Can you tell us when the Auckland office had news of the girl’s disappearance?—The first, intimation was a telephone call from Hamilton headquarters on the morning of October 3.

Mr Meredith: Was the information circulated? —As the regulations say, it was put out to all suburban stations. That would be on the 3rd. Independent of that, news was sent out from the Hamilton office to all stations in the Waikato.

Mr Meredith: When did you hear of the finding of the body?—On Friday, October 5. Were you there yourself?—No. I received a message from Constable Collins, of Panrnure, to the effect that there was the dead’ body of a woman at Mount Wellington. I told him to view it and under no circumstances to remove it until lie had reported on the condition it was found in. About 9.30 I received a message from Constable Collins notifying me of his investigations.

The Coroner: Tell us what they were.

Detective-Sergeant Kelly: He said the girl had apparently crawled in and that death was either due to suicide or it was accidental. .And that investigation was done in the dark with torches?—Yes. Mr Meredith: And what did you do? —I told him to remove the body. The Coroner: It should have remained there all night and someone should have guarded it. An examination should have been made in daylight. The Coroner: Why did you not think of telling the doctor of the marks on the clothes?—The reasonY did not tell the docLor was because the chief detective told me the doctor told him the girl had not been interfered with, and that he suspected poison. Witness said the car was careful tv examined for blood marks or signs of a scuffle therein, but there was not a sign. He picked up a large button on tile floor of the front of the car.

Mr Meredith produced the button, which was identified. The Coroner: Were there any fingerprints?—No. Coroner Did Not Get Report, Subsequently the witness arrived back in Auckland, and lie prepared a report for the coroner in duplicate. The Coroner: Why didn’t I get a copy? Witness: I don't know. I wrote it. Witness detailed the contents and said he was not sure at the time that the girl had driven the car herself. The Coroner: That is what I wanted to know. Where did you put it?—On the chief detective’s table for the purposes of the inquest next morning. The Coroner: "When making inquiries did you ring Mr Bayly?—Oh, yes, I rang him at his boarding house, about a ring from Hamilton, which was to the effect that Constable Jackson had a key of their car. I wanted to ascer-tain-how the police had got it. You wanted to know how the constable at Te Puke bad the key when you had seen a key in the car at the garage in Papatoetoe?—Yes.

But there was no mention of any other members of the Bayly family?— Not that I can remember. T6*-DAY’S PROCEEDINGS. DETECTIVE-SERGEANT'S EVIDENCE (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, Wednesday. Detective-Sergeant Kelly gave a detailed description of the police investigations. Inquiries were made on the different routes detectives and the police. All the lea shops were visited, also houses where the girl might have called after leaving Papamoa. Questioned by the Coroner witness said he was not in a position to state what was in the girl’s mind.

Witness went on to mention the clues followed, when the Coroner intervened, saying, "I’m not here for a police inquiry but to delve into the mystery of the dead. If we go into what clues you followed we’d be here for a month.” Witness said that on October 17 he went to the Papamoa and Te Puke districts, thoroughly combing them, but he could get no information about the car. The girl had never been seen in company with any young man, except once in company with her cousin Trevor and another man. “I found,” said Kelly, “that the girl had the reputation of being a nice, quiet, clean girl.” The movements of all the young men in the district were traced and all satisfactorily accounted for. Bill Bayly Interviewed. To Mr Northcroft witness said he interviewed William Alfred Bayly, who gave him freely a detailed statement of his movements. lie- saw Bill a couple of weeks later, having meanwhile made certain inquiries. He did not find much to support Bill’s statement. Mr Northcroft: What did you find to make you say so? The- Coroner here interposed with some -questions. The detective eventually admitted that he had verified certain statements of Bill’s

Mr Northcroft: When you examined him the second time you asked him again about some of liis movements on October I?—Yes.

And they were consistent with his former statements. Bill was well known in Papamoa and Te Puke. Witness: I was unable to lind anybody who had seen or heard of him in the district. It was not reasonably possible for him to travel into the district without being seen by someone. Witness attempted to verify Bill’s

movements from the housemaid at his Auckland boarding house. She had no distinct recollection, but thought she would have noticed if he had slept there on the night of October 1. Handing Over the Clothes. After detailing other steps to check up the statements by Bill Bayly that he was at the boarding house on October 1, the Coroner asked DetectiveSgt. Kelly: Can you explain why the clothes were not handed over to the bacteriologist earlier? Witness: I was at Papamoa. I did not actually hand them over. I went away on October 17. Mr Hunt: That's all right. I’ll find out before the inquiry is finished. The next witness was Reginald Charles McMasters, motor manager, who gave evidence of petrol consumption. The court adjourned for ten minutes while tlie Coroner, police officials, and counsel examined a model of a car identical to Bayly’s. On resuming, witness said to Mr Northcroft that it was possible for a person to strike his or her head on the bar which crosses the hood. William Alfred Bobbs, manager of a dairy farm at Henderson, said he had been there about a week when Bill and Mrs Bayly went out. He was not quite —. Mr Northcroft: Another man who can’t remember things!

Solicitor Visits Bill Bayly. Dobbs, continuing his evidence, said it was possible for anyone to come to the farm-house without anybody seeing him. While Bill was at the farm he had not mentioned being out on Monday, October 1. After Bayly s father and solicitor, Mr Lusk, had called on Sunday, October 7, Bill said he had got into serious trouble with this gentleman and he to go to Tauranga. Dobbs thought Bill’s wife went with him. Examined by Mr Northcroft Dobbs was emphatic that Mr Bayly snr. and Mr Lusk stayed nearly four hours with Bill. He remembered somebody going into the cowshed with Bill, but could not remember who it was. Mr Northcroft: Your memory isn’t too clear on the subject. Witness: I did not take particular notice because I was • not interested. The court adjourned to 2.15. Tile inquest is expected to conclude to-day. In the course of DetectiveSergeant Kelly’s evidence he said one of the blind clues was a statement by a man who declared that lie saw a stranger coming out of the paddock where the body was found on the afternoon of October 2, subsequent to the car being found abandoned. Dr Murray was recalled to give technical evidence about bruises on the body. Dr. Gilmour, pathologist, Auckland Hospital, was recalled and gave technical evidence. After considerable cross-examina-tion by Mr. Northcroft, the coroner asked: Can you tell me what you are leading us to? All I am concerned about is the deaths of the girl and not this scientific, talk. Mr Northcroft: If Your Worship is not capable of being enlightened by cross-examination I will desist. Mr. Hunt: Very well, then, desist. Dr. Gilmour denied that he had been interviewed by a weekly paper. (Proceeding.)