MURDER SUSPECTED

Waikato Times, Volume 106, Issue 22606, 10 May 1945, Page 4

MURDER SUSPECTED

DISCOVERY AT FRANKTON BODY FOUND NEAR ROADSIDE With his head shockingly mutilated. the body of a young man was found in a lonely spot Frankton this morning. Indications are stated to point to foul play and it is considered by the police there is every probability of a murder charge following. The body has been identified as that of Mr Edward Herbert Clarke, single, aged 22, a trucker employed at the Glen Massey coal mine. The discovery of the body lying near the side of Dinsdale Road was made by an airman at 7.30 a.m. Dinsdale Road runs off the FranktonWhatawhata Road. The body was about 70 yards from the main road. Constable E. J. Jensen, of the Frankton police station, was first on the scene as a result of advice received from the airman. Investigations were soon instituted by a party led by Inspector D. J. O’Neill and including Detective-Sergeant W. R. Murray, Detective J. Hayes, Detective C. D. Taylor, Sergeant F. J. Bonnington and a number of constables. A working party began operations in the growth at the side of the road. Mr Clarke was staying with his brother during the victory celebrations. The body was examined by Dr A. G. Waddell before being removed to the morgue foi; a post-mortem examination. Police Inquiries Beneath a grey, overcast sky and in steady rain the police party pursued its inquiries. The body was found five yards from the side of the road, which is unmetalled, and was at the edge of a path leading to the entrance to a house occupied by Mr M. N. Richardson. This house is the first on the right in Dinsdale Road, a section of farming land separating it from the main Frankton-Whata-whata road. On the opposite side of Dinsdale Road there is a vacant area for some distance and there are no houses until some distance up a slope. It is there that the house and farm of the victim’s brother, Mr G. Clarke, are situated. It is understood that the victim of the alleged assault was making his way to his brother’s place when he met his fate.