ALLEGED MURDER.
CANTERBURY FARMER FINDS WIFE DEAD IN SCRUB
Per Press Association, Christchurch, October 18. News reached Christchurch police this morning that Mrs J. A. Lilley of Mayfield, was found dead under circumstances pointing to murder. She left home yesterday evening presumably to visit a neighbour. Her husband, who is a farmer, was absent. When he returned she was still away, and later he became alarmed and made a search and found his wife lying among scrub six chains from the house dead, with a ghastly wound on the head, and a sledge hammer lying beside the body, evidently used by the murderer. Lilley found no other person in neighbourhood. Early today superintendent detectives went out to Mayfield by motor car to investigate the circumstances of the tragedy. Lilley is a well known and respected farmer. He says he has no knowledge of any person likely to attack his wife. -Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, 18/10/1913.
THE LATEST NEWS.
NO WORD OF SUSPECT
POLICE SEARCHING DISTRICT.
MOTIVES UNKNOWN
.At 4 o'clock a telephone message was received from the "Guardian" reporter temporarily stationed at Mayfield to the effect that there was really no further news up to that time. From all appearances the Police, headed by the Superintendent and detectives, were searching the surrounding neighbourhood, paying special attention to the course of the Hinds River. No definite information could, however, be given, as the reporter with the party had been unable to get into touch with his colleague.
The police ideas of the motives of the suspected man — provided he committed the murders — are contradictory at this stage, as may be understood. One responsible officer holds that monetary transactions are at the bottom of the crime, but the detectives are inclined to hint at a more serious motive.
Mrs Lilley had four children, the eldest being a boy of eight years of age. This little chap was in charge of the house and his sister and two small brothers till Friday night, when he got alarmed and went to Montgomery's. He told the police that Biddle came to their house on Wednesday evening, and told his mother (Mrs Lilley) that Mrs Montgomery was unwell and wanted her at once. That was the last the children saw of their mother. -Ashburton Guardian 18/10/1913.
Brutal Murder.
Per Press Association
MAYFIELD OUTRAGE.
Ashburton, This day. Sergeant Emerson despatched two constables to Mayfield at 4 a.m., and when they went out to view the body they found evidence which pointed in an unmistakeable manner to a fiendish murder having having been committed, for the poor woman lay in a pool of blood with her head battered in and her clothing disarranged. The body was lying face downwards with the dress disarranged and the limbs expoed to the knees. The left arm was under her head, and the right arm bent with the fingers turned in. Her left boot was off and lying five feet away from the body. The right boot was half unlaced.
A small sledge hammer was found about three feet from her head with hair and blood on it. Her head was terribly mangled and the face covered with blood.
The body was lying in a paddock about 279 yards from Lilley's house. The spot where it was found is situated about two miles from Biddle's blacksmith shop, and, and two and a half miles from Mayfield Post Office and school. The hammer with which the murder was committed was soon identified as belonging to Alfred Biddle, blacksmith, who owns a forge half a mile from the village. The police discovered that Bidders simthy was locked up and that he had not been seen at his boarding house since Wednesday.
Consequently as the suspect smithy and Kennedy's place (where he was last seen on Thursday evening) were closely watched, the Detectives were not unduly surprised when Biddle emerged from the Hinds river bed, about 20 yards from Kennedy's at 8.45. Biddle was brought up to his smithy in a gig by the detectives at 10 a.m.
As he was in a wretched state, and wet through a change of under clothing was procured, and after the doctor had made a cursory examination of him, and had stated that he was allright except for weakness (possibly due to exposure), he was some stimulants and allowed a short rest in his bunk in the whare beside the smithy. Biddle was lodged in the Ashburton lockup at 2p.m. Biddle had been in the neighbourhood for the past four years He is about 20 years of age. Sergeant Emerson joined his two constables at the scene at 10.30, and careful enquiries showed that the last that had been seen of Biddle was at 4 o'clock on Thursday afternoon, when he had called upon Bernard Kennedy, a labourer, at a hut about one and a half miles from Mayfield, and towards the hills.
Biddle was then wet through, very white and shaking. He told Kennedy that he was was going to the hospital. He left soon after he arrived. The search was not without result, for traces of the missing man were found in the midst of an almost impenetrable tangle of high-grown gorse in the riverbed about 11 miles above Mayfield. It was plain that he had attempted to do away with himself, a bottle, which had recently contained "rough on rats" being found.
The neck of ths bottle had been broken off, and the contents swallowed, for the wretched man had vomited considerably. Tobacco had also been left about.
An hour later, Sergeant Emerson and a "Guardian" reporter met a party of local farm hands, one of whom had seen Biddle at 6.30 on Thursday evening and had spoken to him. Biddle was looking very sick and appeared to be returning in the direction of Mayfield then. This was the last seen of him. The search is to be resumed by a posse of police and residents to-morrow.
A formal inquest was opened by Mr V. G. Day, S.M., this afternoon and adjourned till Thursday morning at Ashburton.
ASHBURTON, Oct 19.
Biddle was arrested by Detective Sergeant Fahey, of Timaru and Detective Gibson of of Christchurch, at 8.45 this morning on a charge that on Wednesday evening last he did murder one Rose Anna Lilley. The suspected man was in a very weak condition and made no resistance.
Christchurch, This Day.
A pathetic story is connected with Lilleys four children. They were left alone in the house from Wednesday evening. The eldest, a boy, aged only eight, looked after himself and the others on Wednesday night. Thursday and Friday. He fed, washed and dressed them, also boiled feed for the pigs. The boy stated that on Wednesday night Biddle called and told Mrs Lilley that Mrs Montgomery, a neighbour, was ill. He had been sent to ask her to go over. She dressed and left the house in company with Biddle. -Inungahua Times, 20/10/1913.
MAYFIELD MURDERER SENTENCED TO DEATH.
SHALL BIDDLE BE EXECUTED?
STRANGE SUGGESTION: IMBECILE INCITED TO CRIME BY PRACTICAL JOKEISTS.
Alfred Mortram Biddle, charged with the murder of Rosanna Lilley at Mayfield on October 13, was tried at the Christchurch Supreme Court last week before his Honor, Mr. Justice Denniston.
The prosecution was conducted by Mr. Stringer, K.C., Crown Prosecutor, and Mr. M. Donnelly, instructed by the Crown, defended.
The circumstances of the murder, it will be remembered, are that Rosanna Lilley, a strong, healthy woman, the wife of John Lilley, a farmmg contractor at Mayfield, was decoyed away from her home at 10 o'clock on the night of Wednesday, October 13, whilst her husband was away from home. Returning home on the Friday John Lilley, after searching for his wife, eventually found her body in a paddock about 100 yards from the house. An investigation showed that the unfortunate woman had been
BATTERED TO DEATH with a blacksmith's hammer which lay near the body. There were also signs of a struggle and it was obvious that the murderer had been actuated by carnal intentions when he decoyed Mrs. Lilley from her home. The detectives had no difficulty in connecting the crime with the owner of the hammer and a bicycle, which latter was found near Lilley's house. Consequently a close watch was kept for Alfred Biddle, the local blacksmith, who had not been seen since half an hour before the crime was committed, at which time he was making in the direction of Lilley's house, having been told that Mr. Lilley was away from home. The eight-year-old son of Mrs. Lilley also supplied proof almost positive by saying that Biddle had come to the house on the night of the murder and left with Mrs. Lilley, after telling her that a neighbor was ill and wanted her. Biddle was arrested two miles from the scene of the murder by Detectives Fahey and Gibson, the day following that on which the matter had been reported to the police. When arrested, the suspected person, was in a state of collapse consequent on his having unsuccessfully attempted to
COMMIT SUICIDE by poisoning himeslf. On being charged with the murder, be made the following statement: —
I don't know what made me do it. I have been worried for a fortnight My legs and arms are very sore. On Wednesday night I went to Lilley's place to collect some money. Lilley was not at home. Mrs. Lilley was in the kitchen and she asked me "Who's there?" I said "Mr. Biddle," and I told her that Mrs. Bob Montgomery was ill, and wanted her to come over to her. She came with me through the paddock for about four chains. I then hit her on the head with the hammer, and as true as God is above me I did not do anything else to her. I hit her more than once. I can't say how many times. The hammer was my own. I had it with me to take the pins out of a plough which I took from Jimmy Toners.
Following the statement was the following addendum in Biddle's writing: All this is been read over to me and is true. — Alfred Biddle.
BIDDLE BEFORE JUDGE AND JURY. When he appeared m the Supreme Court last week the accused man was still suffering from the effects of the poison he took a month ago. He seemed to have completely lost the use of his lower limbs and had to be carried to the dock by two warders. His general appearance, was that of a half-witted person, and although he at times manifested a keen interest in the proceedings he frequently lapsed into a state of stupor. The Crown Prosecutor, in opening the case, outlined the details in connection with the murder. He pointed but that there could not possibly be any doubt about Biddle having killed Mrs. Lilley, although determination as to whether he was guilty of murder would depend on legal considerations that might be set up by the defence. The
ONLY POSSIBLE DEFENCE was that Biddle was mentally irresponsible for his act and the onus of this rested entirely on the accused himself. The jury had to consider whether Biddle was so diseased in his mind as to be altogether incapable of realising the nature of the act he committed. According to the evidence it was palpable that the accused was not obsessed by any such disability, because the killing of Mrs. Lilley was evidently the outcome of a plan which had been deliberately laid and as deliberately carried out. It showed unquestionably that he was quite capable of reasoning and that he did so. Biddle's motive in inviting Mrs. Lilley out on the night of the tragedy was plain. The man had understood and taken advantage of his knowledge that Mr. Lilley was away from home and that it would
NEED AN INGENIOUS and clever excuse for him to induce Mrs. Lilley to leave her home late at night with him — a complete stranger. Whatever actually happened when Mrs. Lilley and the accused reached the paddock was known only to Biddle. But what probably happened was that be endeavoured to force Mrs. Lilley to yield to him. Mrs. Lilley, however, was a strong woman and probably a physical match for Biddle if he was unarmed. She evidently fought with him, and he, finding that he could not overcome her resistance, and having the hammer in his pocket — perhaps without previous intention —used it. He struck her once with it and then had lost his head and struck her several times. Then, realising the enormity of what he had done, he rushed off to the riverbed and having secured a bottle of poison tried to take his own life. These acts were those of
ANY REASONABLE MAN. Rage in itself was a sort of brief madness, but not madness of the order which the jury had to deal with.
The evidence advanced in support of the charge was similar in detail to that taken at the inquest and lower court trial and reports of which have appeared in "Truth." Mr. Donnelly, in opening the defence, submitted that the accused was not aware of the nature and quality of the act he had committed. Directly after the assault Biddle had endeavored to take his own life and it would be shown in the defence that both on the paternal and maternal side of Biddle's family there was a strong hereditary disposition towards insanity. Also, Biddle had been the victim of
A SECRET VICE which lowered the vital resources and sapped the brain power, leading to a particular form of insanity. The jury were asked to believe that the assault on Mrs. Lilley and Biddle's subsequent attempted suicide were the result of insanity.
Henry Biddle; father of the accused, was the first witness called for the defence. He stated that his mother's brother died in Winslow Green Mental Asylum after having been confined there for 40 years. His wife's, brother poisoned himself in Wellington and died in hospital as the result.
Cross-examined by the Crown Prosecutory witness stated chat the accused had attended the Mitcheltown School at Wellington. When his mother died he was in the fourth standard and then left school and went to sea for two years in the Ngaru. Biddle was now 25 years of age, and witness had seen him only once in the last eight years. Accused, who was one of eleven children, was the only one possessed of a dull and quiet disposition. He was not eccentric and showed no need for control.
MEDICAL OPINION. Dr. Symes gave evidence. He said he had, in company with Dr. Newell, gaol surgeon at Lytteton, examined the accused on two recent occasions. He (accused) was suffering from arsenical poisoning and it was evident that he must have taken a large dose. Accused also bore evidence of being addicted to secret vice which often culminated in insanity. Witness was sure the accused was not insane although it was evident that he belonged to a "morally feeble-minded class." The result of investigations into family history three generations back tended to show that there was other physical or mental degeneracy on both sides of the family.
His Honor: But you know the legal I definition of insanity. You do not suggest that he comes within that?
Witness: No.
His Honor: Then the only value of this evidence is for other purposes. There is
NOTHING TO GO TO A JURY, although it might be taken into consideration afterwards. Our law does not allow of these speculations, it is laid down on definite lines and Dr. Symes says the accused is sane in the eyes of the law. It really puts Dr. Symes in the painful position of saying there is no legal defence.
Continuing, Dr. Symes said that Biddle was an under-sized man. He weighed only 139lb and had a chest expansion of not more than 32 1/2 inches. The brain was approximately one-thirteenth smaller than a normal brain.
His Honor mentioned that there were various qualities of brain and different thicknesses of skull. Resuming again, the witness said that with the exception of a narrow forehead, Biddle's head was well shaped. He answered questions slowly and with hesitation, but nevertheless hesitatingly. His memory was slightly defective and his high vaulted, palate was
A SIGN OF DEGENERACY. He was without doubt untruthful and had led a solitary life, averse from society. An uncontrollable tendency to acts of violence was a characteristic feature of his mental disorder incidental to secret vice. Witness attributed the crime to the accused's combination of feeble-mindedness and secret vice. At the moment of the murder the accused was probably unconscious of the nature of his act, although this did not apply to the period of premeditation before the first blow was struck. In many cases evidence showed that moral consciousness was suspended during the commission of sexual crimes or violent acts. At the moment Biddle struck Mrs. Lilley he did not know the nature and quality of the act and would not at the time know right from wrong. The peremptory thwarting of the sexual impulse would obliterate consciousness by producing
A NERVE STORM. Replying to the Crown Prosecutor, witness, said that up to the moment of the murder the accused was undoubtedly a rational being. The woman's strenuous resistance of an attempted outrage had resulted in temporary unconsciousness. Realising the legal definition of insanity in the code witness considered Biddle was legally responsible for his actions. This closed the case for the defence. The respective counsel addressed the jury on lines similar to those advanced at their openings.
His Honor, in summing up, stressed the seriousness of the Jury's duty. The latter, however, were relieved of the burden of determining whether there was a murder and whether Biddle had committed it. The facts were undoubted and the only question that faced the jury was as to whether they had been convinced that the accused was irresponsible for his actions. If the accused was capable of knowing the nature and quality of his act and that it was wrong, then he was
SANE IN LAW, despite any medical theories that might be put forward. The jury, if of the opinion that the man did not know right from wrong when he committed the act, should acquit him. If, on the other hand, they believed otherwise they would convict. It would certainly be a dangerous thing to hold that purposeful acts could be overcome by the theory of a brain wave causing unconsciousness. The jury, after a retirement of 15 minutes, returned with a verdict that the accused was
GUILTY OF WILFUL MURDER. Biddle, who had manifested a keen, but quiet interest in the proceedings and the jury's finding, was raised to his feet by two warders.
He shook his head and replied "No" when he was asked if he had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon him.
His Honor addressed the prisoner. He said quietly and not without emotion. "You have been convicted of a murder as to the character of which I do not wish to sny anything. All I have to do is to pass on you the only sentence the law permits for a crime of this sort."
Assuming the black cap His Honor pronounced sentence. "Alfred Mortram Biddle," he said, "you will be taken to the place of execution and there hanged by the neck until you are dead."
The condemned man received the sentence in silence. His jaw dropped and he sagged at the knees. Warders carried him to his cell.
WILL BIDDLE BE EXECUTED? in face of the evidence, together with Biddle's signed statement, it would be nothing short of ridiculous to say that Biddle did not kill Mrs. Lilley. Neither can it be denied that the murder was a particularly heinous and cold blooded one, for the commission of which the law requires the perpetrator to pay the extreme penalty. But it is held by many that Biddle should not be sent to the gallos until the question of his sanity is more conclusively proven. The defence proved that there had been insanity on both the paternal and maternal sides of Biddle's family, and Biddle's father stated in evidence that his son was in the fourth standard when he left school to go to sea. He was at sea for two years. That was eight years ago and shows that Biddle must have been only in the fourth standard when he was sixteen years of age, which fact alone is proof of the man's weak mental abilities even at that age. The father had not seen his son for eight years, so could give no evidence as to whether he had made mental progress in that time. "Truth" does not know if the defence made any extensive inquiries
AMONG MAYFIELD RESIDENTS concerning Biddle's apparent mental condition during the recent years he lived in that township. If the defence called to make any inquiries in that direction it is hardly likely that the prosecution would endeavor to do so. It is submitted that if evidence of this nature had been sought in Mayfield, it would have been forthcoming, and its influence on the Jury would probably have outweighed the evidence of the one medical man whose examination of Biddle was made after the latter's realisation of the enormity of his crime had probably produced a mental reaction on his brain in just the same way as a sudden shock sometimes sobers a drunken man and has been known to restore speech to the dumb, eyesight to the blind and the sense of hearing to the deaf.
Should the death sentence be carried out, "Truth" is given to understand that there is a small section of the Mayfleld community whose consciences will be
TINGLINGLY TORMENT THEM for years to come. On reliable authority it is stated that Biddle was "the village idiot" at Mayfield, and that he was consequently the butt of all practical jokers. It is said, and it certainly justifies proving, before the Supreme Court's sentence is effected, that the "young bloods" of the neighborhood everlastingly teased him about different Mayfield women. The practical jokers have the reputation of having frequently sent Biddle letters purporting to be written and signed by these ladies. More than once, in fact, "meets" were arranged and the "joke" was carried so far that one of the "jokers" dressed himself in the attire of the lady mentioned in the letter and met Biddle at the time and place appointed. Of course the "clique" were in the background and had
THE "LAUGH OF BIDDLE" while the alleged Mrs. .... disappeared. We do not doubt that the practical jokes were innocent enough and con of (sic) tragic culmination. Doubtless, however, the perpetrators of these jokes now view the result of their handiwork in a different light and in their country-bred fear of conscquences are afraid to come forward and state what they know. Probably if they were assured that their names would not be made public and that blame in connection with the killing of Mrs. Lilley would not be placed on them they would be only too willing to come to the front in an endeavor to save the life, at any rate, of the unfortunate and imbecilic butt of their foolish fun. In any case it it is only fair to the condemned man that this aspect of the case should be thoroughly aired before Alfred Mortram Biddle be dropped into eternity. -NZ Truth, 29/11/1913.
Biddle Pays the Penalty.
Hangman a Farmer.
(From "Truth's" Christchurch Rep)
At eight o'clock last Saturday morning in the Lyttelton Gaol, Alfred Mortram Biddle was dropped into eternity in vengeance of the murder of Rosanna Lilley at Mayfield on October 15.
During Biddle's respite of 26 days in the condemned cell at Lyttelton his only visitor, apart from the ministers of religion, was his father, who saw him shortly after he was sentenced to death.
During his incarceration at Lyttelton Biddle was quite reconciled to his ultimate and the night before the execution he went to sleep at 9.30. He awoke at 6.30 the next morning and intimated to the Rev. Rule that he was ready for the end and would "do his best" on the scaffold. On the scaffold, before the hemp was adjusted, Biddle muttered that he had something to say. The white cap was removed and he said quietly but resolutely, "I thank the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour."
The hangman was a farmer. He said he had volunteered to perform the task, not on account of any financial benefit he might derive thereby, but from a sense of public duty.
It is stated that a hangman's fee ordinarily is about £25 or £30. -NZ Truth, 20/12/1913.
DEATHS.
LILLEY — On December 23rd, 1931, at his residence, Mayfield. John Allen, dearly beloved husband of Sarah Ann Lilley; aged 55 years. No mourning by request. -Press, 24/12/1931.
FUNERAL NOTICES.
THE Funeral of the late John Allen Lilley will leave his late residence. Mayfield, on Friday, December 25th, 1931, at 2.30 p.m. for the Ruapuna Cemetery. -Press, 24/12/1931.
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