Mystery

New Guinea Murder Mystery

rE New Guinea police, assisted 'by Sydney detectives, appear to have made no further progress In their investigation of the murder of Miss Lily Jean Wilson, which took place in the house of her brother-in-law in Wau, early in the morning of Monday, June 23.

It is a mysterious, baffling crime, the circumstances of which were set out fully in the last issue of the “PIM”.

Circumstantial evidence has pointed strongly towards a native labourer named Taiki; but, although Taiki was held for a time by the police, he was subse quently released on the verdict of the Coroner—mostly for the reason that such evidence as there was against him was purely circumstantial, and there was not the slightest indication of a motive. It never has been proved, in the history of New Guinea, that a Euro pean woman has been attacked in this fashion, while asleep, by a native.

In our summary of the case, published in August, we said that there was no indication that Taiki had ever had any connection with the household of Mr.

Ray (Miss Wilson’s brother-in-law). But Taiki, on a number of occasions, was one of a party of native servants and labourers, who gambled, in a concrete room, under Mr. Ray’s house. There is also a suggestion that, on one or two occasions, Miss Wilson complained of the noise made bv these native gamblers, and ordered them away. There is no doubt that, early in the night when the crime was committed, Taiki was one of a party which consumed much intoxicat ing liquor: and the native with whom Taiki lived said in evidence that Taiki

woke him up at 6 a.m. on the morning after the crime—a most unusual occur rence, as he invariably had to awaken Taiki.

“Wau-ites in a Lynching Frame of Mind”

A Port Moresby resident, writing in August, said he had been in conversa tion recently with people from Wau, the scene of the mysterious murder of Miss Wilson. He said that many theories of the crime were discussed; and he proceeds:— “Rumour has it that Miss Wilson had punished the ‘monkey belong Manus boy’ by locking him up for some offence; and the Manus boy (Taiki), with a good skinful of cocktail and betel nut, may have decided to take his revenge in ‘fashion belong before’. How ever, nobody can prove the boy was at any particular place from the time that the party broke up until he started work next morning. The Wau people were in a lynching frame of mind; but. accord ing to one outspoken padre, the whole thing is directly to be blamed to the laxity of both the administration, and no less the white population, in handling the natives, as there have been quite a number of attempts on white women by native boys, which have gone unreported owing to fear of scandal.”

Mr. W. M. Caldwell, Assistant Com missioner of Inland Revenue in Fiji, retired in July. He joined the Civil Service as a junior clerk in 1903.

Mr. Ken. Macgregor returned to Wau, New Guinea, recently, to settle his per sonal affairs, having enlisted in the AIF.

His legal practice at Wau has been closed down “for the duration”.