The Anatomy of Murder, page 35
Bayly then declared that the dog belonged to his neighbour, Mr. Wright. To the police he said he did not know who the man was, though afterwards he hinted that it must have been Wright.
The detectives made inquiries and satisfied themselves that it could not have been Wright, as he was able to prove he was at home at the hour in question. They could not discover the identity of the man, or indeed whether any man had been there at all.
Some days later Detective Allsopp commenced a more detailed and systematic search of the swamps and waterholes on Lakey’s and Bayly’s farms. They had been inspected already, but not in his opinion with sufficient care. These waterholes were full of soft black mud, covered with slime and water. The new method of search was to probe them inch by inch with spades and spears.
By that Monday afternoon the searchers had reached a hole some 140 yards from Bayly’s house, not far from where the cartwheels and sledge traces had been found. There a constable’s spear struck metal.
He reached down beneath the water and drew the object out. It proved to be the barrels of a double-barrelled shotgun, and was bright and free from rust. Close by in the same waterhole was the fore end of a shotgun. In another hole at a little distance was the stock of a pea-rifle.
The officers replaced these objects in the swamp, noting their positions. Then they brought Bayly down. When he saw the spot to which he was being taken, he showed considerable surprise. The detectives pulled out the articles one by one and asked Bayly if they were his. He replied that they were not, that he did not hide them and that he had no idea how they came to be there.
Search in the swamp continued, and later in the day the barrel of a pea-rifle was discovered. This fitted the stock previously found. The stock of the double-barrelled shotgun, however, was still missing, when owing to the dusk the officers had to knock off work.
That night a watch was put on the swamp lest an attempt to remove further hidden articles should be made.
About ten o’clock the two constables in charge saw Bayly leave his house and approach down the hill. They lay down silently and watched. They were satisfied that they could not be seen as they were dressed in dark clothes and were hidden in an old pit. Bayly came close to the swamp, then stopped and looked cautiously round in every direction. Then he moved silently on towards where the guns had been found.
When he reached the edge of the water the constables called out to him. Bayly looked round and said that it was all right and that he had seen them. This, however, the constables were satisfied was false. Bayly then returned to his house.
Next day the searchers came on the missing shotgun stock belonging to the double barrels already found. These discoveries now made up two complete weapons, a double-barrelled shotgun and a pea-rifle.
It will be remembered that a double-barrelled shotgun and a pea-rifle were missing from the Lakeys’ house. It was natural to suppose that these were the same. The police therefore examined the gun licences in question and found that they were.
The evidence which was slowly being amassed was pointing more and more definitely in one direction. But there was still nothing of certainty in it. Now, however, a fresh discovery was made, which though it scarcely provided sufficient proof for court, banished all doubts as to the author of the crime from the minds of the investigators. This discovery was made at headquarters and was an outstanding triumph for use of scientific methods in detection.
Sergeant Dinnie, of the Criminal Registration Department at Wellington, was a finger-print expert and an adept at photographic work of all kinds. He was sent to Auckland to examine the exhibits and see whether he could suggest any development from the use of his speciality. He thought he could, and determined to try some experiments.
First he took one of the pieces of timber from Lakey’s implement shed which had been pared or shaved, and of it made an enlarged photograph, using a magnification of eight and a half diameters. It showed fine ridges or scrapes due to irregularities in the edge of the knife. He cut the photo across in the centre at right angles to the direction of these ridges.
Then he took Bayly’s knife and made a similar enlargement of its edge. This had to be done in nine sections, and when the sections were joined it made a strip some four feet long. The edge showed irregularities of the same type as those on the wood.
An interesting operation followed. The sergeant placed the two photographs together so that that of the wood scrapes was applied to that of the edge of the knife. Slowly he moved the former along the latter. And then suddenly he was rewarded for his trouble. At one point ridges and furrows exactly coincided!
Further examination and photographs of wood and knife were made under a magnification of ten diameters. These were checked by Dr. Dennis Brown of Auckland University College. He also carried out independent tests of a similar kind and these fully confirmed Dinnie’s conclusions.
No doubt that Bayly had murdered Lakey now remained in the minds of the detectives, but the evidence against him was still far from complete. In the case of Lakey, failure to produce the body would make a charge of murder impossible, while there was no proof whatever that Bayly was concerned in Mrs. Lakey’s death. Further investigation was required.
Under these circumstances it was decided to search Bayly’s homestead once again. And this time discoveries were made which at last gave a clue to the ghastly truth and led to an overwhelming case being presented at the trial.
When examining Bayly’s cowshed some days before this, the detectives had noticed a shovel bearing some deposit that looked like ash. They asked Bayly what this was and he said he did not know. The officers then said they would take the shovel for examination. Bayly, however, objected on the ground that he required it to carry on his work. The officers agreed to leave it, but they scraped off the deposit and sent it to Auckland with their other exhibits. It had there been examined and was found to be bone ash, charcoal and burned sacking.
This was a fact heavy with dreadful suggestion. It brought to the detectives’ minds certain testimony they had received at the beginning of the inquiry, testimony which they now began to think had not been given sufficient attention. One item was detailed by a neighbouring farmer named Herbert, the second had been mentioned by many witnesses and indeed was within the observation of the detectives themselves.
Mr. Herbert had stated that towards dusk on the Sunday evening of the crime, he had looked across from his own farm to that of Bayly. From Bayly’s cowshed was pouring a great volume of smoke. He had never seen anything like it before, and so impressed was he that he called another man named Brooker, and they watched it together. At times they could scarcely see the shed for the smoke. Off and on Herbert looked at it until he went to bed some three-quarters of an hour later. During the whole of that period the smoke had continued to pour out.
The second item was that on the following day and for two or three days after, Bayly’s eyes were red and sore-looking, just as might have been expected had he been for any time in a smoky atmosphere.
The efforts of the officers were now concentrated on a new line of inquiry: a search for evidence of fires and burnings. It was not long before they found it.
On the ground not far from the cowshed they noticed the bottom half of a 40-gallon benzine drum. It had obviously been used as a stove, both because of its discoloration and because a square fire hole was cut out of the side. Asked to account for it, Bayly said he had cut the drum in two because it was old and useless and because he wanted the lower half to make a fire in. This fire was for the purpose of warming an iron, and he produced an old axe which showed signs of heat. He said that the upper half of the drum was in the orchard. The detectives took charge of both halves.
It was obvious that Bayly had cut the drum in two recently, for among the original statements which had been made was one concerning it. Different neighbours had mentioned that Bayly had a large copper which he used for boiling water for cleaning and scalding pigs. This until lately had been supported by means of steel slips on the drum. All testified to the fierce heat which could be generated in the contrivance.
The half drum was standing bottom upwards, and the searchers turned it over. On the bottom was a deposit of ash which looked identical with that found on the shovel. This was collected and placed in envelopes. On the floor of the separator-room of the cowshed were suspicious-looking stains, and from these samples were also taken.
Beside the separator-room there was a vessel containing sheep dip. The officers asked if they might empty this vessel, but Bayly objected. “If you empty it,” he said, “you will have to take full responsibility if any of the cattle are poisoned.” The dip was accordingly left untouched for the time being.
A few minutes later another discovery was made. In a small paddock not far from the house were a number of bones. Bayly was asked what he did with these. “I smash them up and put them in the garden,” he answered. “Do you burn them?” the officers asked. Bayly said that he did not.
These investigations could have left no doubt in Bayly’s mind as to the direction the inquiry was now taking. The heavy pall of smoke which had hung over the cowshed on the night of the murder was no doubt in his mind as it was in the officers’, and it was evident that the cause of this smoke would be investigated with the utmost energy.
Whether or not these considerations weighed with Bayly is a matter of surmise. But he now took a step which immediately changed the character of the investigation, bringing matters at once to a head.
Bayly disappeared.
On the morning of December 1st the officers had occasion to call once again at his house, and it was then that they found he was missing. How in that district filled with police the man had been able to slip away, they didn’t know, but all they learnt was that he had been gone several hours before they became aware of the fact.
Mrs. Bayly was questioned and she produced a letter from her husband. It was dated for the previous day and read:
30/11/33.
MY DARLING PHYLLY,
Yesterday in Auckland I received definite information that the police were going to try and put the blame of Mrs. Lakey’s death and Lakey’s disappearance on to me. They have to vindicate themselves somehow—after the blunders they have been making in the search for Lakey, and think I will be the easiest one to catch. As you know, I was with you that night; but I do not intend to let them put their dirty tricks on me. I have picked out a nice spot to rest in, so love to you and the kids. The farm will bring you in a bit.
BILL
Then ensued a hue and cry! Immediately a warrant was issued for Bayly’s arrest, and police circles in the entire island hummed with excitement and activity.
Detective Allsopp was early able to prove that the letter had not been received through the post, but had been written by Bayly before leaving home. He found a pad of similar sheets of which the top one bore the impress of the writing. It seemed probable, therefore, that the letter had been intended for the police rather than the wife, and it was suggested that its object was to convey the idea that Bayly was about to commit suicide.
Whether Bayly had really intended to give the authorities the slip is, however, doubtful, for two days later the police were informed that he was with his solicitor, Mr. Lusk, in a house near Auckland. There they found him and there he was arrested. He was taken to Auckland and lodged in the Central Police Station.
In the meantime the search on his farm was prosecuted with greater intensity than ever. Now attention was turned to the ground itself. Detective Allsopp remembered that on his first arrival he had noticed that a certain area near the house had been freshly dug. As nothing had since been planted at the place, the motive of the digging seemed obscure. It was therefore decided to dig over the ground again to make sure that nothing had been buried.
The officers set to work. Scarcely, however, had they gone a yard when they made a discovery which they believed would at long last solve their problem.
Coming up with the earth were bits of charcoal, pieces of burnt bone and grass. It looked as if the bones and charcoal had been emptied on the grass and then been dug in. Immediately the men stopped their rough digging and began to remove the earth with meticulous care, sifting every particle before throwing it aside. Their trouble was rewarded.
Besides many fragments of bone, they came on a clip and stud from a pair of braces, several pieces of cloth, a number of small nails such as are used in bootmaking, and two artificial teeth. All these articles were more or less burnt.
The area of search was then extended. The ground around the cowshed was opened and more pieces of burnt bone were dug up. Burnt bone was also found in the grass in various places. In a toolshed part of the case of a watch bearing a number was come on, and among some old bolts were a few small screws and springs which the searchers thought had come from a cigarette lighter. Different parts of what appeared to be the same watch, damaged as if the watch had been cut in two, were unearthed from various places. The charred stem of a cherry-wood pipe was also found and it was similar to one known to have been in Lakey’s possession. From the grass of the orchard near the main house were picked up more burnt bones and rags, the toe-plate of a boot, part of a dental plate bearing a tooth, a trousers button, pieces of material such as is used for men’s underpants, and part of a pocket of a pair of trousers.
The vessel of sheep dip was emptied and at the bottom were found more burnt bones and charcoal, the case of a cigarette lighter, and a tuft of hair.
It will give some idea of the amazing comprehensiveness of the search when it is mentioned that several hundred pieces of bone were found, and of the meticulous care with which the work was carried out by instancing the discovery of such tiny objects as single artificial teeth in the rough grass of a paddock.
All this vast array of ‘exhibits’ was turned over to the scientists at Auckland, and their work was characterized by equal comprehensiveness and care. The bones were classified into (a) those which were too small to be identified, (b) those which might be human, but could not be proved to be so, and (c) those which were definitely human. Of the latter, pieces of ribs, vertebrae, skull, thigh bone, and others were identified. No less than fifty-five fragments had come from the skull alone.
An attempt was made to reconstruct the frame from which these bones had come. This could not be done in its entirety, but certain conclusions were drawn.
There was no absolute evidence that the deceased had been a man, but the size of the bones and the muscular attachments which were found indicated a strength and build which was probably male. There was, however, no definite proof that the remains were those of a person of middle age. The deduction from the tuft of hair was more convincing. It was found to be human hair, two and a half inches long, coarse, and of a greyish-brown colour. This was almost certainly male, and corresponded exactly to Lakey’s hair, both in colour and length.
An important point brought out by the scientists was that the bones had only lately been burnt. This was proved, not only by their freedom from dirt, but from the fact that some of them still bore charred flesh.
The finds other than human were also tested and certain extremely interesting conclusions were reached. Of these, perhaps, the most striking were in connexion with the cigarette-lighter and watch.
The small screws and springs picked out from among some old bolts were found to fit the lighter case taken from the vessel of sheep dip. The case was similar to Lakey’s. But there was more. In the case was a home-made wick consisting of wool. It will be remembered that when the original wick was used up, Lakey had put in a new wick from his wife’s work-basket. The wool in the lighter and that from Mrs. Lakey’s basket were compared and were found to be identical.
The watch which had been cut in two was also shown to be Lakey’s. Apart from its general appearance, its number was in the records of a Huntly watchmaker. He had sold it to Lakey. Moreover, the implement with which it had been cut in half was found. In Bayly’s shed was a pair of strong shears, on the blades of which were traces of two of the metals of which the watch was made.
The various buttons, clips, artificial teeth, pieces of cloth and of rubber which were found and examined need scarcely be enumerated. It is sufficient to say that all of these were consistent with the theory that it was Lakey’s body which had been burnt.
One very suggestive fact may however be mentioned. In or among the human remains were found no less than twenty-one grains of lead. Where had this come from? The detectives had little doubt. They believed it was from a bullet or bullets, and that its presence proved that Lakey had been shot. The assumption certainly worked in with their theory. If the deceased had been shot in his implement shed it would account for the quantity of blood on the wall and floor.
During the general inquiry a detailed investigation was made into the firearms and shells which had figured in the affair. These consisted of two shotguns and two pea-rifles in all, one of each type which were missing from Lakey’s and which were found in the swamp on Bayly’s farm, and the others which were in Bayly’s possession. There was also the empty pea-rifle shell which had dropped from the pocket of Bayly’s dungaree trousers.
Careful experiments by Dr. Dennis Brown and Sergeant Dinnie brought out a very convincing piece of evidence. They showed that this shell from Bayly’s pocket had been fired from Lakey’s pea-rifle. Dr. Brown fired seventeen shells from this rifle, and all of them had the same striker marking as the shell found on Bayly. Enlarged photographs, some to as much as sixty-eight diameters, demonstrated this clearly. However, to make the matter even more certain the police collected all the .22 calibre pea-rifles they could find in the district—no less than twenty-one. Shells were fired from all of these and in not one case did the striker mark resemble that of Lakey’s.
The police case by this time had grown extremely convincing, but there was one point in it about which a considerable amount of controversy arose. It was argued in certain quarters that the theory must be incorrect for the simple reason that it would be impossible to burn a human body as it was assumed had been done to Lakey’s. Authorities on the subject were consulted and were found—as is usually the case—to differ.
