“MRS. BOOTH’S STATEMENT.
“Her statement of the event is very brief, and only adds to the strange surroundings of the case—Her husband and herself retired to rest on the Sunday night at their usual hour, she herself locking and bolting the door, as was her custom. She slept well, and was only awakened by a feeling of coldness close to her; she turned and looked at her husband, he was stiff and rigid, the features a waxen pallor and the eyes wide open, staring at her with a frightful horror in them. She sprang from the bed, she screamed, she screamed again; she remembers no more.
“THE SCENE OF THE CRIME.
“Sergeant Burrel was quickly on the scene, and made a careful inspection of the premises and the room itself. It did not require the opinions of a medical expert to convince the ordinary layman that death in this case was not self-inflicted. Apart from the absence of any motive for self-destruction, the blow was such as no man could possibly give to himself.
“The room, as has been stated, is on the second floor, and its one window is protected by upright iron bars five inches apart, indicating that some former tenant had used it as a nursery. There is only the one door to the room, and the chimney, which was carefully inspected, would not allow a passage through its registered grate to an animal larger than a cat. The window itself was found to be shut and fastened inside by the ordinary catch.
“The police are very reticent, but so far no arrest has been made. The inquest will be held to-morrow, when the medical evidence and more details may be disclosed. In the meantime the house is surrounded by crowds of the curious, particularly in the right-of-way in the rear of the premises, from which the window of the room can be seen.
“Great sympathy was expressed at Tattersall’s this morning by Mr. Booth’s fellow metallicians on the news of the sad event reaching the club. No member of the fraternity was more highly respected than the late Alexander Booth, and his death will be a great loss to Sydney sportsmen.”