West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Thursday 13 November 1913, page 8


THE MURCHISON TRAGEDY. "JIMMY" CARLOS ACQUITTED. The Acting-Chief Justice and a jury concluded the hearing yesterday of the charge of wilful murder against "Jimmy" Carlos, a Cingalese, who was alleged to have poisoned Percy Howard Tomkiss, a fellow-employee at Milly Milly Station, in the Murchison district. No evidence was called for the defence. In his address on behalf of the prisoner, Mr. D. Hearder submitted that the Crown had not been able to trace the whisky bottle, containing the poison. to Carlos' possession, and there was no evidence that the bottle had been anywhere outside the Government laboratory. The Crown had been foiled by its principal witness, the black gin, who was, supposed to have seen Carlos take the whisky bottle into his tent. With that intelligence which the Crown Prosecutor had previously referred to, the woman said it was the gin bottle which accused had in his possession. and not the whisky bottle. Having been disappointed in this witness, the Crown fell back on empty station gossip. It was quite likely that the bottle had contained skin-paint, and whisky was poured into it in mistake, or that deceased died from ptomaine poisoning, and the presence of arsenic was explained by the fact that he had been skin-painting, and some of the poison got into a scratch on his hand. In summing up, his Honour said that a case of poisoning must necessarily depend upon circumstantial evidence. but circumstantial evidence was very often better than direct evidence. In this case the evidence should be conidered with very great care, seeing that a suspicion of poisoning was calculated to disturb that even, unprejudiced state of mind which wasnecessary to enable men to form a reasoned judgment. It was difficult to avoid the conclusion that the cause of death was arsenical poisoning. To prove, however, that Carlos had put the poison into the whisky bottle was a very difficult task. and it might seem strange to the jury that any man could openly boast of an intention to commit a murder, as accused, according to one witness. had done. It must be borne in mind that accused had no freer access to the poison in the sheds than anybody else. great as his opportunities The jury, after a quarter of an hour's retirement. returned a verdict of not guilty, and the accused was discharged.