The Star: April 13, 2017

The Star 3
News
Latest Christchurch news at www.
.kiwi
Thursday April 13 2017
Cold case’s final chapter
Woman laid
to rest nearly
a century
after murder
FORENSIC TESTING of bones
nearly a century after St Martins
woman Ellen Mouat was
murdered has meant she could
be laid to rest with her parents.
The 40-year-old woman,
known as Nellie, was murdered
by her husband Frederick Mouat
on February 20, 1925, in what
has been described as one of the
country’s most compelling cases.
He dismembered and burnt
her body. But police were never
able to confirm the remains
were hers, and many thought
Mrs Mouat was still alive.
Now more than 90 years later,
as part of the New Zealand
Police Museum’s repatriation
project, she has been buried
with her parents at Linwood
Cemetery after testing by Otago
University forensic anthropologists
confirmed the remains
were hers.
It was the museum’s 37th, and
final repatriation.
A special ceremony has been
held with police representatives
and Mrs Mouat’s family to bury
her.
Her parents’ headstone
in Linwood Cemetery was
•From page 1
Christchurch RSA president
Pete Dawson said the crosses
were a poignant reminder of
how many men and women
were killed.
“New Zealand had a population
of one million people in
damaged in the February 22,
2011, earthquake, so police had
it restored and added her name
to it.
Mrs Mouat went missing from
her Beckford St home on February
20, 1925. Mr Mouat also
disappeared. After a manhunt
he was found and charged with
her murder.
Detectives working on the
case found hundreds of crushed
and burned pieces of bone on
the Mouat’s property and made
1915 and of that, 10 per cent
went to fight in World War 1.
Of that 10 per cent, 18 per cent
did not return home.”
Anzac Day dawn service MC
Paul O’Connor MBE, said the
crosses showed the scale of what
really happened during World
COMPELLING: Police, along with family members,
at a ceremony to bury Ellen Mouat with her parents
at Linwood Cemetery. Mrs Mouat was murdered by
her husband Frederick in 1925, but police were never
able to confirm the remains were hers – until now.
Photo (left) from New Zealand Police Gazette, through Archives
New Zealand. ​
a case against him.
It was the first time police
had built a murder case against
someone without having a complete
body.
At the trial, medical experts
testified the bones would have
come from a woman of Mrs
Mouat’s stature.
But because it had not been
confirmed, Mr Mouat was only
convicted of manslaughter.
Police believe Detective John
Burt, who was working on the
War 1, and in each year it went
on for.
The dawn service will be held
at Cranmer Square on April 25
from 6am.
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Walter
Hugh Malcolm Ross GCVO
OBE DL will be a special guest
case, put Mrs Mouat’s remains in
the New Zealand Police Museum
after it was tried in 1926.
That’s where they stayed until
they were taken to
Otago University last year to be
tested.
In July, 2015, the New Zealand
Police Museum started a project
to repatriate the remains of
37 people that had been in
the museum’s care since the
1920s and 30s. It has now been
completed.
Parade leader remembers fallen
April running days:
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Easter Monday 17th
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Each year, more than 15,000
people attended the service.
In Brief
SNEEZE BLAMED FOR CRASH
A sneeze could be to blame for a
motorist crossing the centre line
and colliding with two trucks
near Templeton yesterday. The
woman, in her 60s, was taken
to Christchurch Hospital with
moderate injuries. Both truck
drivers were unharmed. Police
said she was in the “incorrect
lane” and collided with a milk
tanker and grain truck at about
11.15am between Berketts and
Larcombs Rds, possibly because
she had sneezed.
TRIO PLEAD NOT GUILTY
TO MURDER CHARGE
Three people charged with
murdering a man in Sumner have
pleaded not guilty. Cyle Robert
Jetson, 20, and Deborah Jean
Tihema, 38, are jointly charged
with a 16-year-old who has
name suppression of murdering
Pierclaudio Raviola on March
23. Mr Raviola was found in the
Sumner Surf Life Saving Club car
park with serious head injuries
on March 24 but died two days
later. The trio appeared in the
High Court yesterday via audio
visual link from prison. They
were remanded in custody for a
case review hearing on June 23. A
trial date is yet to be set.
MORE POLICE FOR CANTY
Canterbury police will have an
extra 70 front line staff. Police
Commissioner Mike Bush
announced yesterday where an
extra 880 front line officers would
be based around the country,
which included 70 in Canterbury.
Rolleston Police Station will also
have a 24/7 officer on duty. Police
Minister Paula Bennett said
the announcement was based
under the Government’s Safer
Communities package.
AVON RIVER TRAIL
A 12km trail for walkers, runners
and cyclists is being built along
the Avon River. The Avon Trail
will run from Barbadoes St to
Pages Rd, opening in stages from
spring. The full trail is expected
to open early next year.
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