Tuesday's papers contained the news of the brutal murder in
the woods near Sevenoaks of Mrs. Luard, the wife of Major-General C. E. Luard, late RE., of Ightbain Knoll. General Luard had gone out with his wife for a walk after lunch on Monday, parting from her at a gate at the top of a lane near St. Lawrence's School, as he wished to fetch his clubs from the Godden Green golflionse, and returning home by another route. As Mrs. Luard did not return at teatime, her husband went in search of her, and found her lying dead on the verandah of a bungalow in the woods. She had been shot twice in the head, apparently by a small revolver, and several valuable rings had been torn from her fingers. Shots were heard by neighbours coming from the direction of the bungalow, which is in the heart of the woods, at about 3.30 p.m., but nearly two hours elapsed before General Luard made the discovery. The inquest, which was opened on Wednesday and adjourned for a fortnight, revealed the facts that three shots had been fired, and that there was a bruise on the victim's head possibly inflicted by a blow. But the murderer is still at large, and no clue as to his identity or movements has so far been discovered. A search with bloodhounds was conducted on Thursday morning, but as nearly three days had elapsed since the crime, the failure of the experiment was practically a foregone conclusion.
Previous page
