Obituaries Australia

John Sleigh, who was sentenced to death at the Goulburn Circuit Court on Thursday for the Bombala murder, has had a strange career. Some years ago he figured notoriously in the Grafton district. His first appearance was in 1877, when he was doing a sentence in connection with the depredations of a notorious gang of horse-stealers on the Richmond River. On the completion of his sentence, Sleigh was credited with several larcenies. Eventually he took to the road. On one occasion he stuck up a house; after looking through the drawers, he returned the silver to the inmates, saying he did not want it, and ordered them to prepare him a meal. After having a meal he sang them a song, and taking a racehorse out of the stable rode away. He eluded the police for some time. They met him at the hotel on the Casino-road, and ordered him to surrender, but he galloped away, being fired at unsuccessfully. Eventually he was surrounded by a posse of police, captured, and sentenced to a long term of imprisonment. While Sleigh was serving his sentence he was convicted and sentenced to death for wounding, with intent to kill, a warder, the sentence being commuted to hard labour or life, with the first three years in irons. Not long ago he was discharged on a license the reason, it is alleged, being that he had asisted in rescuing some officials or prisoners at Trial Bay, who were in danger of drowning.