Isaac Sawyer was charged with the murder of Hans Olud, a hawker, near Young, on January 4, 1889. He was tried at Young on Monday April 8, with Mr A.B Shand defending the accused. Sawyer was about 21 years of age.
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Jane Bendle said she saw Olund at the Burrangong Hotel on January 4 and 5, she last saw him at tea on the 4th about 7pm at tea.
She next saw him dead in a shed at the hotel. Patrick Staunton saw Olund's cart camped on the Marengo road and saw Olund alive at about 6pm on January 3.
When walking home on January 4 he heard a moan, he knew Wedge's tent was nearby and the moan could be heard by anyone in the tent. He then went home.
Elizabeth Wedge said on the night of the murder a man named Casey was living in her tent, he was reading to her. They heard moans coming from the direction where the hawker was camped.
Casey went up as close as he could to the hawker's camp but the dog, which was loose, would not allow him to go near, but he could see a body lying on the ground.
He then went to Mansfield's Hotel (Burrangong Hotel) but could not arouse anyone so he called to a man named Corbett who he saw near the hotel.
With Corbett he returned to the camp where they observed the body and saw dark spots on the ground, they returned to the hotel, and called to Mansfield, who procured a lantern, an went with them to the scene, where they found Olund lying face down, fully dressed, except for his hat, behind the cart. Neither of the three touched anything, but went for the police.
Dr John Healy, a qualified medical doctor from Young, accompanied the police to the scene of the murder on Saturday morning. He examined Olund's body and found a wound on the right side of the head from which blood and brains were issuing.
A stone breaking hammer had been found in a water hole and Dr Healy was of the opinion that such an instrument could have caused the damage.
John Wallet, proprietor of the Railway Hotel at Young, said that Sawyer called at his hotel and asked for a bed at about 12.30pm and had dinner. Sawyer was at the hotel until 6.30pm and was not seen again until 10.30pm.
Johanna Martin claimed he had seen Sawyer at about 7.15pm in Orlund's camp on the day of the murder. And Samuel Rennie said that Sawyer had, on Saturday the 5th, purchased a revolver and cartridges from his shop, paying 12 shillings and sixpence for them.
At Sawyer's trial at Young the jury after 18 hours deliberation could not reach a verdict. Sawyer was retried at Central Criminal Court on April 31,1889 where new evidence was produced.
A Polish jeweller named Eisenberg who had contracted an acquaintanceship with Orlund during his wanderings had regulated Orlund's watch.
About October last year he had met Orlund, who was camped on the Burrowa road, and regulated his watch and in the process his knife slipped and scratched the watch. When shown the watch which had been found in Sawyer's possession he could not swear it was Orlund's watch, but pointed out the mark similar to the one he had left on Orlund's watch.
Marks in the mud around Orlund's camp were similar to marks produced by Sawyer's boots which had special protectors on them.
But this was discounted by Sawyer as he claimed he had been around Orlund's camp many times. The watch he explained he had won it in a raffle when he was shearing at a station on the other side of Young. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and the accused was discharged.
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