Several years ago I wrote a blog about the murder of
some family members, John and Maria Gabolinscy in December 1951. I had never
looked further than their murder other than knowing the perpetrator was hanged
for his crime. I thought I would look into the trial through the newspapers as
the records about the deeds are restricted within the New Zealand Archives. New
Zealand online newspapers only went as far as 1950 through Paperspast. For
further information, I would have to access newspapers through Trove within
Australia of all places. The Australian news did actually follow the trial of
William Fiori as it happened in New Zealand. Please note that I am using the
names in the newspapers as printed even though they might be known by other names.
To prevent arguments about variations of the names, I will be using what has
been stated as their names on official death certificates especially John
Arthur Gabolinscy even though he might be known as Jack Arthur and John Robert.
The original blog about the murder I wrote in 2011 is included in the sources
In the early hours of the 19th of December
1951, John Arthur (Jack) Gabolinscy and Eveleen Maria (Maria) Gabolinscy were
shot to death in their bed after William Geovanni Fiori entered their house in
Minginui to steal the payroll for the local mill that John had collected earlier
the day before. The value of the payroll was £1,163 that went missing from the home. John had been the
manager of the local timber mill in the town. The thief and murderer would
escape the scene in Gabolinscy’s truck before dumping it half a mile down the
road.[1] William Geovanni Silveo
Fiori and employee at the same mill would with his wife travel to Rotorua that
morning to buy a vehicle and other items using the money he had stolen. William would later be arrested in
Otrohunga around the 20th of December.[2]
On the 24th of January the courthouse where
the murder trial was being heard. The courthouse was packed with onlookers who couldn’t
get a good visual of Fiori, who was handcuffed to an officer. That day they had
only heard from 16 of the 36 witnesses.[3] There were mob scenes in
Rotorua when William Fiori had to attend court at the Rotorua Police Court on
the 25th of January 1952. People were talking about lynching the man
and the mother of Marie stated she wanted to kill the beast (William). In court
the murderer pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case would be set for
trial in the Hamilton Supreme Count the next month.[4] The police had claimed
during the murder trial they have saved William Fiori from the Lynch law from
the public feelings after the murder of the Gabolinscy’s when he was in
Rotorua, but he might be hanged by the government instead.[5]
At the Hamilton Supreme Court on the 14th
of Feb 1952, police alleged Fiori had confessed to the murder. Fiori’s lawyer
pointed out that Fiori did not have the intelligence and was easily led by his
wife.[6] During the trial it was
found that William owed people money in the town of Minginui and did not want
to disappoint his wife, so stole the money. During the trial it took the jury,
42 minutes to find him guilty.[7] During this period New
Zealand had reintroduced capital punishment, which did not work in William
Fiori’s favour. Capital punishment had been abolished by the Labour Government
in 1936 and reintroduced by the National Government in November 1950.
Punishment could have gone either way and he might have gotten life in prison.[8] Capital punishment would
again be abolished when Labour came into power in 1957. Fiori was the first of
eight killers who were executed in seven years of National government.[9]
On the 13th of March 1952, William Giovanni
Silveo Fiori was secretly hanged at the Mount Eden jail in Auckland. The
government kept the details of the event secret until after the man had been
hanged. Fiori would be the first man to be hanged in New Zealand in 17 years.[10] An opinion piece
published in September 1952 writes about William Fiori being of sub
intelligence and the writer is against the use of the death penalty. The
article almost says that William Fiori could have been mentally handicapped,
that is the word usage from the time period. The rest of the article will be in
the bibliography and footnotes.[11]
June Fiori the wife of William was found guilty on the
7th of May for theft in the Hamilton Supreme Court.[12] June was sentenced to
four years hard labour for receiving money knowing it had been dishonestly
obtained on the 23rd of May.[13] She claimed to have burnt
the money when she learnt how her husband had obtained it and learning about
the murders.[14]
Sources / Bibliography / further reading
Kitchin,
Peter ‘When New Zealanders paid the ultimate penalty’, Dominion Post, 13
September 2008, https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/the-dominion-post/20080913/285705520038356,
accessed 19/05/2020.
Rorke, Jinty Policing two peoples: a history of
police in the Bay of Plenty 1867 – 1992, New Zealand Police, Wellington,
1993.
T.H. H., ‘Murder and society – Why Fiori’, Salient, Vol.
16, No. 18, 1952, http://ganesha.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Salient16181952-t1-body-d6.html,
accessed 19/05/2020.
Life of Timber Mill Manager cut short, 2011 blog,
Unknown,
‘Murder’s wife goaled’, Kalgoorlie Miner, 24 May 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/256890012,
accessed 19/05/2020.
Unknown, Guilty of £600 theft’, Queensland
Times, 8 May 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/124579593,
accessed 19/05/2020.
Unknown, ‘Handcuffed during murder trial’, Warwick Daily
News, 25 January 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/190402812,
accessed 19/05/2020.
Unknown, ‘Callous killer, saved from lynch law will be
hanged’, Mirror, 23 February 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/75782910,
accessed 19/05/2020.
Unknown, ‘NZ may re-introduce hanging’, National
Advocate, 19 February 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/161391352,
accessed 19/05/2020.
Unknown, ‘Man killed to buy a car for his family’, Barrier
Miner, 15 February 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/49236178,
accessed 19/05/2020.
Unknown,
‘Arrest in NZ double shooting’, Morning Bulletin, 21 December 1951, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/57111422,
accessed 19/05/2020.
Unknown, ‘Lynch talk in murder case’, Truth, 27
January 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/201517687,
accessed 19/05/2020.
Unknown, ‘Man sentenced to die for double murder’, Truth,
17 Feburary 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/167974589,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[1] Jinty Rorke Policing two
peoples: a history of police in the Bay of Plenty 1867 – 1992, New Zealand
Police, 1993, p. 116.
[2] Unknown, ‘Man and wife murdered at
Minginui Village’, The Rotorua Post, 20 December 1951; Unknown, ‘Arrest
in NZ double shooting’, Morning Bulletin, 21 December 1951, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/57111422,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[3] Unknown, ‘Handcuffed during murder
trial’, Warwick Daily News, 25 January 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/190402812,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[4] Unknown, ‘Lynch talk in murder
case’, Truth, 27 January 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/201517687,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[5] Unknown, ‘Callous killer, saved
from lynch law will be hanged’, Mirror, 23 February 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/75782910,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[6] Unknown, ‘Man killed to buy a car for
his family’, Barrier Miner, 15 February 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/49236178,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[7] Unknown, ‘Man sentenced to die for
double murder’, Truth, 17 February 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/167974589,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[8] Unknown, ‘NZ may re-introduce
hanging’, National Advocate, 19 February 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/161391352,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[9] Peter Kitchin, ‘When New
Zealanders paid the ultimate penalty’, Dominion Post, 13 September 2008,
https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/the-dominion-post/20080913/285705520038356,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[10] Unknown, ‘Murderer hanged at night’,
The Daily Telegraph, 14 March 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/248743823,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[11] T.H.
H., ‘Murder and society – Why Fiori’, Salient, Vol. 16, No. 18, 1952, http://ganesha.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Salient16181952-t1-body-d6.html,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[12] Unknown, Guilty of £600
theft’, Queensland Times, 8 May 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/124579593,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[13] Unknown, ‘Widow sentenced’, The
Canberra Times, 24 May 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2855889,
accessed 19/05/2020.
[14] Unknown, ‘Murder’s wife goaled’, Kalgoorlie
Miner, 24 May 1952, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/256890012,
accessed 19/05/2020.
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