Like Rowles, Carron had assumed a new name, previously having been known as Leslie George Brown. His wife, Mrs. Brown, had attended a jeweller in Auckland to have a wedding ring recut. The jeweller's assistant had accidentally used a 9 carat solder to rejoin the ends of the 18 carat ring, which the jeweller would normally have rectified, but had been too busy to do so. The result was a distinctive mark on the ring from the different-coloured solder, which made the ring unique and identifiable as Carron's. (Upfield used the "mended ring" device in a later novel "The New Shoe".)