FATAL FIGHT

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 106, 7 May 1934, Page 3

FATAL FIGHT

OUTSIDE A CAFE. MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE FAILS. DIRECTION OF JUDGE. Manslaughter was the charge faced by Christopher Charles Brown, fish curer, aged 22, whose trial was started before Mr. Justice Herdman and a jury of 12 in tlie Supreme Court this morning. At the conclusion of the Crown evidence the jury, under direction from the judge, returned a verdict of not guilty without leaving the box and the accused was discharged. Accused woe charged with (Unlawfully killing Stephen Walter Carter, thereby committing manslaughter, with assault so as to enuse actual bodily harm, and with assault. The Crown case was conducted by Mr. V. R. Meredith, and the accused was represented by Mr. J. J. Sullivan. "Carter's death was the result of a brawl, and it appears that lie was struck by accused," said Mr, Meredith to the jury. "As a result of the sciifile Carter went clown on the concrete roadway. He had a fractured skull, from which ho died shortly after. Apparently there was some argument between the two men, the argument became heated and there was some talk of fighting for 5/. They went outside, accused took his false teeth out and handed them to his friend. Carter, it appears, was in liquor, and in the course of the struggle received a blow from which he never got up again." Waitress' Story. A waitress, Ada Mavis Scott, said that on March 31 accused went into the restaurant with a companion. It was about G o'clock and they asked for a meal. Neither showed any signs of being drunk, although both may have had a few drinks. Shortly after Carter came into the dining room with a native woman. An argument started—witness did not kno-w how —and Brown told Carter that he had told some lies in some evidence he had given in a Court case. "Next time I came in they were wagering some money to fight it out," said witness. "They were talking about going outside. Carter went outside first and shortly after Brown and his companion went out. Brown and Carter were sparring round each other, but not fighting. I went inside and when I came out again I saw Carter strike Brown. The next thing I saw Carter go down and he lay on the road on his back. I did not see accused strike a blow. The native woman then chased Brown down the road. She enme back and attended to Carter, and shortly after an ambulance arrived." Struggle Described. Another version of the altercation was given by Joseph Volant, a caretaker, who said that when he arrived at the restaurant accused was talking loudly and gesticulating. There appeared to be a heated argument, but things calmed down. When the two men got outside the trouble started. Accused lashed out and he and Carter got to holts. The native woman cave Carter a push, which sent him practically into the arms of accused, who lashed out. The scuffle continued, Carter fell and his head struck the pavement. Accused lashed out with his foot, and wituces had said, "Don't kick." When accused started to leave, the native woman caught hold of him and there was short .struggle. Then accused and his companion ran clown the road. The native woman, Elizabeth Ireno Pennell, of Cobden' Street, Newton, said that on March 31 she was at the races with her husband, and there they met Carter, who was an old acquaintance. Witness' husband went home, and witness went with Carter, who had had three beers during the afternoon, to get a gramophone she had lent him. They went to the restaurant, where an argument started over what had happened at an hotel. There was some mention of a fine which had been imposed on accused, and accused had said that Carter was responsible for him bemg fined 16/. After accused had struck Carter, and after deceased was lying on the ground, she had spoken to Brown, who called witness "A little black . She had attempted to hit Brown, but he ran off. ~ Cross-examined by Mr. Sullivan, witness denied that Carter had gone back into the restaurant to hurry Brown up with his meal. She had not grabbed Carter's hat and pushed him towards Brown. . "When the men came out ot tne restaurant they were in a fighting attitude," said Charles Eobinson, labourer, of Avondale. "The elderly man was shaping up to accused, who was on his guard. The native woman came out of the restaurant, and took the hat off deceased. After a time they came to holts. The older man was more aggressive, but the young man hit him, and down he went." That blow, somewhere over the left ear, was the only effective blow witness saw struck. Another spectator, William Litt, said the older man, Carter, appeared to have had too much drink. The native woman was tho older man to fight, and when he did not get up again she tackled accused. \ pathologist at the Auckland Hospital Dr. E. F. Fowler, described the results of a, post-mortem examination he carried out on Carter on April 1. There were abrasions about the head, and three fractures of the skull.

Accused's Statement. Detective-Sergeant A. G. McHugh eaid that, together with Detective Gillum, he interviewed accused at his home in Grey Avenue on the evening of the affair. In a statement, accused, who admitted fighting Carter, said Carter offered to iiGfht for a dollar, at which accused said" he could not do it. The amount was reduced to 3d, and the native woman urged Carter to fight. Accused kept backing away, biit Carter struck him. The native woman attacked him after he had knocked Carter down, and accused then left. With the Crown case closed, Mr. Sullivan said he had a serious proposal to make to the Court. His Honor eaid that the actual cause of the man's death was the fact that hie head had hit the footpath. He did not think it was necessary for the jury to trouble about the caee. There was a great deal of evidence to show that Carter was the aggressor, and his Honor suggested there was no need for the jury to leave the box. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, and Brown was discharged.