GIRL ACQUITTED

Evening Post, Issue 47, 23 August 1935, Page 7

GIRL ACQUITTED

TEIAL AT NAPIER

JUDGED CHARGE -TO; JURY

(By Telegraph—l'ress Association.)

NAPIER, August 22,

' The trial of Phyllis Leslie Tui Marshall, the 18-year-old daughter of a ! Tikbkino farmer, ended in a verdict . of not guilty, after the jury had been . absent for two hours and a half. The accused was charged with attempting to murder, and alternatively with in- , tent to injure, and attempting to. cause .Alma Lorraine Keith to take poison. His : Honour discharged ; the accused after . the'jury had returned its verdict., '.

• In his summing - up, his Honour, Mr Justice Reed, said the. ■: cas^ was' undoubtedly a very important once.1 • "If you read -the newspapers you will see that tlie matter of chocolate-poisoning has received a good deal of publicity lately," he said. His Honour referred to the' other chocolate-poisoning cases, and said there "was a grave danger of neurotic people attempting to follow the course set by others. The jury was not entitled to say, if they thought the accused guilty, "she is a young girl, and she has learnt her lesson." The issues were quite clear. The first was; did the accused send "the packet? ■■■ The answer was, she did. :The second issue was, did she know;what was in the packet? It was for the jury, to decide this on the evidence placed before them. ; ■' . • ' . , ■' . ■ ■'.. ■■■■■ . ■

His Honour proceeded to refer to admitted facts,; whiclij if they could stand alone; would be perfectly clear evidence of the : :guilt of the accused. The statement made by,the accused to the police on June; 28 contained 'no suggestion of the present •defence that had arisen after-tfie second;: statement made by.the accused oh' August, 16: ;;■

"The i accused; is a 1 very clever girl and ah; excellent.witness," lie said. Masters, on the other. hand, was' lab- ■ ouring linder- ■ the '■ disadvantage ;of .having,the .blame^put^uppn him. Fur- ; ther.'he had.been-charged;with having intiended'to cause .injury, to the accused f with,»n implement.whicH,would have '.fraqtured: her'skull.-. ■V- •;... '\. /■

[':.; His; Honour .made reference .to,a letter, written ;by4he accused to' Jack Masters,- .and 'which; the;iaccused 'alleged Masters had. threatened, to . send to a paper' for publication" and' show to;her father...-: "..::: : :.-. ■ ■~■:■ :.-y-Z'^ T ■V:/'./\:.

..."It! '. is =',nothing more'than'- a: • wellexpressed love letter" from a girl to a boy,'? added .his Honour. ■

JWhen her statement had been taken arid Detective-Sergeant Nuttall pointed but to the accused - the seriousness of her position, had Miss1 Keith eaten any of the chocolates, the accused had replied: "What would it' have mattered if, she had died?" V . .

The jury was entitled rto take into, consideration- in deciding/what they thought-; .of the -accused's animus towards .Miss Keith.? .:': ; ■.-:::-;

,"I ask you, is it possible to conceiv.e thatCthe girl,; loving -.the man -;as did the accused, did not ask Masters what was in the parcel he asked her to address to her rival?" .asked his Honour.: ;. ; •

With regard to the note found inside the packet, his Honour referred to the evidence to the effect that .she : wrote the words in'the when Masters was present. - "Can you imagine a man putting in a note that wouldat once put the police on to his tracks, for ' the writing- was- so like his?" asked his Honour. "But, on the other hand, what advantage would the 'accused get from putting in the packet. ■a note with' Handwriting, like Mas-. ters's?" >o;;: v ■';::'''Sj-•, . '■'-'";: The accused was acquitted-after the retiirh. of the. jury with a not guilty verdict. -; ■ ■ • :--:';.'':r .