ALLEGED MURDER

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 96, 4 February 1936, Page 7

ALLEGED MURDER

DEATH OF AN INFANT. MOTHER ACCUSED OF CRIME. (Per Press Association.) DUNEDIN, February 3. The trial of Cecily Fitzmaurice, a married woman, of Oamaru, on a charge of murdering her infant child, was commenced in the Supreme Court this morning before his Honor Mr Justice Kennedy. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr F. B, Adams) conducted tho case for the prosecution, and Mr J. E. Farrell, of Oamaru, appeared for the accused. Mr Adams, in opening the case, said the accused lived at Oamaru with her three children. Her husband was engaged on public works, and was working at Kartigi at the time of the occurrence. On September 8 he returned to Kartigi after spending the week-end with his wife and family. On the Tuesday the two elder children went to school, and came home at the usual hour. They called at a neighbour’s place to play, and appeared to be in their normal health, as they had also appeared to be at school. The mother put the children to bed comparatively early, and! proceeded to prepai’e poisonous drinks to administer to them. She had a small bottle of veronal tablets, which she crushed with a rolling-pin, anil mixed with milk. She removed traces of the poison by burning the newspaper on which she crushed it, and by washing the cups, but some weeks later traces of the poison were found on the rolling-pin. Apart from the evidence on the rolling-pin, there was no trace left that would tell the tale. During the Tuesday night the baby died. Not till Thursday was the attention of neighbours drawn to the house, it being noticed that the place was locked up, and that milk left on the Wednesday morning had not been used. Neighbours broke in by one of the windows, and found the woman m bed, with two living children and with the dead baby. The mother and children were seriously ill, and were removed to hospital for treatment. I oitunately they recovered; otherwise the act of the woman in administering poison would have resulted in four deaths instead of one. Duties of the Jury. Mr Adams said that it was the duty of the jury to consider the facts of the case. The case was not one in which a . poverty-stricken mother was driven to a desperate couise by the necessities of life, for there weie both money and food in the house. Counsel proceeded to read the statements made by accused to the police. In the first of these she made no admission of the use of the poison, but in a later statement she admitted having done so. She said she expected her three children and herself would die in their sleep. She had never told anyone she intended to take the children’s and her own lives. >-he said she was fond of her children, but felt unable to look after them cn account of her nerves. The defence in the case, said - Adams, was likely to turn upon he mental condition of accused u m e she was legally sane or insane at tho time of the commission of the enme. Counsel quoted the legal definition of insanity, and said the question of issue seemed to he whether accused was to be regarded as cmnina sponsible for her act, and table to punishment of death, or whether h - mental condition was such at the time that she did not know she was doing wrong. , , Evidence was called, and the ease, which is expected to engage - o a tention of tho Court for two days, was adjourned till to-morrow morning.