THE O'DOWD CASE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 186, 19 August 1901, Page 5

THE O'DOWD CASE.

CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER

DR. WILKINS BEFORE THE COURT

At tire Supreme Court, criminal sessions this morning-, before His Honor Mr Justice Conolly and a jury of 12, Dr. John Wilkins was brought up and charged with that he did on or about May 17, at Auckland, commit manslaughter by killing- one Mary O'Dowd. . The accused, who was on bail, took his stand in the prisoner's dock when the case was called.His counsel was Mr J. 11. Reed. The ease for the prosecution was conducted by the Hon. .1. A. Tole, Grown Solicitor. When called upon to plead, the Dr. answered firmly "Not guilty." He was allowed to sit down during the hearing- of the ease. The empannelling of the jury was watched'with deep interest, and took some little time. Both counsel exercised the right of challenge in a number of cases. Mr Reed, for the accused, said he proposed to object to (lie admission of the deceased's depositions as evidence. He cited a recent case in England in hi.s favour. His Honor said it was useless for Mr (teed to object to the admission of the deposition; he reminded him of what he had said to the OCnd Jury. There was, however, certain other evidence taken in the Lower Court which would not be admitted here. .\7v Tolc, in opening the case for the Crown, said this was a case in which the accused, Dr. Wilkins, was charged with the manslaughter of a young woman, Mrs O'Dowd, 25 years of age, by performing an illegal operation upon her. She had been married very shortly before, and was pregnant at the time of her death. Mr Tole went, on to refer to the circumstances of the ease, and then called evidence for the prosecution. THE EVIDENCE. TJattie De Jongh was. the first witness called. She deposed that she was housemaid at the Criterion Hotel, Al-bert-street. She knew the late Mrs O'Dowd. On Wednesday, May 15, Mrs O'Dowd -went out: she complained that day of a pain in her side; she had up to that time enjoyed good health. She went out between 1.30 and '.!, and returned about 4 o'clock, as near as witness could remember. She told witness she wasn't feeling very well. Next morning. Thursday, Mrs O'Dowd was not -well; witness saw her in bed in the morning. That evening she was much worse, and witness helped to apply hot fomentations to her. Witness bought some smell-ing-salts for her that day; she (Mrs O'Dowd) had no money, except 3d., in her purse, and witness got the money from Mr O'Dowd. Dr. Lowe name" about 8 o'clock that evening, j and under his directions she applied the hot fomentations again. She sawMrs O'Dowd about 11 o'clock that night, and did not see her alive again. His Honor ruled that,the deceased's conversations with the witness OS to where she had been and what she was doing on the loth could not be admitted as evidence.

Mary Tattersall, cook at the Criterion' Hotel, was next called. She said she remembcrred Mrs O'Dowd going out on the 15th of May, and coming back about four o'clock; the deceased said she felt very bad, and asked for a cup of lea. Witness saw her ag-ain on Thursday evening-; she was in the yard, and heard Mrs O'Dowd moaningl, and went up to see what she could do for her. The deceased was throwing herself about on the bed, and was in terrible pain. About a quarter to four on Friday morning- she saw her ag-ain; the deceased was in terrible agony then. Witness put more hot fomentations on Mrs O'Dowd, who died about haltpast live.

Francis Patrick O'Dowd, licensee of the Criterion Hotel, deposed that the deceased was his wife; he was married to her on April 11. She had always enjoyed good health prior to May 15. On that date his wife asked him for some money; she said she wished to go to town and make some purchases. H<j gave her two notes and a £9 cheque. About two days before this he noticed £11 odd in her purse. She didn't make any purchases; he could not find what had become of the £22. Next morning the deceased complained " of internal pains. She got worse that evening, and Dr. Lowe was called in. He prescribed for her, and again later In the evening he came, and deceased said: "Oh, doctor, doctor, give me chloroform." Witness asked her why she wanted chloroform, and she said: "The pain, the agony; 1 am dying, I know 1 am dying; I can never recover from this." Dr. Lowe said, "So you have been to Dr. Wilkins, Mrs. O'Dowd." Before this the doctor said something to cheer her up; he said, "Don't say that; cheer up, Mrs. O'Dowd, I'll get you well."

Mr. Eeed said he would formally object to the statement made by the deceased. His point was that, after receiving an assurance from the doctor that she would be all right there was no evidence as to the state of her mind. His Honor: Did she appear to be cheered up by that? Witness: She seemed to be more j content. Mr. Eeed said the onus was thrown on the prosecution of showing" the state of mind of the deceased after this. The evidence showed that she was mentally relieved by the doctor assuring her that he would get her well. In most of the cases where dying depositions had been admitted there was all the solemnity of the dying bed; this was not the case in the present instance. What Mrs. O'Dowd. said was simply the expression of pain and extreme agony on her part, and could not be taken as the deliberate expression of her state of mind. This was the point he (Mr. Reed) wished the Court to consider. His Honor .said he would admit the evidence, but would hear argument if necessary at the end of the case as to whether he should reserve the point. Continuing, witness said that after Dr. Lowe said, "So you've been to Dr. Wilkins," Mrs. O'Dowd replied, "Yes, doctor," The doctor said: "Did he perform an operation on you?" She said "yes." He asked "when," and she replied, "Yesterday afternoon1." Asked as to what sort of instrument Dr. Wilkins used she said, "I could not see." During the evening she got worse, and told witness several times that she was dying. Witness thought, as. she had never been ill be-

fore, she was exaggerating- her pain. He asked her where Dr. Wilkins' rooms were, and she told him they were in Shortland-street. She said that on five, different occasions during the time she was in Dr. Wilkins' room people knocked aY the door, and he told them to come back in half-an-hour. Witness asked her why she had not consulted him about the operation, and she said she was frightened , witness would slop her. She got very much worse, and Dr. Lowe was again sent for. i Witness, after speaking as to the death of his wife, was cross-examined by Mr Reed. He said lie did not know hi.s wife was enceinte when he "^yas married to her; he asked her if she was and she said no. Mr Reed: You and your wife were both Roman Catholics? Witness: Yes. Was your wife a regular attendant at chu rch ?—Yes. And an observer of the ordinances erf the church? —Yes. Is it one of the ordinances of the church that a priest should be called in when a person is dying'?—l don't know whether it is an ordinance; it is a custom. Did your wife make any request for the priest to be sent for?—At, between and four o'clock in the morning 1 asked her if 1 should send for a | priest and she said yes. If, was then that she made the first request for a priest?— Yes. His Honor said he did not know that Roman Catholics when dying sent for a priest any more than Protestants when dying" sent for a clergyman: some did and some did not. In answer to His Honor, witness said his wife did not at any time express a be-lief, that she would recover. She continued during the night to say that, she was dying and asked him to bid her good-bye. The Court then took the luncheon adjournment, Ili|s; Honor cautioning the jury not to allow anyone to speak to them on this case. They must not talk about the case to any persons whatever, and should any one go further and attempt to influence them in any way it should be reported to the Court at once. This afternoon Gladwyn A. Wynyard, clerk in Mr Buchanan's office, Shortland-street, deposed that on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 15, he. saw a woman he took to be Mrs O'Dowd, whom he knew by sight, standing in Shortland-street, on the footpath, near the entrance to Dr. Wilkins' rooms. This was between two and three in the afternoon. Cross-examined by Mr Reed: He was not absolutely certain it was Mrs O'Dowd; there was a shadow of doubt about it. John Ayres, watchmaker, deposed that on the. afternoon of May 15 he saw Mrs O'Dowd at the foot of Short-land-street, near the South British corner, about three o'clock, walking towards Queen-street. Thomas Macready gave corroborative evidence. Dr. de Clive Lowe was next called. (Proceeding:.)