LE NEVE ACQUITTED.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 293, 10 December 1910, Page 17

LE NEVE ACQUITTED.

COUNSEL'S ELOQTJ-ENT PLKA. THE LANDLADY'S STORY. Tlie trial was held ot the Central Crlminal Court} London, on October 28th, of Miss le Neve on a charge of being an accessory after the fact in connection ; _ih jh e murder and mutilation ot Mrs Crippen. Mr B. D. Muir prosecuted on be- ' bkl£ of the Crown, and Mr F. E. Smith, K.C., M.P-. defended. Public Interest was quite as keen as jn the trial of' Dr. Crippen. Long before the Court opened there was a large crowd of people, and every person who entered the • jjnlfdlns was eagerly scrutinised. There was grain an enormous demand for tickets. (The public gallery was for the most part occupied by ladies ln fashionable costumes. .. ,i great number of theatrical friends of Mrs Crippen were accommodated ln the well of the court. As soon as the Lord Chief Justice had taken his seat the prisoner was brought tato the dock, accompanied bytwo wardresses. She appeared to he quite onnposed, and stepped sharply to the front of the dock. Her face was practically hidden from view beneath a thick dark tell. She was dressed in a dark costume, and wore gloves. She was at once given permission to sit down. She seemed to 'preserve the same quiet and apparently listless attitude which characterised Crippen during his trial. She did not even glance ■to the left or right, but sat down and halfclosed her eyes F seemingly the least lnterested flgnre in the court. CASB FOR THE CEOWN OTJTT.rNl_ir>. Mr Mulr said the charge was practlcaUy flat of assisting Crippen to escape from justice, knowing him to have been guilty 'of felony. Guilty knowledge and guilty Intention were Issnes in the case, and upon such Issnes a jury rarely had direct evidence. Mr Mnir went on to detail the circumstances of tlie arrival of Crippen and bis wife In this country, and their life .4p to January of this year. Then they appeared to be In -want of money, for notice of withdrawal was given to the bank. Crippen had been carrying on an intrigue for some years with prisoner, and she was the motive -which led him to murder his'wife, Cora Crippen. He wented to possess himself more completely of prisoner and keep her on the property which his wife left, The question arose as to the prisoner's J knowledge. For about three years she had been connected with Crippen, meeting him In. the daytime, but always going home at night to the honse of-a Mrs Jackson. Be- \ tween Mrs Jackson and Miss Le Neve there jites real affection, and that was an im- ... I portant fact when considering the evidence. : 'Abont January last prisoner began to look HI iand troubled, and one night ln January, ; «r at the beginning of February, she re- ... turned home 111. She would take no supper, but went to bed. She looked as if she had ' fad a great shock, and was CTRICKEN WITH HORBOE AT SOMETHING THAT HAD- HAPPENED. [Asked for an explanation, little was forth«mlng that night. The next morning, she ; pfus unaMe to eat her breakfast, and Mrs Jackson saw that she was quite unfit to go , ' *o her work as a typist, and she persuaded her to remain" at home. That was no or- ■ Binary fflnees, observed Mr Mnir. There was something which Beemed to strike the prl- ' '■' aoner with horror, and it was nearly contemporaneous with the murder of Cora Crippen. One of the explanations Le Neve ' gave was that she felt her position as Crippen's mistress, as she could not bear to see Mrs Crippen in lawful possession of , her husband. If that were a true explanation, It toed the time for this extraordinary fit of sorrow at a time when Mrs Crippen, was alive. They would have to ask whether that explanation was the true ■ one," for he'would point out that it applied equally.to any day of the preceding three years. Counsel put it that the true explanation of the accused's state iwas the knowledge that had come to her in some way or other that Crippen murdered his wife. Mr Mnir then read a statement which Le Neve made to Inspector _Dew, in which she said Crippen told her 'first that his wife was Hi, and then that Bhe was. dead. This was about March 30. (She said she was very much astonished M at the news, but did not say anything to Crippen about it. The morning after she made this statement a boy's suit was purchased by the orders of Crippen, and he and prisoner disappeared. In the facts it - .was plain that both were flying from Justice. It was incredible that the prisoner should not have had the curiosity to look at the papers, which were then full of a hue and cry tor both. Crippen was disguised, and prisoner sailed as his son. THE EVIDENCE. j .",14. number of witnesses repeated *he*evi- .;*. nee they gave at the Crippen trial. Mrs. 'Emily Jackson, of Oamberwell, said that -up .to 'M-arch 19 last she Jived at SO, Coasbantine-road; Hampstead.. in Septem- ' her; • 1008, Miss -Le Neve rented a iwwn thorn her. Prisoner went to business by day and returned -to sleep ea-dh __Jg-___t. In August, 1909, she left, Out returned again End remained with witness till March 12, •1810. She had a 'bed-sitting room, and -w-itness. somettaes -went -up and saw ler. In.January this year -witness noticed aome- : tiling strange about Le Neve, and spoke to her about it. As near as she could remember it was about the latter end >of the month. (Prisoner refused to have sup- . per and went straight to -her room. Witness followed, and prisoner got into bed trembling all over. She v was in a terrible state. 'Witness asked what was the mat-ter;-but, Lei Neve could .not speak at tall for .some thne.. She tried ito do tier (hair, but could not -Witness watched -her for some tours. The following morning Le Neve *«nld not, eat any breakfast, and witness ■ .refused to let her go to work dn the state >*c was. "Witness said she would ring up liUrion flpnse, and prisoner said, "You will Bug up'the doctor, won't you?" The same .evening witness again asked her to tell what was on her nilnd, saying If she did not _, »hi_ would, go absolutely mad. Then she said, "Ton -wUI -not .be surprised to .heai- , lt: is ithe doctor." She went on 'to say, "It Is Belle-Elmore; .that's his wife, you know. When I see them go away together, dt makes mc realise my position." To this witness said, "My dear girl, what's the use W worrying about another woman's husband?" Then Le Neve said something about eVe-Elmore Solng away -with another man, . "od that Crippen had .promised to get a diWree.ana.marry her.

SPLENDID SPEECH FOR THE DEFENCE. ;Mr. E. E. Smith then addressed tihe jury .'<* the, defence. He described It as an _ Bstonisiting proposition that Miss Le .Neve Was privy after the offence to a callous, Wulated, cold-blooded murder. It was for Reprosecution, beyond all reasonable doubt, w;convince the jury of the fundamental |B|ft of the proposition. It was not for _™ to offer explanations on some points m doubt. He asked the jury bow far the Movn haQ convinced them that Miss Le |||M had knowledge of tihe -murder. To € enable them properly to answer the ques~™a a history of the case and of the snsoner would probably be of assistance. debauchery of moral character llpjK slow process. Let them caKy their

minds back a period of ten years, when Crippen and Le Neve Ant met She was then between 16 and 17 years of age, and turned out of her home to earri"her-awn living. The jury knew to what dangers -a young girl of that age was exposed. She .came across one of the most dangerous and remarkable criminals of recent years— OHIPPBN, A_N EkEPERTttRBAiBLE, UiNSOBUPULOUS AND DOMINATING (MAN, fearing neither God. nor man, and she an amiable and gentle -girl, ©he made his acquaintance, and was exposed to so many dangers at a time when nn-ost of ftihe jury would be shielding their own daughters in ha-ppy homes. There was -no reason to suppose that she was other than chaste for tihe first seven years. iMr. Smith quoted the statement of Le Neve early in February that "somebody" had gone to America, and -he pointed out that when that statement was made a previous conversation had taken place. In that previous conversation Le (Neve had told Mrs. Jackson that •Belle Elmore had threartened to go. That was the story that Crippen was, dn fact, telling other people. If the prosecution now attached the slightest importance to the evidence of Mrs. Jackson with regard to the conversation wfhen Le Neve was agitated. It meant -that at or near about that time Le Neve knew that Crippen bad murdered his wife. Was there one juryman who was absolutely sure that that was the case for the prosecution, and was there •any other shred of evidence to satisfy them that Le Neve became aware of the murder at or near .the time of its commission? The prosecution were driven to the view that Crippen told (her he had killed ihis wife. There was not a vestige of evidence that she found it out in any other way. They were absolutely committed to -the ground that she was told by Crippen —and a more unonsbrons and unscrupulous suggestion was never made in a count T of. justice—*hiait Orippen .had risked his neck, weighed a-11 mc chances, mutilated the -body of Ms wife, and that after doing all this ihe told a nervous girl of What (he Irad done, and ln doing so increased enonmously the risks ihe fan. They were asked to believe he put 'his life in the hands of the nervous woman at the lhassard of her constancy seif-oontrol. I-t was Incredible to think he ever told -her of his crime. In the name, of common sense or security did anyone -believe that I_e Neve went to live at Hilld/rop Orescent towards the end of February, a month after the ■murder had been committed, knowing that the last tenant had been -butchered by Crip pen? He took upon thtmself the responsibility otf not putting Le Neve in the box.

The Lord OMef Justice -warned the jury that rthey must exercise very great care in folil3 case, &nd ifae ccirrirlojcieil ittiem not to consider unyithin-g but tfhe evidence. Unless the Crown bad made out their case in the opinion of *he jnry, Lβ Neve "was entitled to the verdict. Tie Jury must only dra>w Inferences ihostlle to the woman if *hey were forced to. He cautioned «hem to con- | sider very carefully *he contention that the wearing of the clothes and jewellery of Belle lElmore >was consistent with guilty knowledge on the "part or X« iNere of the munler VERDICT OF ITHB JTTET. The <were out for a period of nineteen minutes, and upon retarning into court gave ithelr verdict as one of "Not guilty." The Lord C&ief Justice merely uttered tine <word "Discharge," making no coounen't of any kind. So quick *were *he (proceedings, that Xβ Neve, ■who had been sitting on a chair, had not time to stand np before *he decision 'had been given. A. wardress touched 'her on the shoulder, and she disappeared 'below , prior to iieing released.