DRAMATIC COINCIDENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 258, 31 October 1928, Page 10

DRAMATIC COINCIDENCE.

MAN CHARGED WITH WIFE MURDER. SIMILARITY OF CASES. EXTRAORDINARY ALLEGATIONS. I (From Our Own Correspondent.7 SYDNEY, October 26. Sydney is still talking about the extraordinary parallel to the recent Gow poisoning case, which was provided this week by the arrest of a young man on a charge of murdering his wife. In the Gow case it was claimed by police that Gow's wife and the young man Trapman had together been responsible for poisoning the old man, so that they could be married after his death. And in the most recent case, police allegations are that a man murdered his wife by slowly poisoning her with arsenic, in order that he would be able to . marry v a young woman with whom he-'- lived while his wife was in hospital, dying. The story was outlined in court on Tuesday, when Allister Jenner Clark, aged 24 years, described as an agent, was charged with having murdered his wife, Ellen Mary Clark, on October 12. "The dead woman," said the police prosecutor, "showed every symptom of slow arsenical poisoning." Immediately the charge had been read out in court, counsel for accused applied for bail. He pointed out that his client had been in custody for more than 24 hours, during which he had no opportunity of obtaining legal advice. In opposing bail, the prosecutor said: "I would like to place certain facts before the Bench. The accused was pia?ried. in 1925, and soon afterwards an order was made against him for the maintenance of an illegitimate child. His wife, the deceased, was taken ill on July 10, suffering from supposed food poisoning. She was attended by a local medical man at Stanmore, and when her condition did not improve in 10 days, she was sent to the Coast Hospital. Her health was bad, and she showed every symptom of arsenical poisoning. On October 12 she died, and Dr. McMasters, assistant medical superintendent of the Coast Hospital, not satisfied with the .cause of her .death, held a post-inortem examination.

"Portion pi the woman's anatomy was forwarded to the Government Analyst; ; but, before the result of the analysis pa* known, the deceased was buried.

The accused often visited his wife in the hospital, taking her fruit, cake and chocolates. Her condition in hospital was such that her hands were paralysed, and her husband used to- feed the things he brought her directly into her mouth. On his visits to the hospital he was accompanied by a woman, with whom he lived while his wife was in the institution. While he visited his wife, this woman used to wait outside. Eight days after his wife died in hospital, accused was married to the woman with whom he had been living. Two Government medical officers, when her body was exhumed, held a post mortem, and established that death was due to slow arsenical poisoning." On those facts the magistrate refused bail.