DESIRED HANGING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 184, 5 August 1940, Page 5

DESIRED HANGING.

PRISONER'S PLEA. REMARKABLE SPEECH. £ND OF MURDER TRIAL. (Special—By Air Mail.) SYDNEY, July 31. A remarkable speech was made by a condemned man in the Central Criminal Court la-st week just before the death sentence was pronounced by Mr. Justice Maxwell. The man was Cecil Roy Simpkins, 24, labourer. He was found guilty of having murdered Mrs. Martha Miller, 63, of Heddon Greta, by battering her to death. The Crown's case depended chiefly on the evidence of F. Skerritt, a labourer, who had heard screams coming from Mrs. Miller's hut, and looking through a window had seen the form of a man apparently striking her. The : Crown's case also depended largely on footprints. Evidence was given by Constable Alan Clarke, of the scientific branch of the C.1.8. He said that markings on the sole and heel of a shoe, alleged to have been worn by Simpkine on the night of May 8, corresponded to markings found on shoe prints near the cottage of Mre. Miller. Constable Clarke said that one of the shoe prints, pointing towards the back door of Mrs. Miller's -home was 14ft 6in from the cottage.

In reply to Mr. MacMahon, for the defence, the constable said he was satisfied that it would he impossible to find the sole of another shoe which would be like the sole of the one produced in Court in its markings. i Simpkins' trial lasted several dayc=. On ,the second last day of the trial, jDetective-Sergeant A. Barber, of Newcastle, said that, following the discovery I of the woman'e dead body in her home. 'he interviewed Simpkins, who answered [a number of questions. At one stage, he jeaid, Simpkins interrupted the questions I by saying: "You can aek me as many

questions as you like, and you can go on until you drop dead, but I won't answer any more." In a statement from the. dock, Simpkins said: "If anyone was in that Bouse that night it was not me. I am innocent of the crime. I was twice on that da; in the neighbourhood of Heddon Greta, once early in the afternoon, when I war at the hotel, and once with the youth Milga-te, about six o'clock." The accused said he left Milgate in the bush, Milgatc leaving for home. He told MUgwte not to tell anybody that he (accused) wa< in the bush, because he did not want his girl friend or her people to know thai he had been drinking. Siinpkins describee how he became sick on a number ol occasions after drinking some wine fron a bottle, and said he had decided to g< home. When he arrived home, he eaid he lay down on the bed, but became sicl again, and went out into the yard. H< had had nothing to eat that day or th< previous day. Through the strain ol vomiting and because of his heavy cold hie nose began to bleed. He returned tc his room and went to bed. "For Girl Friend's Sake." I "I never told Detective Walsh th< i truth." he added, "for the simple reasoi f that I did not want my girl friend tc ! know that I had been drinking in the i bush at Heddon Greta. On the Thurs day morning I was getting'dressed, and , I noticed wine stains on the front of my , shirt and pants, and that is the reason ; I took them down to my sister to get . them washed."

Later that day the jury left to inspect the locality where the crime is alleged to have been committed. Xext day they found Simpkins guilty. He slumped in his seat in the dock, but when asked in the usual way if he had anything to say, he rose to his feet and said: "Do I, as man to man, look like a murderer? Mav the man stand up and now if he thinks 1 look like a murderer. Please don"t think that about me. I am far from being a murderer. There is only one thing left. Please, your Honor, don't put any sentence on me, only tc be hanged. That i* all I a~k, and ail I want. I'll get down in the dock now and crawl on the ground to ask you to hang me. I couldn't go to hell and face the judges over the thing I kno-tf nothing about. I have 110 desire to appeal agsinst the charge if the sea'enc* is that I be hanged. If pos-j

sible, I'll have a rope for my breakfast. Please, your Honor, I desire to b* hanged as soon as possible." Before passing sentence of death, Mr. Justice Maxwell said: "You ought to »14>reciate that you have been ably defended and the jury has given the fullest consideration to the case. I cannot see the shadow of a suggestion that the police have done anything not of the utmost fairness." When the sentence «f death was passed, Simpkins stood with a vacant stare and then said: "Thank you."