MURDER CHARGE.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20089, 19 November 1930, Page 17

MURDER CHARGE.

DEFENCE PLEADS INSANITY. fIJIAL OF ALEXANDER townsend. „ SM6 association tslegka*.) *vW PLYMOUTH, November 18. . -I of Alexander Townsend, " »• -<«■ **' liusc, brother-in-law , Townsend, said he thought the for Townsend visitiny them 'Th a shotgun was because his wife fighter had stayed with them. No Hound ot Struggle. Cherrv Isabella Vickors said she Mrs Townsend tor a long fcsd She went out on September 15th Mr 3 Townsend arrived. She j™ 4 between 10.30 ami 10.40 p.m. r£tßrn „„J into the kitchen, whore she * « the Townsends and her sister, M.S. pIS Townsend spoke to her. boo M smell drink strongly, but lie was "S Sd civil. He diseusfed family q ?Ls saving ho would not pay any Ipv for Jean's board. He fflor ® 1 1 Mr 's Townsend to go outside, I™* she refused. When he asked his «lfe to go wtih him for :l 80ttlc ? 10 . Bt ' Xa suggested getting a taxi tor of them. Townsend was w.llms this but Mrs Townsend refuseu, something in an undertone went away, after tolling his wife to put her liat and coat on, as lie «JSd wait for her at the gate It might have been a quarter of an hour Utor that ho came back and stood at the door. Ho was given a eup ot coffee He was speaking more loudly, and looked pale. He and Ins wife went Jown the passage towards tho sittingroom. Mrs Townsend said she would meet him in the morning. Arrangements were made that Mrs Townsend and Mise Fatchel should sleep in tho sitting-room. Witnew then went to bed in a room with one of her daughters. She could sot tay what time it was that h£i risier came to awaken her. She came oat into the passage, where she saw :he Townsends and Miss Fatchel by the telephone. Townsend was speaking after loudly. He asked where the tele, phone was. Witness showed him, whereupon he broke off the receiver. Husband and wife then went towairls the atting-room. "Bella! Bella! Oh, Bell*!" called Mrs Townsend later. "I'm a dead man now," said Townsend. "No, not yet, Alex," replied his wife. Witness heard neither of them tpeak again. She heard no sounds of jtruggling or fighting in the sitting room.

After the Tragedy. Constable King told of tho finding of the body. When taken to the police station Townscnd had said. "I'm the man. I know what I have done, and I Save done' it for a good purpose. I mnst say I was drunk last night. I did it for ray daughter's sake. Is she dead?" Detective Meiklejohn replied that she was dead, and Townscnd said, "That's a good job. Don't have a Court. Bang me right away. It ought to have been done years ago." Noticing a knife and gun lying on the table Townsend said, "That's the knife and that's the gun. It was not used, but "I can tell you boys if you had come along it would have been used. Constable King. said Townsend's condition •vra# aS if he were recovering from a drinking' bout. He was not drunk and appeared to know what he was talking abaut.--This concluded the Crown case. Defence Pie ads Insanity. It must be obvious," said Mr L. M. Vow, opening his address to the jury, "tilt you will have little difficulty in itSing that the thing which killed this mfortnnate woman was the hand of acfued. Our defence is that at the time of the commission of the act, Townsond ru insane. A man protests his sanity when hiß mind is disordered. The test ,af his'insanity is roughly his sanity. Ho feu invited the police to hang him. At the present moment that is his desire." The intention to commit mass murdff, contended counsel, was evidence of hifanity, It was part of the Crown's cut that Townsend went to Onaero with ft# intention of wiping out the Huses (his sister-in-law and brother-in-law) Ml the Lathams (Latham being his 'father-in-law). "Taylor's Medical Jurisprudence" had it that a sane man might Jail two persons, but when a man went beyond that and showed intention to eeaunit mass murder he was insane. TWtaend had a knife and a gun and twenty cartridges. Again, unlike a sane he had announced his intention to tommit the murder. Evidence for Accused. Bobert Henry Townsend, farmer, Bttailts®, and brother of tho accused man » said- in recent years a change Mimed to have come over accused. Occasionally he would pass acquaintances m the street and not recognise them. Patrick Crosbie, farmer, Claudelands, •aid he had lived opposite Townscnd several years. He described him as /nice man generally, but very changc"kZ* During a conversation he would change from one subject to another apparently without reason. William Walter Smith, a retired forester, said he had Observed Townsend He was a man of violently ®aangmg moods. He appeared to have Mi-arrested mentality. His conversation was always of a frivolous nature ni * never seemed to rise Jfoove that of a boy of eleven or «*«ve. When alone he would occasion'•JT" work himself into violent moods, tttwonld-cnrse to himself. On the night ? ~® tragedy Townsend came to the jjoarding-house, shook hands, said goody®, and said he was going to swim the fewn to Sydney. Witness knew Townswa was going through his money at ' tJ* te of £7o ° a yearOr. A. Walker told of his interwith Townsend in prison. He Memed calm and collected. He was F a bout the last few hours but was concerning the time of the J-SMy. He had no remorse, and said ir* ®eed is done; well done." He did ?®* remember taking the knife out of "***pocliet, but said he found it there . with blood on it. »WSi a ■ ' or * s evidence was not con- ; tp^„ r(^ hen ' th ® Court adjourned till