MAREO FOUND GUILTY

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21812, 18 June 1936, Page 12

MAREO FOUND GUILTY

MURDER OF WIFE NO RECOMMENDATION TO MERCY / END OF LONG SECOND TRIAL 'r££SS ASSOCIATIOK TILE GRAM.) AUCKLAND,-June 17. For the second time this year Eric Mareo, well-known musician of Auckland, had to-night to hear a jury bring jn a verdict of guilty against him, i rid to listen to the judge pronouncing i enter.ee of death. There was a very large crowd about the precincts of the court when the final decision came at a somewhat earlier hour than had been expected. When the first trial on the fame charge concluded on February 26 the verdict was one of guilty, with a \ ery strong recommendation to mercy. No such recommendation was made to Light The trial began on June 1, and has thus lasted for 14 days. The jury retired at 5.30 p.m. and were back in their places a few minutes after 8 c-clock. Mareo showed considerable emotion in the few sentences he addressed to the court before Mr Justice Callan pronounced the inevitable sentence of death. The charge against Mareo. who is 45 j ears of age.- was that he murdered his wife, Thelma Clarice Mareo, aged 29. at Auckland on April 15 of last year Ly administering a poison (veronal) to her. The prosecution was conducted by Mr V. H. Meredith, the Crown Pros ecutor. and Mr F. McCarthy. Mr H. I‘ O'Leary. K.C., of Wellington, and Mr T. Henry and Mr K. C. Aekins have been in charge of the defence. Crown Prosecutor’s Address The Crown Prosecutor, resuming I .is address this morning, said that the case was clearly one vl veronal poisoning. If Mrs Marco took it herself it was either suicide or misadventure. If, on the other hand, it was administered intentionally by someone else, then the act involved that person in the crime of murder. The Mareos had been married only 18 months, and the bride had .£SOO, of which the husßand had dissipated £4OO. It was idle to say that it was a happy marriage. Mr Meredith said. Three bitter quarrels were known of. There was the occasion when Mareo came home drunk from Dixieland. After indulgence in liquor restraint was lifted and the real state of mind indicated. Mareo abused his wife that night, and she replied that she would go out into the street if he would give her back her £SOO. Then there was the mental attitude of the accused the night he was driven home in a drunken condition by Eleanor Brownlee. It was clear that Miss Brownlee came that night with the intention of stopping, for she was equipped with her pyjamas. She must have come at Mareo’s invitation. Later Mareo, in a »emi-dressed condition, had ordered his wife out and said: “Eleanor will look after me.” Then there was Mareo’s accusation against his wife of perversion. By this time he had no social relations with his wife, who had been entirely supplanted by Miss BiyWilee. : Accused’s Letter to Daughter Mr Meredith referred to Mrs Mareo’s brightness with Freda Stark on the Friday night, and her request to come early next day. That was a picture of Mrs Mareo, but what of Mareo? Counsel then outlined the incident of his writing and handing of a morbid letter to Betty Mareo concerning her parentage. Mr Meredith described the incidents of the fatal week-end, and, touching on the incident of giving milk to Mrs Marco, said that Dr. E. W. Giesen had agreed that Mareo’s subsequent sleepiness, together with the fact that he could not be roused, was consistent with Mareo having had a dose of veronal before the' time Mrs Mareo was taken to the lavatory. Dr. Giesen had agreed also that the condition of Mrs Mareo was consistent with a dose of veronal being taken just before that time.

"Now, gentlemen,” said Mr Meredith, "you get this startling position. Just before the milk was prepared they were apparently both free from the influence of veronal, so you have it that, at the same time, two different people were both showing signs of veronal. If Mrs Mareo got it at that time, she got it only one way. It definitely must have been in the milk. Who had veronal in his possession at that lime” Mareo. Who was out in the kitchen preparing the milk? Marco. Then taking the evidence of Mareo going under the influence, what possible inference can you draw but that when Mareo prepared the milk he put the veronal in it, took some himself, and gave his wife the fatal dose.”

Judge’s Smnming-TJp “We are all human,” said, his Honour, commencing. at 12,20 p.xn., his sum-ming-up to the jury, “and whatever efforts we make we are likely to err in handling the great amount of material in this case. If I should misstate anything, it is your right and duty to help to correct me.” His Honour said it was for the prosecution to satisfy them beyond doubt that the charge had been proved. The jury would approach the matter with the same earnestness and degree of care as though their own lives depended on the right answer. The whole case had to be tried to the jury’s satisfaction on the evidence at this trial, as though Mareo never had been tried before. Continuing, after lunch, until 5.30, his Honour reviewed the evidence. He said it was definitely established that Mrs Mareo had died of veronal poisoning. The next questions were —Did Mareo give it to her? Did he give it to her with intent to kill? Regarding the first of these, the Crown set about answering it by this means. It said it would prove that Mrs Mareo woke voluntarily, and would show how long and under what circumstances she stayed awake. Then it would show that after milk was given she went from sleep to coma. It said it would establish that it was scientifically impossible for those facts to happen without a further dose of veronal, and that the veronal must have been given in the milk. If each of those steps be safely taljen, said his Honour, then it was safely established that Mareo gave the milk that killed her. If any one of these broke, there was a break in the case. Evidence of Freda Stark

The history of the symptoms of the patient depended almost entirely on the evidence of Freda Stark, said his Honour, to such an extent that if the jury had not entire faith in that evidence, it was not good enough to build a medical opinion on. Was she sincere? She was a long time in the box, and so some impression must have been formed on that question. His Honour would say this much, that it was a very useful thought to ask, “Was she at all shaken in cross-exam-ination?”

“The doctors do not agree,” said his Honour, “but you as laymen must try to understand what it is these doctors are saying, and you must not be afraid to determine.”

Motive was dealt with by his Honour. If this man killed his wife, why did he do it? After quoting authorities, his Honour said two things in the trial had been brought to notice. They were, the apparent lack of association between Mareo and his wife, and the association of Mareo and Eleanor Brownlee. There had also been stressed the tragic and melodramatic letter written by Mareo to Betty Mareo. If the suggestion was that his state was desperate, he had lost his job, and he, perhaps, thought there was no hope for his film project, the jury was entitled to ask what particularly would cause Mareo to take Thelma Mareo out of his life with him if he contemplated suicide. If, by evidence of another kind. the jury saw that the man had committed murder, they were not to be held back from finding him guilty. Prisoner’s Statement ♦ ‘'Prisoner at the bar,” said the registrar, according to prescribed form, after the foreman had announced the jury’s verdict, “have you anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon you?” “It is very hard to say anything under the circumstances,” said Mareo, “because it is the second time I have been through this terrible ordeal. I can only say that it seems to me, from a logical, clear-minded man’s reasoning, from the way the whole of this case has been conducted by all counsel, and after your Honour’s, may I say, marvellous summing-up, I have been sentenced on the lying word of Freda Stark. I ought not to say that,” he added, after a pause, “but what can I say? Nothing more.” His Honour then put on the black cap and pronounced sentence of death. Addressing the jury and counsel engaged in the case, his Honour said: “Mr Foreman and gentleman of the jury, I am now able to discharge you, and on behalf of your country, I express my regret that your services on this occasion have kept you so long, and have been so arduous. I have to thank you, on behalf of the country, for your long, patient, and careful attention to this case. When service of such unusual magnitude and duration falls to a jury, it is within my power, and it is proper, to give you exemption from further service for a term of years. In view of what has been done jn other long cases of recent occurrence in this city, I think a further complete exemption of six years is appropriate, and I so order. Tribnte to Counsel “It remains only for me to say that this has been a very long and arduous trial, and has laid a very great strain upon the members of the bar, leading members and junior members, who have shared in the presentation of both sides of this case. I think I ought to say that all of them have done their task extremely well, and in full conformity witn the best traditions of the bar in this country and in Britain, and particularly do I thank them all for this, that in spite of the heavy strain we have all been under fre: •' the nature of this case, day after day they have behaved to one another throughout as gentleman of the bar and in perfect good temper.”