PLEA OF GUILTY TO BIGAMY

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22661, 16 March 1939, Page 16

PLEA OF GUILTY TO BIGAMY

WOMAN COMMITTED . FOR SENTENCE ADMISSION TO DETECTIVE (PBE3S ASSOCIATION TELEGBAM.) WELLINGTON, March 15. A woman married in Napier in 1934, who went through a form of marriage in Wellington last year while her lawful husband was still living, walked into the Detectives’ Office, Wellington, and gave herself up’ for having committed bigamy. She was Mabel Amelia Newham, described as a domestic, aged 34, and when she appeared before Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court at Wellington to-day. charged with the offence, she pleaded guilty and was committed to the Supreme Court, where she is to be sentenced to-morrow.. . Detective-Sergeant P. Doyle . prosecuted. and Ihe accused was, represented by Mr J. Meltzer. ■Maurice Frederick Newham, a warehouseman, of Napier, said he first met the accused in 1932 and knew her then as Mabel Matthews. She told, the witness that she was a married woman and was a Mrs Gleeson. In 1933 she was divorced by her husband and the Supreme Court made the decree absolute during February, 1934. On April 23, 1934. accused was married to witness in the office of the Registrar of Marriages, Napier. Previous to that on February 16, 1934, twins were born to them. They lived together in Wellington. and in February, 1935, moved to Napier, wnere they lived till September 13 of that year, when accused left him and returned to Wellington. “I did not see her again after that.” said the witness. Frederick William Crosby, an insurance canvasser at Wellington, said he first met the accused three and a half years ago and then knew her as Miss Elaine Hoffmann. During the time he kept company with her she maintained that she was a single girl. On October 10 last a child was born to them, ana after some discussion accused agreed to marry him.:, When they went through a form of marriage in the office of the Registrar at Wellington on December 21 last, witness believed that she was a single woman. She gave her name as Elaine Valmi Hoffmann. Mr Meltzer: Would it be correct to say that the accused appeared unwilling to marry you? Witness: She was at first. Cross-examined further, witness said that it would be correct to say that he had persuaded her to marry him. When accused called at the Detective Office she v/as very agitated, said Detective 11. A. Hay. She said that she wanted to give herself up _ for having committed bigamy, and in a statement to the police she admitted the offence and said that Crosby had persuaded her to marry him because of the child. Accused said that she had worried so much about the matter that she hardly knew what she was doing, the detective added.