NIUE ISLAND MURDER

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27201, 19 November 1953, Page 8

NIUE ISLAND MURDER

APPEALS REJECTED BY FULL COURT

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, November 18. The three Niue Islanders sentenced to death tor the murder of Mr C. H. W. Larsen, the island’s Resident Commissioner on August 16, had their appeals against their convictions dismissed m a reserved decision given by the Full Court at Auckland this afternoon. The appellants are Lataotama, aged 21, ana Folitolu, aged 25. for whom Mr E. T. Pleasants appeared, and Tamaeli, aged 18, represented by Mr S. C. Ennor. The Full Court consisted of Mr Justice Stanton, Mr Justice Adams, and Mr Justice Turner. The appeals were heard towards the end of last month. The men were sentenced to death by Mr L. G. H. Sinclair, S.M., of Auckland, who was appointed Judge of the High Coupt of the Cook Islands for the trial, on September 10, after four Niuean and two European assessors had unanimously found the accused guilty at Aloft. There were five grounds for the appeals of two of the men, and eight for the third. Tamaeli. , “The appellants claimed that there was sufficient evidence of provocation to justify the Court in reducing the charge from murder to manslaughter, said the judgment. “It is argued that the acts alleged by the accused—many of them supported only by unsworn statements—constituted provocation. It is said the accused were provoked by I these alleged acts so as to deprive them of self-control to the necessary I degree. We cannot bring ourselves to agree that there is even a possibility; that the legal requirements of provocation may have existed in this case “It is abundantly demonstrated against the first two prisoners that they deliberately desired and intended death or greivous bodily injury of the deceased many hours before the murder took place.” Tamaelrs written statement showed he was equally involved with the others in all that followed upon the escape, the judgment said. . On the question of admissibility of the statements of the accused to the police, the Judges held that these were rightly admitted by the trial Judge, and that the objections of the appellants to their being read must fail.