DUNEDIN MURDER CHARGE

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27582, 12 February 1955, Page 8

DUNEDIN MURDER CHARGE

Trial Of Woman Doctor

CASE TO CONTINUE TODAY

(Neto Zealand Press Association)

DUNEDIN, February 11.

The trial of Senga Florence Whittingham on a charge of murder will enter its fifth day tomorrow. Five Crown witnesses gave evidence in the Supreme Court today. Two of them—Frances Olga Zoe Kearney, a student nurse, and Constable J. B. Fallon, a policewoman—were not cross-examined by the defence. Since the trial opened on Tuesday, 19 witnesses have given evidence. Aged .27, and a house surgeon at the Dunedin Public Hospital, Whittingham is alleged to have shot and killed John William Saunders, aged 27, a resident medical officer at the hospital, on December 12, 1954, in the house surgeons’ quarters.

Before Miss Kearney gave evidence today, Mr Justice McGregor, who is presiding at the trial, heard legal argument in chambers. There were two further adjournments during the day, while the admissibility of evidence was argued.

Miss Kearney described telephone conversations with the accused before the witness accompanied Saunders to a party on the night of December 11, and also events in the house surgeons’ quarters after Saunders’s death. Other witnesses detailed what occurred on the morning of the shooting. The police produced a statement allegedly made by Whittingham at the Dunedin central station about 4 a.m. on December 12.

Before the Court adjourned for the day his Honour indicated that the trial was likely to continue into next week. The Crown Prosecutor is Mr H. S. Adams, and with him is Mr J. B. Deaker. Whittingham is represented by Mr A. J. H. Jeavons, with him Mr R. J. Gilbert.

By 10 ajn. today the public galleries in the Courtroom were crowded. The jury filed in at 10.27 a.m. iwo minutes later, Whittingham, wearing the same clothes as at the start of the trial, took her place in the dock. The trial was resumed at 10.30 a.m. Frances Olga Zoe Kearney, a senior student nurse at the Dunedin Public Hospital, said she knew Saunders, and first met him in June of last year. They went out regularly, perhaps once a week. • Speaking of the pre-wedding party at Miss Elliott’s, which was also to celebrate Saunders’s gaining his M.D., she said she had arranged to meet Saunders at 8 pjn. The witness said that at 6.20 p.m. she • received a telephone call. A voice said: “I am interested to know if you are going out with Bill Saunders.” “I said *What?’,” said Miss Kearney. “Then the voice repeated the question, and followed with: ‘lt is the mother of Bill Saunders’s child speaking.’ “The caller then said: ‘Do you think , you are being fair?’ On that, I recognised the voice, and asked if it was Senga Whittingham speaking. She replied, ‘Yes,’ so I told her that her affair with Bill was no concern of mine. “I told her I thought she was making a fool of herself, and then I rang off. Later I decided to ring Whittingham, but before I got to the telephone booth in the nurses’ room, two calls came in for me, one from a woman and one from a man.” Whittingham Again Telephones Miss Kearney said she took the call from the woman first, and found it was Whittingham again. “If I remember rightly, she said, •You must come and .see me, as it means everything to me,’ ” said Miss Kearney, “she asked me to come and see the child.” Whittingham then said that, if Miss Kearney went out with Saunders, she would be more sorry than she realised. Miss Kearney said, in response to a request from Whittingham, that she would go to the Queen Mary Hospital to see her. Then she received her second call, from Saunders. After that, she met Saunders, at 7-30 p.m., earlier than had previously been arranged, said Miss Kearney. They drove round in Saunders’s car from then until 9.30 p.m., and then went to the party in George street. . After midnight they returned to the house surgeons’ quarters and went to the sitting-room. In the room there were Nurse Griffin and Mr and Mrs Leus, said the witness. She could not remember the others. Saunders was standing near the door. Those present had been in the room only about 15 or 20 minutes when Saunders left the room. Saunders would have been away about five minutes when she heard the explosion, said Miss Kearney. • There was a light in the corridor and one in the vestibule, as far as she could remember, she said. Saunders was falling to his knees when she first saw him. Whittingham had her arms 1 around him. Whittingham was on her left side and was falling with him. Miss Kearney said she stood looking at them for a few moments and then went back to the sitting room. When she returned to the vestibule, Saunders and Whittingham were lying alongside each other on the floor. Whittingham was lying on the left side. Mr Leus or Dr. Gillman was there, also. Miss Kearney said she then went to the billiards room, which was across the corridor. Whittingham was in the main sitting room when she was there. She (Whittingham) had on a brown coat and a brown scarf round her head. Mr Deaker: Was Whittingham still in the sitting room when you left?— Yes,- she was. There were no questions from the defence. Saunders's Death The next witness was Ann Beverley Griffin, a staff nurse at the Dunedin Public Hospital. She said she had attended the party at Miss Elliott’s home in George street. Miss Elliott was her aunt The witness left the party with Dr. Perry, soon after midnight After leaving the George street party, they went to the house surgeons’ quarters, said Miss Griffin. She thought they were among the first to arrive. Records were played on the radiogram, and she talked with Dr. Perry and Saunders for about five minutes. Saunders left the room, and she was standing near the doorway of the room when she heard a noise like a firework being let- off, said the witness. Then there was a sound like breaking glass. Mr Deaker: Did you do anything about this noise? Miss Griffin: I moved out into the vestibule. Were there others there?—Yes. Where was Miss Kearney?—She left the sitting room after us, but ran up closer when she saw what had happened. ■ Miss Griffin said Saunders was lying on the floor and Whittingham was lying partly on top of him. She slipped off, however, to a position alongside him. Miss Griffin saw no sign of a rifle. Immediately afterwards, she and Miss Kearney went into the billiards room for a few minutes, said Miss Griffin. When they went back to the vestibule, Saunders was lying on his back and was being examined by several of the doctors who had attended •tfie party. Whittingham appeared from somewhere. Someone said to take her away, said Miss Griffin. The witness sat beside Whittingham for a few minutes, but had no conversation with her. Whittingham, a general statement: “What have I done? I loved him ■■

Mr Gilbert, in cross-examination, asked Miss Griffin whether she had made a statement to the police that it would not be more than a minute between Saunders leaving the sitting room and the noise of a shot. Miss Griffin replied that that would be a fair estimate of the time. Whittingham’s Clothing Searched A policewoman, Constable J. B. Fallon, said she was called on duty soon after 1 a.m. on December 12. She saw Whittingham at the police station, and accompanied her to the detective office, where she was interviewed by Detec-tive-Sergeants Lahmert and Marshall. “When I told her I was about to search her, she handed me a small bottle, which she said was insulin she had been taking to assist her appetite,” said Constable Fallon. The witness said that at 1 a.m. Whittingham appeared extremely tired and pale. When she was interviewed by the detectives, she seemed quite rational and was not excited. Constable Fallon said that she, herself; was exactly the same height as Whittingham. She was at the house surgeons’ quarters when Professor D’Ath made experiments with a model. During the experiments she used shoes of the same height as those alleged to have been used by Whittingham on December 12. The defence counsel did not question Constable Fallon. The Court adjourned at 11.15 a.m. for legal argument about evidence to be given by Sergeant John David Farquhar, the next witness. When the hearing was resumed after more than an hour, Sergeant Farquhar gave evidence that he received a telephone message at 12.29 a.m. on December 12 from the hospital. Conversation With Accused He went straight to the casualty department and saw the body of Saun- ♦ r *L the witness. He then went to the house surgeons’ quarters with Dr. Perry, where he saw a number of men and women in the passage He found a .303 rifle standing near a aoor. He immediately took possession of the rifle. 4 , He then went to a room leading off the balcony which gave access to the water closet and bathroom, said Sergeant Farquhar. In the room he saw bloodstains. He also saw a thin powdery substance which covered the floor. Above the lavatory pan he saw a hole m the plaster wall. When he &r st saw xt ‘ the lav atory seat was up. The lights in the lavatory and the room outside were on, but the bathroom was in darkness, said Sergeant ln room he saw Whittingham sitting with McMahon. po^d^ aS nOt crying ’ and a PPeared comSergeant Farquhar said he asked her whether she could assist with informadeath of Saunders.. ..She asked ‘ls he dead?’ and I reFarquhl? 5 ' he “ dead ’’ ” said Ser « eant “I feel sorry for poor Bill. I don’t know what made me do it,” said Whittmgham to the witness. Sergeant Farquhar said he was given three rounds of ammunition by Whittingham. He gave them later to Sergeant McGuire.

The witness said he told Whittingham she was not obliged to say anything. Whittingham replied: “yes, I will tell you ail about it.” Sergeant Farquhar then told Whittingham he would like to search her coat pockets. She agreed, and said he would find nothing in them. There was nothing. Whittingham told him there was nothing much to tell him. She said she “did it to Bill.” Then Sergeant Farquhar and Whittingham went out to the scene of Saunders’s death. She was asked whether she had made the hole in the lavatory wall, and she said: “Yes I did it.” Whittingham told the witness: “Bill was standing there with his back towards me. and I only meant to give him a fright.” Questions About Rifle “Where did you get the gun?” Sergeant Farquhar asked. “It is mine,” she said. She added that she put a bullet in the gun. “I then asked Whittingham did she pull the trigger,” said Sergeant Farquhar. “She said: ‘Yes. I did.’ I asked her how many bullets she had, and she replied, ‘Four.’ She said she had not drunk liquor that day, nor had she had a row with Saunders. ‘‘She told me: ‘I did love Bill very much. I don’t know what made me do it—poor Bill.’ ” Sergeant Farquhar said he warned Whittingham that she had committed a serious offence for which she would be later charged. She said, after he told her he was taking her to the station: “I know." Later, she said: “You know all there is to know and I don’t wish to say any more.” Whittingham and the witness, in company with other persons present, then walked to the sittingroom. She was left in the company of Morgan and others while Sergeant Farquhar went to get his helmet. A moment later Whittingham collapsed, but appeared to recover at once, said Sergeant Farquhar. They then walked to the main entrance of the hospital and were driven to the police station. During his conversation with Whittingham she appeared to be in full possession of her faculties, was composed, and spoke rationally, said the witness.

On his return to the house surgeons’ quarters, he further examined the lavatory, said Sergeant Farquhar. He found the spent nose of the bullet directly beneath the hole in the wall, and an inch out from the bottom of the wall. Later, with DetectiveSergeants Lahmert and Marshall and a doctor. he took possession of a letter from Whittingham’s quarters. The witness said the letter was one

which had been read to the Court on the opening day of the trial. Mr Adams produced an admission from the defence that the letter was written by Whittingham to her friend, Nurse Elizabeth East, of the Blenheim Maternity Hospital. The night of December 11-12 was overcast with intermittent drizzle, said Sergeant Farquhar. The street lights at the nearby intersection provided sufficient illumination for anyone going up or down the fire escape outside the house surgeon’s quarters of the Dunedin Hospital. Mr Adams: From what doorway did you take possession of the rifle? Sergeant Farquhar: From the doorway at the corner of the balcony. Who accompanied you and the accused to the police station?—Morgan, at my request. Morgan stayed with the accused at the station. You have said that, when you saw the accused, she appeared to be calm. Was she shaking?—She appeared to be showing no outward signs of emotional control. Was any threat or inducement held up to the accused in your discussions with her? —No, sir. What tone of voice did you use Just ordinary. Just your ordinary conversation voice? —Yes, sir. Sergeant Farquhar then said “Tuesday” and “Friday,” at Mr Adams’s request, in his “conversation” tone. Sergeant Cross-examined In cross-examination, Mr Jeavons asked: “After the accused left the sitting room in your company, did she ever return that night?” Sergeant Farquhar replied: “No.” Did Dr. Perry or anyone else tell you on the way to the hospital what had happened?—Yes. Did you hear any conversation on your arrival? —No. Did you learn what the accused was supposed to have said?—No. Regarding your conversation with Whittingham in the sitting room, where was McMahon? —He was on one side of the accused, and I was the other.

As regards your testimony of conversation outside the sitting room, when you went to the room outside the toilet, what did the accused say?— Nothing. You asked her what made the hole in the plaster, and she gave you an answer. Where were you then?—Two or three feet into the vestibule from the balcony. I put it to you that the conversation about the gun took place near the gun?—That is true. Referring to the first conversation, Mr Jeavons asked whether Sergeant Farquhar could be entirely sure as to the place and the words used. The witness said he could. Firing of Rifle Mr Jeavons: In regard to the trigger, dd you swear the accused used the words “I pulled it”? Sergeant Farquhar: I do. Did you give evidence in the Lower Court on the same matter?—Yes. Do you remember on that occasion replying that the accused, said, when asked about pulling the trigger, “Yes, I did”?—l don’t think so. If I did, it was a mistake. Do you concede the possibility that she made some such statement?—l am pretty certain that I’m right. Is it a likely topic that you shouldn’t be sure about?—l don’t think so, sir. Is there a possibility you are mistaken today?—l don’t think so, sir. I’m certain. There is no doubt in your mind that the accused told you she let the gun off, or is there a possibility you were told by the others?—l was told nothing by the others. Regarding the question asked in this connexion, I take it you desired to know and had her say who discharged the weapon. That was the purpose of your question, wasn’t it?—Yes, sir.

Can you be precisely sure about the question? Is it likely that you used other words with a similar meaning? —No, sir. I asked her, “Did you pull the trigger yourself?” His Honour: Did you use the word “yourself”? The witness: Yes. Mr Jeavons: Did you use the word “trigger”? The witness: Yes. Mr Jeavons: Did you have to repeat the question? The witness: No. Might it have been that the accused only said “yes”?—No. Who was in the immediate vicinity 9 —Morgan, Dr. Perry, and McMahon. How far away was Morgan?—The others were all about four feet away on top of the steps. And you spoke in your ordinary conversation tone?—That is true. Is there a possibility that the reference to drink was made elsewhere 9 —No, sir. At the head of the stairs in Cumberland street?— No, sir. “Answers Given Without Delay” Mr Jeavons: How long was your conversation with Whittingham? Sergeant Farquhar: Two and a half to three minutes. I was not interested -m the time. Did each question follow on without interval?—Practically. Were the answers given without delay?—Yes. Did you have any conversation with the accused in any other place?—Just at T?“ e stairs ’ giving her directions. Did, you report the nature of the P et ® cti y e -Sergeant Marshall at the station?—l did not see Detec-tive-Sergeant Marshall until 4.30 to 4.45 a.m. at the hospital. Did you on that occasion report the conversation?—Yes, Sir. I wouldn’t like to dispute it, but I think I did. Sergeant Farquhar then apologised, andsaid he reported the conversation at 6 a.m. « Mr Jeavons: How long were you at the hospital when you went back 9 The witness: From 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. How long of that time was DetecxY e “ Sergeant Marshall present?— About an hour. Were you at any time in the detectives’ room when the accused was making a voluntary statement?—No. Have you ever discussed the matter of the accused’s statements with anybody outside the Police Force?—No. With any witness?—No. This ended Sergeant Farquhar’s evidence. Accused Interviewed Detective-Sergeant James Arthur Marshall, of Dunedin, said that at 2 a.m. on Sunday, December 12, he interviewed the accused at the Central Police Station about events leading to the death of Saunders. DetectiveSergeant A. J. Lahmert was present. “When I first saw the accused she was sitting in the senior-sergeants’ office with Constable Fallon,” said the witness. “At my request the accused accompanied me to the sub-inspector’s office. Constable Fallon came with her.” The witness said he introduced the accused to Detective-Sergeant Lahmert, and then asked the accused whether she remembered him (witness). ’Hie accused said she did. The witness told the accused that he was investigating the events leading to the death of Saunders, and asked her whether she could give any information. The accused said that she could. The accused was then told that she did not have to say anything further in the matter, as what she said would be used in evidence. The accused told him that she had returned from Balclutha on the previous day, and had learned that Saunders was going out on Saturday night with another woman, said De-tective-Sergeant Marshall. “She said that she had spoken to Saunders, and he had confirmed this,” said the witness. “She said that she also talked with the woman in question, and' that she (the woman) had a*jo told her that she was going out with Saunders. “When the accused was asked the name of the woman she declined to give it. The accused said she had not been able to find out where Saunders and the woman had gone.” The accused told the witness she was in the bathroom nf the house surgeons’ quarters on the night of Saunders’s death, and *aw the party, including Saunders, returning to the quarters. She had seen them from the

window in the bathroom when they were in Frederick street. Whittingham said she returned to her room in the Queen Mary Hospital and obtained the rifle and some rounds of ammunition, said DetectiveSergeant Marshall. Mr Adams: How many rounds? The witness: Four. Detective-Sergeant Marshall said the accused told him she returned to the house surgeons’ quarters with the rifle, and went up the fire escape. After entering the quarters, the accused went into the room near the fire escape, and put a round in the breech of the rifle. She heard someone coming, and she went into the bathroom, which was in darkness. The person she heard went past the bathroom into the convenience, the accused told the witness. She saw it was Saunders, and she spoke to him. She could not remember what she said to him. The accused said Saunders turned, looked over his shoulder at her, and said something. She could not remember what he said. Detective-Sergeant Marshall said the next thing the accused remembered was that the room was full of smoke, and Saunders was coming out of the lavatory towards her. The witness said the accused told him Saunders grabbed her by the neck, and they fell on the floor together, after going back some distance. Mr Adams asked: “Did she say anything?” The witness answered, but his Honour said that he did not think it was a proper question to ask. Mr Adams withdrew the question. The witness said he asked the accused whether she was willing to make a written statement. The accused said she would. The witness began a typewritten statement, and after typing the first paragraph, he told the accused that she was not obliged to say anything further, because what she was saying might be taken down and used in evidence against her. Statement by Whittingham The accused agreed to make a statement, said Detective-Sergeu-t Marshall. The statement was as follows: — “I have known Saunders for about two years. I became engaged to be married to him, if I remember rightly, about May, 1953, and the engagement was broken off against my wishes about September, 1953. I have since been fairly closely associated socially with Saunders, and have remained deeply attached to him. “On Friday, December 10 last, Saunders told me in conversation that on Saturday evening he was going put. I knew he would be going out with another female person whom I do not wish to name. Consequently, early on the evening of Saturday, December 11, I telephoned that person, who confirmed that she and Saunders were going out together. “Following this, I went out and tnec to find Saunders and his partner, but was unable to locate them. I returnee to my room at 10 p.m., and spent some time there. During this time I went across to the house surgeons’ quarters twice. On my second visit, Saunders arrived back. “I was in the bathroom when I heard the voices of a party, male and female, returning to the home. I looked out the bathroom window, and saw Bill’s car and heard his voice. “I did not wait for them to come up, but went straight back to the Queen Mary Hospital and to my room. I formed the intention of getting a .303 rifle which I kept in my room, and frightening him with it. My things had been packed away, and the rifle was in a locked clothes cupboard where I had stored my effects. “I went to this cupboard and, un? locked it, and took out the rifle. I also took out a case, and took it to my room. There I opened the case, and took out a chocolate box in which I kept some ammunition for the rifle. I took, I think, four rounds of ammunition, and returned to the house surgeons’ quarters. Purchase of Rifle “The rifle was one I had bought about a year ago,” said the statement. “Bill and I used to go shooting together, and he had a shotgun, so I bought a rifle. I had used the rifle on only one - occasion since, and that was when I went out with Bill, and he gave me some instructions in the use of it. I had intended using the rifle for wallaby shooting, but had not actually done so. “On reaching the house surgeons' quarters. I entered up the fire escape on the Cumberland street frontage. There is a door at the top of this fire escape which leads into a passage. It was just inside this door that I put a round of ammunition into the breech of the rifle. “I heard voices in the sitting room, and was moving in that direction when I heard someone coming and backed into the bathroom. There was no light in the bathroom and, looking out, I saw that it was Saunders going past to the convenience. “I called out to him, but he did not hear me. I followed him, and saw him go into the toilet. The door of the toilet was open, and I spoke to him. I do not remember what I said, but he looked round, and I showed him the rifle. I was sure I had it pointed down towards the floor. “The next thing I knew was that the toilet was full of smoke, and he was coming out the door towards me. He grasped me round the neck, and we fell. “I did not intend to do anything more than frighten him with the gun,” the accused’s statement said. “All I wanted was for us to be happy. “There was no-one else there when it happened, but the others came almost immediately afterwards. The rounds of ammunition I gave to the police sergeant were the rest of what I took from my room. “Saunders had been urinating, but I do not know whether he had finished when the rifle went off. He had turned his head when I spoke to him, and he looked at me over his shoulder. I think he still had his back to me when the rifle went off. “I cannot remember what I said to him in the toilet. He replied, and there was some further conversation, but I cannot remember it, either. “After the rifle went off, he turned round and came towards ’ me, talking all the time, but I cannot remember what he said. After he grasped me. we went back down the passage to near the door that leads to the porch, and it was there we fell. “Shortly afterwards, Dr. Gillman came and picked me up. Then I got frightened and went into the toilet, locking the door after me. I stayed there for some time until someone called out to me to open the door. I unlocked the door and came out. Bill