Stepmother Caused Bodily Harm To Girl Of 11

Press, Volume C, Issue 29508, 9 May 1961, Page 17

Stepmother Caused Bodily Harm To Girl Of 11

(New Zealand Press Assoeuxtion)

WELLINGTON, May 8.

After an all-day hearing, Mr J. F. Keane, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court today convicted Ann Marie Hill, aged 33, a housewife, on a charge of assaulting her stepdaughter, Jennifer Ann Margaret Hill, aged 11, by holding her in a bath of over-hot water, so as to cause her bodily harm.

Hill pleaded not guilty, and elected summary jurisdiction. She was represented by Mr J B. O’Regan. To a further charge, laid under the Infants Act, 1908. in that being a person having charge of a child, she wilfully ill-treated the child in a manner likely to cause her unnecessarv suffering, Hill pleaded guilty. Mr G. Wells conducted the prosecution for the police. The girl said in evidence that on February 1 she was to have a bath. After the bath was run she did not want to get into it, as it was too hot Her stepmother, however, lifted her into the water. When she got out she felt “rather sore” on her back, said the girl. The next morning, her pyjamas had stuck to her back, just above her left buttock. She saw where her back had been burnt. The skin was red, and peeled off, she said.

Later on in the morning, when she was at school, two Child Welfare officers called to see her. They examined her back, and took her to the hospital.

Cross-examined, the girl told Mr O'Regan that her step-mother ran some cold water into the bath after a little while.

Re-examined by Mr Wells, she said that she could not get oat of the bath because

her step-mother was holding her in.

Neighbour’s Evidence Myra Kathleen McLeod, who lives next door to the Hill family in Titahi Bay,

said that shortly before 8 p.m. on February 1 she heard “the most terrible screams” coming from the Hill house. She, with her husband and another man, had been sitting in their lounge. They were screams of pain from Jennifer Hill, whose voice the witness said she knew "only too well.” She said the screams were coming from either the Hill’s kitchen or bathroom.

Donald McKay said that he was with the previous witness. Mrs McLeod, on the night of February 1. He heard long screams coming from the Hill’s house.

Dr. Josephine Glen-Doepel said she had examined Jennifer Hill on February 2. She found bruises on the arms, legs, chest, back, and face.

There were areas of bums or scalds on both buttocks, the burns or scalds being from one to four days old The girl was kept in hospital for about three weeks, being treated for burns. Child Welfare Evidence

Phyllis Gwendolyn Hindle, a senior Child Welfare officer, said that she visited Jennifer Hill at school on the morning of February 2. She pulled up the girl’s sleeve, and saw bruise marks. She decided to examine the girl’s body, and when she pulled the girl’s singlet up, she squealed with pain. The child’s clothes had stuck to her skin. A singlet and a pair of panties were produced to the Court.

A burn on the girl’s back was weeping copiously. No medical attention had been given, the witness said.

On February 8, the witness went to the girl’s home, and saw some pyjamas under the girl’s pillow on her bed. They were stiff with discharge and dried skin, she said.

Cross-examined, the witness said that the area of the burn on the child’s back was not as long as a hot-water bottle. Detective’s Evidence Detective-Sergeant H. Baldock said that he interviewed the defendant at her house in Titahi Bay. She had said that all the children had been bathed that night, and when they had finished she had added more hot water to the water already there, so that Jennifer could bath.

“She said she had washed Jennifer’s hair and back, then left her to it,” he said. The defendant had said she did not know about the child’s burns until her husband came home after he had been with the child and Miss Hindle to the doctor. The detective said that the child had told him that she had been burnt in the bath. Mr O’Regan asked that the charge against Hill be dismissed, saying there had been such a conflict in the evidence that the position had been left in doubt. The Magistrate, however, held that a prima facie case had been made out. Defendant Called

Mr O’Regan then called Hill, who said she had recently been delivered of twins. On February 1, all the four children had baths. Jennifer was the last to be bathed and she used some of the water that the others had had. “I was in the bathroom when Jennifer got into the bath. She said it was a bit hot, and turned on the cold water. At that time the child was sitting in the bath, and made no endeavour to get out.” she said. The Magistrate: From what you say of the times, the water in the bath from the previous bathers would be stone cold when Jennifer got into it. Was there any use using it at that stage? Defendant: She had run some hot water into it. To Mr Regan, Hill said that Jennifer gave no trouble up to last August, when she smarted taking money out of the house, and telling lies. Hill said that since the incident, she had been to see Jennifer, who had greeted her with affection. She had no idea when Jennifer got into the bath that harm or pain would come to her.

Magistrate’s Decision The Magis’rate said the Court must exercise considerable caution before accepting a child's evidence, but the child did not give her evidence in any vindictive way. Rather, was she anxious not to make too much fuss about the matter. “To me, it is unthinkable that a little girl would have remained in a bath after suffering injuries such as Jennifer suffered if she could have got out of it. I am satisfied that the injuries resulted from Jennifer being in a bath much too hot for her.” the Magistrate said. Mr Wells then detailed the facts of the charge to which Hill had pleaded guilty. He said these had related to bruises found on Jennifer’s body when she had been examined by a doctor at Wellington Hospital, some of the bruises being from three to six days old. The Magistrate remanded Hill for sentence until Friday morning for a report from the Probation Service. Bail was allowed in her own recognisance of £5O.