Guilty On Charge Of Wounding

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29767, 9 March 1962, Page 14

Guilty On Charge Of Wounding

(New Zealand Preu Association)

WELLINGTON, March 8. George Henry Maddy, aged 45, a truck driver, was found guilty by a jury in the Supreme Court today on a charge of wounding his daughter, Diana Lucille Maddy, with intent to do her grevious bodily harm. He was acquitted on an alternative charge of attempting to murder her. The Chief Justice (Sir Harold Barrowclough' remanded Maddy for sentence. Mr W. R. Birks appeared for the Crown and Mr G, C. Kent for Maddy. Diana Lucille Maddy, aged 21, a typist, said that at the Trentham immigration hostel she shared a room with a girl named Sarah Horsley with whom she later took an apartment in McFarlane street, Wellington. Her farther was very much against her living there with her friend and wanted her to live with him. He expressed those wishes fairly strongly when she met him on the street. He made numerous threats, saying he would kill either the witness or himself if she continued living apart from him.

On the evening of November 22 she was working in a large room on the fifth floor of a Bowen street building. There were two other cleaners and some office staff in the room at the time. When she was working among the desks she -was unable to see the full length of the room because of partitions. Letter Home

Her father came into the room and began talking to her. He talked about a letter he had from relations in England, saying she had written home that she was very frightened of him. He was very amazed, saying it was completely untrue and that she had nothing to fear from him. Her father followed her round as she worked. As she bent down to empty a wastepaper basket she felt a heavy blow. She turned round to face him. He said he had stabbed her and she saw a knife on the desk. Brian John de Bell, a school teacher, of Hamilton, said he had shared an apartment with accused at Kelburn. Accused had told him he came to New Zealand with the intention of setting up home with his daughter and that he had found it difficult at times to bring her up. To Mr Kent, de Bell said he agreed that when accused arrived in New Zealand he

was unhappy and disturbed. Accused had said he did not like the men or boys his daughter associated with and that he had difficulty controlling her while on the ship. He appeared to be bitter. Near Artery

Richard Thomas Aldridge, a medical practitioner, in depositions read to the court, said Miss Maddy was admitted to Wellington Hospital suffering from a wound in the shoulder blade. The wound was at least two and a half inches deep and a quarter of an inch from the great artery. If it had penetrated the artery death would have rapidly ensued.

El win Michael Conner, a police sergeant, said that on November 3. 1961, Lucille Maddy called at Taranaki street police station and he subsequently told accused his daughter had sought police assistance to keep him away from her.

Mr Kent, in his address to the jury, said the real issue was whether the accused, although undoubtedly affected by all sorts of tensions and disturbances, really intended to murder his daughter and wanted her to die.

It was probable that the whole basis on which accused and his daughter came to New Zealand suddenly underwent a change. Accused had found for the first time that his daughter was a young woman who wanted to be independent. It was understandable he should feel a sense of loneliness and loss. His feelings had built up into a "tremendous emotional storm, but his actions immediately after the alleged stabbing showed he did not want his daughter to die.”