Appeal Rejected

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30807, 20 July 1965, Page 3

Appeal Rejected

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, July 19. The Court of Appeal today dismissed an appeal by Margaret Murray Doull against her conviction and sentence by Mr Justice Hardie Boys and a jury on charges of murdering her husband, Alexander George Doull, and her sister, Janet Bell Greenhorn. She was sentenced to life imprisonment. Doull appealed against her conviction and sentence on the grounds that the verdict was unreasonable and could not be supported by the evidence and that the trial Judge did not adequately put her defence to the jury. Mr Justice North in delivering the judgment of the Court said that although Doull’s counsel had done his duty in pointing out the weaknesses of the Crown’s case there was ample evidence to support Doull’s conviction on both counts.

He was also quite satisfied that there was nothing in the second ground of appeal. The trial Judge, he thought, had been to great pains in his summing up to point out the defence’s argument at every step, and at the end of the summing-up the Judge again

exhaustively analysed all the points put forward by the defence. In the Court of Appeal Mr K. Ryan appeared for Doull and Mr H. R. C. Wild, Q.C., with him Mr P. A. Cornford, for the Crown. The other members of the Court were Mr Justice Turner and Mr Justice McCarthy.