TAUPO POISONINGS INQUESTS

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31231, 1 December 1966, Page 3

TAUPO POISONINGS INQUESTS

Coroner Finds Woman Committed Suicide

<New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, November 30.

Marjorie Edna Ellingham, aged 54, the wife of a Wellington lawyer, who became ill after a luncheon at Taupo at Easter, committed suicide.

This was the finding of the Coroner (Mr A. D. Copeland) who today conducted inquiries into Mrs Ellingham’s death and that of David Charles Davison, aged 11, son of Mr R. K. Davison, Q.C., and Mrs Davison, of Auckland. The Coroner said Mrs Ellingham had a history of depression and was menopausal. She had said she intended to take her own life and had told her guests that anyone who felt ill had no reason to worry as there was a doctor in the house. The boy died in Auckland Hospital on April 18. Mrs Ellingham died 11 days later in the same hospital.

Making an order permitting publication of the proceedings the Coroner said the inquest completed one of the most intensive investigations ever carried out in New Zealand. It had involved interviews with 1400 persons here and overseas.

“Under these circumstances, and particularly in view of numerous rumours that have circulated, I feel it is in the public interest to permit publication,” he said.

The Coroner said Mrs Ellingham had gone to considerable trouble to make sure her overseas visitors and the doctor would not be affected and she took 10 times the amount of arsenic given to anyone else.

“The boy was not at the luncheon when the arsenic was administered, but it appears that one of the guests who had handled a plate with arsenic on it had unsuspectingly given it to the boy who consumed the arsenic with the food,” said the Coroner.

“I find accordingly that the boy’s death was due to arsenical poisoning.” At the inquest Mr D. S. Morris represented the Crown. Mr D. S. Beattie. Q.C., with him Mr D A. R. Williams, appeared for Mr and Mrs Davison, and Mr R N. White represented the Ellingham family. Previous Incident Malcolm John Ross, a detective superintendent, said he had been in charge of investigations and extensive inquiries had been made throughout New Zealand. Australia, Canada and England. More than 1400 interviews had been conducted.

During the inquiries it was found that a number of incidents had occurred in the Wellington and Taupo homes of the Ellingham family in which arsenical poisoning could have been involved. In particular he referred to two bridge afternoons held in the Wellington home on August 18, 1965, and March 22 this year, a gathering at the Taupo cottage on December 28. 1965, and another gathering on March 26. 1966, at Wellington. After all these occasions guests became ill with what was suspected to be foodpoisoning.

“But the symptoms were consistent with the persons suffering from arsenical poisoning.

“Police inquiries revealed that the person in charge of food preparation for all these gatherings was Mrs Ellingham.

“There was nothing to indicate that any other member of the family had anything to

do with the food preparation in any case.” Scraps of food from the March 26 gathering were analysed by the National Health Institute which reported a positive staphylococcus isolated in chicken and icecream.

The overseas guests at the Taupo luncheon included Lord Denning, Master of the Rolls, and Lady Denning, Sir William John Victory Windeyer, Judge of the High Court of Australia, and Lady Windeyer, and Mr H. Hansard, Q.C., and his wife, of Montreal. They were in New Zealand for a law conference in Dunedin. Police Opinion No evidence had been gained that Mrs Ellingham’s husband or son, Robert Adrian Ellingham. had been involved in the poisonings, said the witness. It was apparent that arsenic had been administered to the son for a considerable period, probably since about August or September, 1965. “A perusal of the results of an examination of his hair for arsenic would tend to show that he should have been extremely ill, if not dead.”

Questioned by Mr Beattie, the witness said he was confident that arsenic was responsible for the deaths and was administered at the Ellingham’s Taupo home. Circumstantially, Mrs Ellingham was responsible. Flora Smith, a senior pathologist at Auckland Hospital, said that on April 18, at the request of the Coroner, she performed a post-mortem on the body of David Charles Davison. The appearance of the liver suggested poisoning by a toxic substance which a Government analyst had named as arsenic. She gave the reason for death as liver failure brought about by arsenicMedical Evidence Desmond John Andrew Doyle, a pathologist, said Mrs Ellingham died as a result of symptoms brought on by acute arsenical poisoning. He said he had studied a summary of events supplied to him by the police after

social functions at the Ellingham home. The people involved in these events—publication of their names was prohibited—which ranged between August 18, 1965, and March 26, this year, had suffered from symptoms which would have been consistent with arsenical poisoning. The time lapse between the onset of the symptoms for the boy Davison was approximately eight to nine hours and that for Mrs Ellingham of about eight to 10 hours.

This would have been unusual if the poison had been taken in a liquid form, but it was what he would have expected if it was administered in powder form, especially if taken with a fatty meal. Arsenic Traced A D.S.I.R. analyst, Ronald Charles Selkirk, said he had examined the Ellingham residence in Taupo and had found various traces of arsenic. He had found traces on the ground outside where people had vomited. He also told of having found traces in the Ellingham home in Wellington. An examination of the Davison home had failed to reveal any trace of arsenic. He had examined hair samples from members of both the Ellingham and Davison families and had discovered traces of arsenic. “Pleasant Person” Guy Pierpont Hallwright, a medical practioner of Wellington, said he had attended Mrs Ellingham from January, 1955, to February 1965. He described her as a pleasant person who gave a clear account of her symptoms, but “who later tended to play down her feelings of depression partly because I had referred her to a psychiatrist who she later consulted when the need arose.” Mrs Ellingham had told him her parents were unhappy, unsuited but lived together successfully. She regarded her father as neurotic. Her mother, to whom she was very close, had committed suicide at the age of 74 after many breakdowns. Mrs Ellingham had told him that this caused her to become depressed and for years after she had had nightmares on this theme.

Mrs Ellingham had had periods of depression resulting from the death of her mother.

When Mrs Ellingham had left for New Zealand—she came from England—her mother went into a mental hospital for two or three months and required shock treatment.

“It was clear that these breakdowns were intended to influence Mrs Ellingham to give up a particular course of action. Her mother must have been a tyrannical person who interfered in a ruthlessly selfish way and tried to deviate the life of her daughter,” said the witness.

Sent To Psychiatrist

The witness said he had referred her to a psychiatrist and she responded well to treatment, although she had occasional mild recurrences.

Mrs Ellingham had told him that when her son went to boarding school in 1957 she had been near suicide then. The witness said that in 1960 Mrs Ellingham said she was better, although she still admitted to some periodic depression. In later visits to him she had tended to avoid the subject. “I was told that not only Mrs Ellingham’s mother, but also an uncle had committed suicide. When 1 heard of the Taupo tragedy, my own impression was that th, deepseated feeling of guilt she had over the death of her mother had caused her, in a period of mental deviation, to take her life by poisoning herself, possibly for the sake of her husband, trying to make the affair look like foodpoisoning with others less severely involved,” said the witness.

“Despite this, Mrs Ellingham was a gentle person with a pleasant outlook, never inclined to put the blame on others, so I feel sure she never intended by her actions to cause the death of others.” Jean Kronfeld, married, of Wellington, a sister of Mrs Ellingham’s husband, said that some weeks before Easter she and her husband were inivited to Taupo by her brother

and sister-in-law. When they arrived on Good Friday, lunch was waiting for them. Also at the lunch were Mr and Mrs Ellingham and their son, Adrian.

During the afternoon she had stayed at home with Mrs Ellingham as they expected Sir Victor and Lady Windeyer to arrive. She detailed various meals prepared and food eaten during the week-end. She now regarded as significant the insistence of Mrs Ellingham at breakfast and after breakfast on April 10, that the witness should go out with her brother, husband and Lady Windeyer.

“I endeavoured to remain with Mrs Ellingham to assist in preparing the luncheon,” she said. “I was told however, by her that she could work much better on her own and that I was to go. Consequently, I did go. This would have given Mrs Ellingham an opportunity to contaminate anything with arsenic.

“When I returned I was conscious of a very slight feeling of nausea which I attributed to headache and fatigue. We had a simple meal of asparagus omelette and coffee.” Mrs Kronfeld said all went to bed between 10.30 and 11 p.m. on April 10. About 11.15 p.m. she became ill. “I felt indescribably ill and had a terrible headache. I vomited all through the night—the vomit tasted bitter.” Illness Discussed Mrs Kornfeld said that all at the Ellingham household had been invited to the Davison cottage for drinks before dinner about 6 p.m. She had had a glass of ginger-ale. She did not know what others had had to drink.

The next morning her husband went to a chemist for medicine for herself and Mrs Ellingham. She could not keep the medicine down.

On the Tuesday morning she felt a little better and had some porridge to eat but two hours later she brought this up and went back to drinking water only. Later the same day her husband again went to the chemist and got a prescription for her and Mrs Ellingham. She had two teaspoonfuls but again could not keep this down.

Early on Wednesday morning, April 13, she vomited badly again but for the last time. On April 14 she felt considerably better and was able to wait on Mrs Ellingham. Mrs Ellingham followed the same pattern as herself, recovering about four hours behind her, and the Davisons were on the way to recovery.

“Emotional Couple”

During her illness, Mrs Ellingham kept saying, “1 am so ill I could die.” “Several times she said: ‘You know, Jean, I don’t think I’m going to get over this lot.’ At the time I just thought that this was a figure of speech to describe the way she felt,” said Mrs Kronfeld “My brother and his wife were always a devoted couple. My brother was one of the kindest husbands that I have ever known. They were both very emotional —Lloyd perhaps being more so than his wife. I have never known of any friction between father, mother and son.” Mrs Kronfeld said Mrs Ellingham was a very efficient wife who loved to please her husband and son.

Witness’s Conclusion

Mrs Kronfeld said she was satisfied her mother’s suicide had greatly affected Mrs Ellingham. “On numerous occasions she told me she was going to commit suicide like her mother. That was at the time of her breakdown from 1957 to 1960.

“I have thought over this matter time and time again, and 1 can only come to the strong conclusion reluctantly, that Mrs Ellingham was responsible for taking her own life,” said Mrs Kronfeld. “I have made strong endeavours to bring my brother round to accepting the facts that if it was not his late wife who caused the tragedy, then it must have been himself, his son, my husband or myself, for on the evidence as I see it, it could not possibly have been an outsider. “I feel satisfied that neither my brother, Lloyd, nor his son, Adrian, was responsible, because I cannot concede that Adrian would have administered such a quantity of arsenic to himself as I understand tests have shown. And I do not think it is in my brother’s nature to do such a thing. I was in no way responsible for the administration of any arsenic at Taupo and I have no evidence to suggest that my husband was in any way involved,” said Mrs Kronfeld.