Nurse On Murder Charge

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31276, 24 January 1967, Page 3

Nurse On Murder Charge

(N.Z. Press Association) AUCKLAND, Jan. 23. The hearing of depositions on a charge of murder against a 30-year-old nursing sister began in the Auckland Magistrate’s Court today before Mr W. J. Meade, S.M.

Before the Court is Doreen Ellen Davis, of Hobsonville, who is charged with the murder of Raewyn Kathleen Joy Petley, aged 40, a charge sister, at Whenuapai Air Force base on November 19 last year.

Sister Petley was found dead in her bedroom with j deep neck wounds. Mr J. G. Miles is conducting the case for the Crown ■ and the accused is represented Iby Mr K. Ryan. The hearing lis expectcl to conclude toI morrow. “A Close Friend” i Isohel Skelton, personal assistant to the commanding [officer of the Air Operations Group, Whenuapai, said in evidence that Davis was “a close friend” of Sister Petley. Miss Skelton said her room at the officers’ quarters at Whenuapai had been next to Miss Petley’s. She said she met the accused about three or four months ago when Davis was posted to Whenuapai.

Miss Skelton spoke of two occasions when Davis and Miss Petley were together in the dead woman’s flat. “One night I had gone to bed early and at the time the accused was in the deceased’s room,” she said. “I was later called out on duty and I returned to the flat at about 11.30 to 11.45.” • She said she saw the ac[cused’s car, a white Cortma, outside Miss Petley’s flat. She | could hear voices in deceased’s room. [ Mr Miles: What was your reaction to these voices?—l | felt rather disgusted. “Heard Voices”

[ The witness said on a second occasion there was a party at the base to which 'Army officers had been invited. She saw Davis arrive with two other women. Miss Petley was not in the party a. that stage because she had gone out to dinner. The witness said she later saw accused leave the bar. She noticed the white Cortina was still outside the W.A.A.F.’s flat. The witness went into her room and saw Sister Petley arrive home. She then heard voices coming from the dead woman’s flat. Miss Skelton said she then telephoned the section officer, Maloney, who came down with some of the male officers for coffee in the lounge of the officers’ quarters. The witness said that before they arrived at the flats she saw Miss Petley and the accused leave the quarters. After that occasion the ac. cused was in Miss Petley’s room practically every other night. She said she was deeply concerned about these incidents and she saw her senior officer and asked permission to get in touch with the matron at the base. Miss Skelton said the two incidents took place some time in October last year. “Something Strange” Mary Eileen Maloney, a section officer who lived in the flat on the other side of the deceased, said she was aware of something strange between Miss Petley and Davis. “I could hear them talking together, usually in the evenings,” she said. “I went in once and Davis was there with her.” Mrs Irene Louise Taylor, a sister of the dead woman, and a part-time receptionist, said she met Davis about June last year. She knew her sister had become friendly' with the accused. They came together

to see her at her home in Pt. Chevalier.

Mrs Taylor said that her sister often visited her mother who lived at Mauraetai, near Auckland. Sometimes Davis went with her. On Thursday, November 17, her sister and accused came to lunch at her place in the accused’s car. On this occasion both of them seemed happy. This was the last time that she saw her sister. She said that her sister had been due to go to Singapore that Saturday. Cross-examined by Mr Ryan, witness said her sister had lived at Kamo, Whangarei. She knew that another nursing sister by the name of Wyllie lived in Kamo. Miss Petley at this time worked in the Whangarei Hospital. Mr Ryan: To your knowledge did your sister try to commit suicide while at Whangarei Hospital?—No, not to my knowledge. Well, to your knowledge did she become very sick while employed at Whangarei Hospital?—No. “Against Tablets”

The witness denied that her sister took a lot of pills. “She was very much against tablets,” she said. She described her sister as a happy, bright personality. Mr Ryan: So that right up to the day she died, as far as you were epneemed, she was not depressed, always happy and she was against taking tablets in any form?— Yes. And she had certainly never discussed shooting herself or going away?—Never. Mrs Taylor admitted that she knew a woman by the name of McKee. She said she knew Miss McKee was also in the Air Force, stationed at

Woodbourne. She said Miss McKee and deceased had been to her house in Pt. Chevalier.

Marjorie Edith Traill, a W.R.N.Z.A.F. matron, of Wellington, said she became aware of a relationship between Sisters Davis and Petley when she visited the Whenuapai base hospital in September, 1966. She spoke to Miss Skelton, the senior officer, because she was uneasy about the relationship. She also spoke to Squadron Leader Pope, the senior medical officer, about the matter.

On her return to Wellington she made a report about the relationship to the director of medical services and the director of nursing services.

“To begin with the situation was considered carefree and at this stage nothing further was done,” she said. Later on, after a telephone call from Auckland, it was decided to post accused to Wigram, said Matron Traill. The accused would have received notice of this posting about a month before the death of Sister Petley, she said. “I received * ’phone call from the accused who said she did not want to be posted to Wigram. I advised her that we would be visiting Auckland the following week and that she could discuss the posting then.” Matron Traill said that after the posting had been discussed in Auckland the accused seemed to accept the situation.

In cross-examination, the witness told Mr Ryan she did not raise with the deceased the relationship that was de-

veloping between Sister Petley and the accused. “Discussed Posting” Graham Albert Pope, officer commanding the Whenuapai Base Hospital, said that accused discussed her posting to Wigram with him on many occasions.

“I think she was upset because she was nearing the end of her contract and thought it was too short a time left for there to be any need for her to go to Wigram. She said there were rumours going around about the reason for the posting but she wasn’t prepared to tell me about them.”

Shown a surgical scalpel by Mr Miles, Pope said it was similar to ones used at the hospital. He said the scalpel could be obtained at the hospital and in his opinion the accused could have obtained it. Pope said the accused would not necessarily have had to sign to take the scalpel out but he would not think it normal for nursing sisters to carry a scalpel in their emergency bags. To Mr Ryan Pope agreed that it would have been just as easy for Sister Petley to have obtained the scalpel. Pope said he had prescribed tranquilisers for Sister Petley for depression after an attack of influenza. He said a book bad to be signed by any person removing dangerous drugs from the hospital. Mr Ryan: Could Sister Petley have removed dangerous drugs from the hospital without signing the book and without your knowledge?—She had a key to the storeroom. The accused would not have a key to the storeroom? —She could have.