Accused Says Dead Woman Cut Throat

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31319, 15 March 1967, Page 3

Accused Says Dead Woman Cut Throat

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, March 14. Doreen Ellen Davis, aged 30, a nursing sister, today told a jury in the Supreme Court at Auckland that the woman she is accused of murdering had cut her own throat.

Davis is charged with murdering Raewyn Kathleen Joy Petley, aged 40, a charge sister, at Whenuapai on November 19. She is being tried by a jury of three women and nine men before Mr Justice Moller. Mr K. Ryan appears for the accused and Mr D. S. Morris, with him Mr J. G. Miles, for the Crown. The accused was in the witness box for almost all today’s hearing. Opening the defence, Mr Ryan said that although there was no onus on Davis to prove anything, she would go into the witness box. He described the Crown case as like that of an architect who was given certain facts and drew up a plan without going to the actual site. The Crown had not gone into the emotions of the matter.

It was important to find out the mental stability of Sister Petley and Davis at the time of Sister Petley’s death. The state of mind of these two women would be put forward as one defence. Concerning Davis’s evidence, Mr Ryan reminded the jury that Davis had been clinically dead for 15 minutes and had suffered some deterioration of the brain. Nursing Career Davis began her evidence by saying that her father left her mother when Davis was born, because she was not born a son. She told of her nursing training on the West Coast and a trip to Western Samoa. In 1961 she passed a New Zealand post-graduate course in midwifery. When she went nursing in the Solomon Islands she contracted malaria and was in very poor health.

After her return she joined the Army and at Waiouru Military Camp made the acquaintance of a married Army officer. In December, 1965, she left for Christchurch where she had a child in March.

On May 11 she was transferred to Hobsonville where she met Sister Petley. “1 found her at first very generous and kind. She seemed to me like a tomboy,” Davis said. In July she sometimes did not feel “quite right” about Petley, but nothing happened. In August she had to resist advances made by Petley one night at the home of Petley’s mother, in Maraetai. "In August, 1966, I went to the United Kingdom and Petley didn’t really like this,” said Davis. “I received some letters from her and I wrote back saying I did not like some of her correspondence.” Davis said she returned to New Zealand in September. “Petley was always at me, J wanting to know where I was going and who I was going with. During the last weekend in September she did make an advance, but I violently rejected her and told her to cut it out or I would report the matter to a higher authority.” Davis said that on Labour week-end at the house in Maraetai she submitted to Petley. Afterwards she was very worried about what she had experienced and decided to see Sister Petley again only when others were present. Posting To Wigram The next Friday she heard of her posting to Wigram. She was not concerned about it, but about meeting her child and the father. She saw Sister Petley at Whenuapai on November 18 as Sister Petley was leaving New Zealand the next day.

She described spending the evening drinking a small amount of beer with Sister Phipps also there. About 10.15 p.m. she was going to leave, but Sister Petley asked her to wait in her room as she wanted to talk Sister Petley arrived back in the room in pyjamas and dressing gown, and shut the door.

“I turned round to go and the look I had seen on Raewyn’s face on Labour weekend was there—more domineering than before. She made a grab for me,” Davis said. At that stage, Sister Petley was in the bed and she (accused) was sitting at the end of the bed. “I told her to just leave me alone and 1 went to the door.”

Mr Ryan: What happened then?—l don’t know what it was, but I turned around and Sister Petley was looking at me directly. She was semisitting up in bed. The next thing I saw was this knife or something around her neck, and 1 called or yelled, “good God, girl! What are you doing?”. Mr Ryan: Go on—lt’s very vague. I saw a lot of blood and that cut on her neck, and she was gurgling in her throat, as if she was pointing at something. Davis said that she had not seen the scalpel before she saw Sister Petley bleeding and that she did not know what Sister Petley had in her hand, when she saw her. Sis ter Petley just fell back on the bed. Heard A Voice

“I can vaguely remember a voice—by this time 1 was crying and holding Raewyn’s hand—but I can’t remember what the voice said. I may have said something. I just don't know,” Davis said. “I can vaguely recall leaving the

room and getting into my car.” At one stage she was going to crash her car as she just wanted to get away from the horror. She ended up at Hob-j sonville. “Then, after all my! years of experience, I took all i those tablets,” she said. i To Mr Morris, Davis said she could recall sitting on Sister Petley’s bed and could recall going to leave the room. She could remember seeing the knife in Sister Petley’s hand. Mr Morris: What knife was that?—l don’t know whether it was a knife or a scalpel or what It was. “Very Vague” Do you recall what happened after that?—lt’s very vague. You were shocked?—Yes. ; By the blood?—Yes and by I having seen a nursing sister j do what she had done. You would want to go to her assistance? —Yes, I think I did. Why did you not get assistance? —1 can’t explain. Did you ascertain that she was dead at any stage?—ln the end I knew that Raewyn was dead. When you knew she was dead, what did you do?—1 just sat on the bed. Did Sister Petley call out? —She never called. She gurgled in her throat. Davis agreed that after Labour Week-end she had intended not to be alone with Sister Petley. She had no deep feeling for Sister Petley but she still liked her and wanted to be just a friend. On the night of November 18, when she found herself alone with Sister Petley, she became a little concerned. Mr Morris: Did you leave the room?—I got up to go but did not leave until Sister Petley had died.