No Apparent Motive, Says Psychiatrist

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32232, 26 February 1970, Page 22

No Apparent Motive, Says Psychiatrist

(New Zealand Press Assoctation)

NEW PLYMOUTH, February 25.

A defence psychiatrist told a jury in the Supreme Court at New Plymouth today that he could find no apparent motive for the alleged killing of a young girl by her 14-year-old brother.

The psychiatrist was giving evidence for Paul Julian who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murdering Helen Mina Julian at New Plymouth on November 9. Evidence was brought by the defence today to show that Paul Julian was a schizophrenic. The defence counsel, Mr G. L. McLeod, said in his opening address that the de fence would be insanity. Appearing with Mr McLeod is Mr D. G. Medway. Mr R. C. Savage, with him Mr J. A Laurenson, appears for the Crown. There is a jury of 11 men and one woman and Mr Justice Beattie is on the bench. Maxwell Charles' Carroll, careers master at New Plymouth Boys’ High School, said Paul Julian had told him he felt he was being hounded a bit by smaller boys in Tis class but not in a physical sense. Mr Carroll said he had discussed previous court appearances with the .accused, who seemed quite prepared to talk about them. “1 got the impression that he treated them with a Certain amount of indifference. He certainly wasn't gloating but to’ me he didn’t seem very repentant," Mr Carroll said Lynette Julian, sister of Paul, said she found two copies of the same issue of “Playboy" among clothing in the wardrobe of Paul's bedt’oom about two weeks before Christmas. Obe copy was whole and the other was torn and cut. The accused later said that the magazines were his and that he had cut them. The magazines were cut at the breasts and sexual area of nearly all the scantily dressed women. Lynette said she took the magazines into her mother's room to show her mother. She had never seen a “Playboy” in the house before.

To Mr Laurenson, Lynette said she did not have the impression that the two “Playboy” magazines had been hidden. They were among other books, mainly cowboy and war comics. Lynette said she knew Paul read “Man" magazines. John Hall, a psychiatrist practising in Wellington, said he had seen Paul Julian four times including a brief interview yesterday.

Not Concerned The mental state of the accused was very much the same on each occasion. He was co-operative but unspontaneous. Dr Hall said the accused was bland and unconcerned about the situation in which he found himself “Talking about the offence he showed no emotional reaction. and spoke about it in a very, matter-of-fact tone as another incident in his life and not a ghastly and tragic episode." Dr Hall said he considered the fact that the accused’s father had left home seven vears and a half earlier and before that had drunk a good deal was important in his background. The fact that his sister Denise was an epileptic had to be considered, as did his oast offences. There were indications that the bov was a loner and that his personality had schizoid tendencies.. Dr Hall said the prolonged lack of emotional reaction was an indication of a pathological nature. This fitted in with indications of schizophrenia and a deterioration in the last year No Quarrel

The accused had said he liked Helen and had no particular quarrel with her. “I consider this boy behaved in a clearly abnormal manner,” the doctor said. This left him with four possibilities to consider: that it was a planned crime, a panic reaction, an epileptic state or a schizophrenic illness. '

Dr Hall said he excluded the first two and the third because there was no convincing history of any previous epileptic tendencies and tests had revealed no abnormality. The principal reason for his elimination of the panic reaction was the lack of any remorse.

He thought schizophrenia was the correct diagnosis. He agreed with Mr Savage

that the accused was in the early stages of schizophrenia. Mr Savage: “Did he know he was stabbing his sister and not digging daisies in the garden?”

Dr Hall: “In a correct sense he knew he was doing it." He was aware he was sticking a knife into his sister and in a concrete sense would be aware that what he was doing would cause her some harm.