Three Months Gaol For Aiding Murderer

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32381, 21 August 1970, Page 4

Three Months Gaol For Aiding Murderer

Dorothy Pearl Thompson, aged 46, a process worker,] was imprisoned for three' months when she appeared! before Mr Justice Wilson in the Supreme Court yesterday for sentence on a charge of being an accessory, after the fact to the murder of Phyllis; Agnes Colthorpe on or about] February 6. Mrs Thompson, who' pleaded not guilty to the ; charge, was found guilty by a jury on August 13 after a trial lasting four days. Wil-] liam George Colthorpe, the: person who Mrs Thompson aided, was sentenced to a] term of life imprisonment on May 28 on a charge of mur-i dering his wife. Mr N. W. Williamson appeared for the Crown and Mrs Thompson was repre-] sen ted by Mr K. N. Hampton. ' Mr Hampton said that this was Mrs Thompson’s first appearance before the Court. She was in this position because of her love for and loyalty to Colthorpe, no matter how misguided that might be. Mrs Thompson realised the seriousness of the charge. | She had had a desperately difficult upbringing, a hard childhood and adolescence and a most unrewarding life. After only seven years at I school, some of which were] interrupted, she became pregnant at 15. was married] at 16, had two unsuccessful! marriages which ended in I divorce and her third marriage had been difficult and; caused her a lot of unhappi-i ness, Mr Hampton said. Mrs Thompson had been working since she was 13 years old and had to continue working to proride herself and her daughter with the necessaries of life and to furnish the home they live in. “Violent Life” In spite of the difficulties of her current marriage and her present situation Mrs Thompson was now prepared to go back home for the sake of the girl whom she was treating as her daughter, as she had been missing her influence, and for the sake of her husband, who had been reflecting on his attitude in the past and who now wanted to make a go of the marriage. “1 submit most strongly that the role that she played in this affair does not require her imprisonment,” said Mr Hampton. "She had been having a hard and violent life with her husband when she began the relationship with Colthorpe.” Mrs Thompson had seen the possibility of a reliable and secure relationshipsomething completely different from what she had had in the past. They became lovers and that made it very hard for her to dissociate herself from Colthorpe after he had committed the crime. She got caught up in the circumstances and understandably felt some inclination to help Colthorpe. She had assisted him to look for a drinking glass, pointed out spots of blood on the van, shone her car lights on the van while he cleaned them, later helped him clean the van. pointed out the blood stain on his shirt and had obtained petrol for the van. “It is clear that she did

, these things because of her I feelings for Colthorpe. I would submit that when one - looks at what she did it did I not amount to much and she i was not very successful in , helping Colthorpe or in tamp- , ering with the evidence,” Mr ‘ Hampton said. ! The circumstances of the ; offence did not necessitate . imprisonment in the interests of the community. Her offence was not such a crime ' against society as to warrant imprisonment. Her actions were not particularly reprei hensible. Imprisonment would also be against her own interests. The probation officer’s report stated that it seemed most 1 unlikely that she would ever 1 appear in Court again. 1 “She will return home with ' the hope that she and her 1 husband can re-establish their 1 marriage. She will not be 1 escaping scot-free as she has been under a considerable strain for the last six months 1 because of the events of that 1 night and while waiting for her trial and sentence. The i cumulative effect has been considerable and she has been in custody since February B—six months and a half,” said Mr Hampton. “Very Serious” ■ “Since your conviction I have been giving a great deal of thought to the appropriate punishment,” his Honour said. j “When I came to Court this ‘ morning 1 had the view that the appropriate sentence (would be one which, taking 1 into account the six months ■you have already spent in 1 custody awaiting trial, would • represent a term of 12 I months. i “Having listened to the able > and moving address from ! your counsel I am able to ' regard it as possible to s shorten that term somewhat, ■ but it is only fair to tell you now I cannot accede to his request to dispense with any s further term of imprison--1 ment. s “The offence of which you 1 have been found guilty is one ; which the community is j bound, for its own protection, 5 to regard as very serious. The prompt detection and punishf ment of offenders is the best j method known of deterring 1 others from committing j offences. “If there were the cer- ' tainty of detection and j punishment I venture to say that crime would become a “ minimal problem rather than a major one. That is why the Court must regard any at- ® tempt to assist an offender, Eleven if what is done is pretty “ ineffective, as serious,” said his Honour. 1 He would take into account e that Mrs Thompson and Col- ~ thorpe were very much in "l love with each other. If the a circumstances had been dife ferent she might have been y married to him, and if they had been married she could e not have been charged with the offence because of the e statutory exemption from pro- ’• secution for spouses. i- “But I still must remind e myself that you were prer pared to go still further than t you did. You had arranged to i, meet him outside your eme ployer’s premises to render i. him some assistance in disfl posing of the body of his d murdered wife. You had some d foreknowledge that a crime might be committed,” said his i Honour.