Two convicted for throwing eggs at Queen

Press, 24 May 1986, Page 8

Two convicted for throwing eggs at Queen

PA Auckland One of two young women convicted of assaulting the Queen was dragged screaming from the District Court in Auckland yesterday after being remanded in custody for one week for sentence. Deborah Jane Leyland, aged 22, a sickness beneficiary, was carried from the court shouting, at the end of a six-hour court hearing. Leyland, together with Ann Marie Thorby, aged 21, a student, were both found guilty of joint charges of assaulting the Queen, and of disorderly behaviour at Ellerslie Racecourse on February 24.

The women had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which arose after eggs were thrown at the Queen during a special function for schoolchildren.

The defendants, who conducted their own defence, elected not to give evidence or call witnesses, but instead presented a 12-page written submission to the Court. In a statement given to Detective Inspector Maurice Whitham, Thorby said both she and Leyland had thrown eggs, but she did not know who threw first or where they landed. The act was not against the Queen, the statement said, but against the British monarchy which represented oppression. Immediately after Judge Lawson announced the one-week remand in custody, Leyland began shouting and screaming and had to be restrained by the police before being taken from the court. They will appear in court next Friday for sentence.