A PECULIAR CHARGE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 125, 19 February 1908, Page 8

A PECULIAR CHARGE.

CHILD MURDER. ACCUSED GETS THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. (Dr TELEGRAPH—rRKSS ASSOCIATION.) Auckland, February 18. The case against Florence Farndale, charged with the murder of her infant, was concluded to-day. His Honour, in summing up, said it did not necessarily follow that the roturn of a verdict of guilty would mean that prisoner should bo hanged. In this case, however, ho did not think the jury would be justified in bringing in a verdict of manslaughter. It was either a ease of murder or not murdor. The story was ai very simple one. Prisoner was a young married woman, and had given birth to an illegitimate child. She sought to find a home in which to place tho child, but failed. Three days later the infant disappeared. Prisoner gave false accounts of the child's whereabouts. Tho next development, His Honour said, was tbc finding of the body of a child in tho harbour. The question next arose of identity. Prisoner admitted going for a blow on the harbour. However the child got into tho water, it was' sufficient for the jury to believe that -it was drowned. The body found was similar. Tho question was: Could they believo the whole of her story? If what tho prisoner said was true, then she was blameloss. . If they did not believe that the baby foil from her arms while on the ferry-boat then they must return a verdict of guilty of murder. She did not at the time call out and have tho steamer stopped. It was sought to show in the cross-examination of medicnl witnesses that the woman was in such a condition as to be robbed of her powers of speech, as a result of tho shock. If she did joso that power of speech for a few minutes—if: the jury believed that it was reasonably possible—was it not also conceivable that undor the. circumstances, she would decide, to say nothing of . the occurrence later on? If he was in the. place of a juryman, he would say to himself: "This unhappy woman's story may be truo, - and if it is true, Knd if there is causo for reasonable doubt, then she must be given tho bonefit of that doubt arid acquitted." The jury, after twenty- minutes' retirement, brought in a verdict of "not guilty." Tho prisoner was accordingly discharged. She was led in an hysterical condition from the dock. ''•