CHARGE OF MURDER

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1197, 4 August 1911, Page 6

CHARGE OF MURDER

KINGSUND MYSTERY. CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION (Bj Tclccrapa.—"Press Association.* Auckland, August 3. The Police Court was crowded to-day when tho preliminary hearing of the case of Martha Jane O'Shaughnessy charged with tho murder of Elsie Alexandra Holland was proceeded with before Mr. Fraser, S.M. Mr. Mays, Crown Prosecutor, stated that he only proposed to proceed, that day with the main charge against Mrs. Martha Jane O'Shaughnessy of murder, and (o ask that the other prisoners, who would" bo charged with being accessories aflor the fact, should be'remanded until the following day. Mr. Singer (for the defence) said ho had no objection to that course boing taken, and sJiid he proposed to apply that each case should bo taken separately. The other accused persons—Mrs. Hartley, Mrs. Hassell, and J. E. O'Shaushncasy—were then remanded until tho following day, and the hearing of the charge against Mrs. O'Rhaughnessy (v:ho was accommodated with a chair behind Her counsel) was. proceeded with. Mr. Mays then proceeded to open the case for the prosecution. Ho said the deceased woman, Elsie Alexandra Holland, accompanied by a man named James Warner., wcut to within a few yards of the house occupied by Mrs. O'Shaughnessy on Monday night, Juno 12. Warner went away, and deceased, who was canying a (1 rat's basket, walked, on. That was the last occasion she was seen alive outside of accused's house. Tho story told Sby the inmates of the house was that doceased came there shortly after 11 o'clock p.m., not on Monday, but on Tuesday, June 13, and was then carrying a dress basket. She asked to be admitted. Mrs. Hassoll opened the dsor to her, she said, [ and then went away, and Miss Holland i wandered into a bedroom, prepared verself for bed, went to bed, and died wit\in an hour. That was the explanation giv\n (o the police by tho inmates of the house* Of course, that story was untrue on the face of it, and could be disproved without any difficulty at all; but it was not so easy to ptovo what actually took place. It was perfectly clear that tho womun died of blood poisoning caused by the performance upon her of an illegal operation, '■and that sho died about, midnight on Tuesday, Juno 13. The medical evidence went to show strongly, that tho operatiun which caused her death could have takon place on the Monday night, and the death could have occurred on the Tuesday. The post-mortem examination showed that an illegal operation had been performed, and clumsily performed. No one except tho accused could say at what hour that operation was performed, but the medical men would say that it was not only possible, but probable, that the operation was performed on the Monday night. Had tho matter rested thei-e it would have been bad enough, but it was quite clear that some person at the moment of death, or immediately ■ afterwards, placed perchlorido of mercury in deceased's mouth. There iy.as corrosion on the mouth, lips, and throat, and tho prosecution claimed to know now who put the poison in the deceased's month, and why it was done. Tho position shortly put was that a woman had been murdered in the house. The prosecution held that the principal person, and the person who performed the operation, was the accused. After medical evidence, the hearing of the case was adiourned till to-morrow.