WANGANUI MURDER TRIAL

Greymouth Evening Star, 13 August 1930, Page 5

WANGANUI MURDER TRIAL

THE CLOSING STAGES

QUESTION OF SANITY

[PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

WANGANUI, August 12

Giving evidence at the Manly murder trial, Detective Walsh described the finding of the body on May 9. Witness identified a letter which Mr Bain remarked Manly had written to his mother arid father. Witness said he had received it from the Inspector of Police at Wanganui, about a week ago, with a file of papers relating to Manly’s antecedents. The enquiries had been made by the Surrey police. Mr Treadwell said that he would protest against this letter being put in.

His Honor stated that he would not let the contents of the letter go to the jury.

Mr Bain said that his object in producing the latter was to establish the date upon which it was posted from Wanganui. The letter was not admitted. Amongst papers found on accused at the Police Station, said Detective Walsh, was a pawn ticket having the name “H. Manly, New Zealander Hotel” upon it, which showed that he had pawned a five-stone diamond ring with W. Smart for £3. The. ring, which was produced, and which had been uplifted by the Wellington police, had been identified by Mrs Cromarty. A letter was then read by the witness. He could not decipher the date. Mr Treadwell said he had -worked it out as having been written on Thursday, May 1. The letter implored Gladys to take the engagement ring back, and stated that the accused’s love for her had preyed on his brain. It was signed “Your Broken-hearted Lover, Bert.” Mr Bain said there were a number of other letters, but no good purpose could be served by putting them in. Addressing the jury, Mr Bain said that the facts were neither long nor complicated. “This man is in a most unfortunate position,” he said. “He is in danger of losing his life, and it has been the duty of the Crown to bring, not only the evidence against him, but any evidence we could find in his favour. You will have no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that this girl, Gladys Barrington Cromarty, was murdered. It is for you to ask yourselves whether Manly did murder her, and the second question you have to decide is whether he had any intention of killing her. You will find no difficulty in determining that she died through a cut throat, and you must ask yourselves whether the accused did it.” Mr Bain briefly reviewed the evidence for the .Crown, which, he said, showed the conduct of the accused up to the date of the girl’s death and subsequent to it. “These two people met in January 1930, and became engaged,” he said. “Then, because of something which at the moment we do not know, she broke off the engagement, and returned the ring, and you know what he did with that ring. The letters he wrote are significant in themselves. You will have no difficulty in deciding that when the engagement was broken he was a broken-hearted man. In one letter, written to the sister, Dora, from the gaol in Wellington, he says: ‘Only think, I’ve not written home since April. It’s been a hard enough fight to write to you. What 1 really like to 1 can’t; but this I can say; what I did was in love and jealousy and not hate. When I was repeatedly told to forget her and not worry, 1 could not, and I don’t believe over I could have done.’ This was a letter written to the sister of this girl on the eighth of July, 1 two months after the commission of the offence, if he did commit it. I suggest to you that he did commit it, and that ho was sane, because he says he did it in jealousy, and not hate. There is no evidence of, insanity in this case and no evidence of insobriety.” His Honor: Of course, Mr Bain, I will direct the jury that, according to our law, a man is sane until he is proved otherwise. Tho Court adjourned until 10 o’clock to-morrow morning, when Mr W. J. Treadwell will address the jury.

TO-DAY'S PROCEEDINGS.

JUDGE’S SUMMING UP.

WANGANUI, August 13

The Court was packed this morning during the final stages of the Manly trial, hundreds awaiting outside the main door before 10 o’clock.

Mr AV. J. Treadwell, in his address, spoke for two and a-half hours. _ He stressed insanity, and asked the jury not. to find Manly not guilty of murder. but insane.

His Honor, in his address to the jury, said that it appeared from the evidence, and lie could not help referring to it, that the photograph of accused was published in the newspapers while the police were investigating. In this case, fortunately, no harm had been done, because it is clear and is admitted that accused was the person who actually killed the girl. The question of killing was another matter. Supposing there had been any question of identity, and the person who committed the act had been seen leaving the premises, the publication of a photograph of the accused might have done incalculable harm, and might have defeated the interest of justice. Mr Treadwell had said in his address, and His Honor did not stop him. that other material had been published, and a cablegram from England relating to accused. His Honor hoped that such a thing would never happen again. His Honor continued that thej r might find it possible to bring in a verdict of manslaughter,.but he did not think so. In that case, there would be only two possible verdicts, that accused was guilt>- or that he was not guilty, on the grounds of insanity.