NURSE COMMITTED FOR TRIAL ON POISONING CHARGE

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 February 1948, Page 2

NURSE COMMITTED FOR TRIAL ON POISONING CHARGE

(P.A.) TAUMARUNUI, Feb. 24. Fay Robert Phillips, formerly tutor sister at the Taumarunui Hospital, was committed to the Supreme Court at Hamilton for trial, wheii she appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on a charge of administering, or causing to be taken by Sister Elspeth Gwendolyhhe Denison, a poison known as belladonna, with intent to injure and annoy. Counsel for the defence submitted that there was nd case to answer, but the bench ruled a prima facie case had been established. Ih a statement made to a detective, which was read in Court, accused admitted administering the belladonna into Denison’s milit just before dinner at the hospital on January 9. She did not know why she did it, but the thoght came to her when she saw a small bottle of belladonna in the sterilising room in the men’s ward. She had heard someone remark that Dr Fisher thought that Sister Denison was suffering from belladonna poisoning in October. She thought that if she gave Denison a dose of belladonna she would get sick again. Things had been very pleasant during the months Denison had been absent from the hospital. She put about five to 10 drops in a glass, which she filled with milk and placed at Denison’s place at the table. She knew the dose would not be fatal, but that it would make Denison sick. She did it on the spur of the moment. She did not think Denison would be as ill as she was. She administered belladonna to Denison more or less to annoy her, and did not intend to kill her. _ She had had nothing to do with Denison’s illness in October. Accused, who pleaded h.ot guilty, was committed to the Supreme Court at Hamilton, in May, for trial.