MOUAT CASE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 12 May 1925, Page 9

MOUAT CASE.

BEFORE SUPREME COURT.' PUBLIC SHOWS MUCH INTEREST. (by TELEGRAPH. PRESS ASSOCIATION.) CHRISTCHURCH, May 12. Frederick Peter Mouat, in the Supreme Court this morning, was charged with having murdered his wife, Ellen Louise Mouat, at St. Martins on or about February 20 last. _ Long before the doors of the Court were opened, a crowd of men and women gathered outside in_ the rain. No sooner were the doors thrown open by the police than the most of those waiting swarmed in, occupying the gallery. A fain number lingered outside «|nd craned their necks to get a view of Mouat as he was taken from the prison van to the cells. Boxes of blankets, a pillow, several bottles, tins of bones, and other exhibits were placed on the floor of the Court in front of the jury, while a plan of Mount’s house was shown on the table. The Grand Jury returned a true bill, and Mouat pleaded not guilty. Twenty jurymen were challenged by the Crown and six by the defence. Judge Adams presided on the Bench. In his address the Crown Prosecutor said that it was a sensational case, and full reports had been published. The possibility of injury to the fairness of a" trial in cases of this ' nature become so marked that Parliament might have to consider whether, in the interests of fair trials, it should not define some standard of fair and proper reporting. However, he didn’t suggest that the Christchurch newspapers had overstepped the mark.