MAREO RETRIAL

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 144, 3 June 1936, Page 7

MAREO RETRIAL

Doctor’s Evidence About Wife’s Condition MENTION OF SUICIDE (By Telegraph—l’ress Aaroclallunj AUCKLAND, June 3. The retrial of Eric Marco, musician, aged 45, on a charge of murdering his wife, Thelma Clarice Mareo, at Auckland, on April 15 of last year, was continued before Mr. Justice Callau and a jury in the Supreme Court to-day. Tho prosecution is being conducted by the Crown Prosecutor, Mr.. V. It. Meredith, aud with him is Mr. I'. McCarthy. Tho defence is again in the hands of Mr. 11. F. O’Leary, K.C., oi Wellington, supported by Mr. T. Henry and Mr. K. C. Aekins. Mr O’Leary continued his cross-ex-amination of Betty Marco when the Court resumed. Witness said that Mrs Marco was ill on occasions and laid up for some lengths of time during the “Duchess of Danzig.” She was thought to have an attack of appendicitis and was considered a heroine for going on with the show-. She used to express herself as having a horror of having a child. “On several occasions I heard her say what she would do if she got into that condition,” continued witness. “She would say that she w-ould rather die — take her life — than have a child. ’ ’

Mrs Mareo spoke of it so often that witness thought she was joking. Mrs Mareo said once that she would jump off- a bridge. Witness thought that the word “dopey” described perfectly Mrs Mareo's appearance on the Friday night when she passed along the passage. She had looked like that on all occasions on which she had been id bed. Mrs Mareo had taken intoxicating liquor over the whole of the period from May, 1934, to a few weeks before April 15, 1935. She took it during the “Duchess of Danzig” more than at other times and also during the period of ten days in which witness kept house for her. On one occasion Mrs Mareo had implored witness to go to a neighbour’s and get her some drink. Witness had never seen any improper relations between Mareo and Eleanor Brownlee. CHEMIST'S EVIDENCE, , A chemist, Stephen Barclay, told the Court that Mareo had bought from him a bottle of 25 five-grain barbitone tablets about tho ond of March, 1935. Sydney Rowbottom, another chemist, said that Marco had come into his shop in April saying that ho was suffering from insomnia. He was given one or two veronal tablets aud the balance of a dozen in barbitone, all tho tablets being of five grains. Four or five days later witness supplied Mareo with 20 more tablets. Dr. R. H. Walton said that he attended Mrs. Mareo at the house on March 16. He was told that she had fainted aud was in a nervous condition. He prescribed u sedative stomach mixture.. A week later sho called at his rooms in a worse condition, being nervous, agitated and tremulous. Sho said that she was worried chiefly by the charge Marco had made against her concerning a form of perversion. She used tho expression “Lesbian 10ve..” Her condition was consistent with recent taking of alcohol, but not with that of an habitual. Pregnancy had been ruled out by him. .She was of a nervous temperamental type. VERONAL FOR SLEEP. To Mr. O’Leary, witness said that veronal was sometimes prescribed by medical men.

Mr. O’Leary: Assuming that this lady some time prior to her visit had been accustomed to take veronal to induce sleep, would you be surprised to find her in the condition you found her and that she had again turned to veronal to induce sleep! Witness: No, I wouldn't. That is, assuming that she bad been au addict at some prifrious date. Answering a further question by Mr O’Leary, witness said that he would not have been surprised to hear that subsequently she had committed suicide. He said also that Mrs. Mareo had denied the perversion charge quite emphatically.