THE MUNN TRIAL

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 144, 17 May 1930, Page 10

THE MUNN TRIAL

ANALYSTS AND DOCTOR. EXPERT’S EVIDENCE. Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, May 16. The trial of Arthur Thomas Munn, is alleged to have poisoned his wife, passed its fifth day to-day. Sir Alexander Herdman was on tho Bench, and the prisoner was represented by Mr E. H. Norhcroft and Mr Munro. The Crown Prosecutor, Mr V. R. Meredith, had with him Mr F. McCarthy. Kenneth Massey Griffin, Government analyst at Auckland, described the method of analysis adopted by him to extract poison from tissues of organs given him to test. Mr Northcroft: What other test did you apply? Witness: The taste of strychnine in the residue. It is characteristic? —Yes, it is very characteristic, and most extraordinarily bitter. If strychnine is used in salts, inasmuch as they are both bitter, the draught may be taken without tho strychnine being detected, but if the draught has passed to the back of the throat, then tho bitterness is distinct from the bitterness of salts and immediately noticeable? —Yes. Mr Northcroft pointed out that lus cross-examination was important, as the question of salts and strychnine being taken in confusion was mentioned by the Crown Prosecutor. Mr Northcroft: The reason that strychnine is considered by experts suitable for criminal poisoning is that one draught can be got down before the subject is warned? Witness: That is the effect of it. William Donovan, Dominion analyst, of Wellington, said that on April 2 he received from Kenneth Griffin a sealed glass jar containing the balance of articles submitted to him by Dr. Murray. He conducted a test for strychnine. In the test strychnine definitely crystallised in one of tho forms known. He could confidently say from those tests that the residue was strychnine. POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION. A post-mortem examination which he had carried out on the body of Mrs Munn on February 13 was described by Dr. D. N. W. Murray, of Auckland. Mr Meredith: I understand that the examination of the organs indicated nothing that would cause death? Witness: Thero was no evidence of disease or of injury such as would cause death. There was no sign of miscarriage, and no sign of pregnancy; there was no doubt about that?—None at all. Witness said that he subsequently heard that the Government analyst had recovered strychnine from parts of the body. He had heard what Dr. Dudding and the women neighbours had said about Mrs Munn’s condition. Mr Meredith: Taking that with your own observation and the analyst’s report, wdiat, in your opinion, is. the cause ol death ?—Strychnine poisoning. Any doulpt about it?—“No.” Will you give an opinion as to when tho poison that actually caused the death was given ?—I should say within ten hours of death. Witness said that a demonstration given by Mrs Gill on a chair was consistent with a strychnine convulsion, and the condition on the Tuesday morning described by Dr. Dudding was also a strychnine convulsion. Convulsions on the 11th and on the 4th could not emanate from the one dose of strychnine. because it was rapidly eliminated bv the kidneys. If she did not die of the dose she would make a complete recovery in a few hours; authorities wero clear on that. The strychnine found in fluid from the body must have been taken within two hours. Witness said that he was definitely of the opinion that there were separate doses of strychnine on the 4th nnd lltli. Mr Meredith: In your opinion, had Mrs Munn had more than two doses of strychnine?—Yes. What makes you say that?—Because on the sth she was seen by Mrs Gill and Mrs Brown, when she was afraid to be touched and was twitching. The same evening, it was stated, her nerves were twitching. On the 7th she was very ill, nervous and twitching and unable to get out of bed. Again, on the 10th, the statement was made that when a broom fell on the back veranda Mrs Munn nearly jumped out of bed. Would you expect those conditions to have existed if no strychnine had been given after the 4th?—No. Witness thought that on the Friday Mrs Munn was in a state of exhaustion following on a convulsion. Witness’said that there was nothing in the postmortem to suggest blood pressure. Mr Northcroft: At what period after the taking of strychnine would you expect blood pressure to return to nor-' mal ?—I would not say. Witness said that he could not draw any conclusion from the circumstances that Dr. Dudding found blood pressure high on two separate occasions. He would not in this case expect any cumulative effect of strychnine. At the close of the cross-examina-tion of Dr. Murray the court adjourned until to-morrow.