Alleged Child Murder At Te Kopuru

Northern Advocate, 21 July 1938, Page 7

Alleged Child Murder At Te Kopuru

[Special to “Northern Aduocate/T AUCKLAND, This Day. The murder of her five-months-old female child by drowning in the Northern Wairoa River in April was charged against Frances Hazel' Evans, of Aratapu, aged 21, in the Supreme Court today, before Mr Justice Fair and a jury. Mr V. R. Meredith prosecuted for the Crown, and Mr R, A. Singer appeared for the accused. Case For The Crown. Outlining the evidence for the prosecution, Mr Meredith, said the accused girl lived with her parents, and on October 27 gave birth to an illegitimate child. When she and the child returned home from the nursing honie she made several unsuccessful attempts to have the child placed in an orphanage. There was some unpleasantness in the home over the child which culminated in a quarrel between the girl and her father on April 2. She told her father to “go to hell.” He replied that if that was the way she felt she had better get out of the home with the baby. Accused went to a neighbour’s place, and said she was going to send the baby away that night.’ She was going to Te\Kopuru to meet a lady who was going to adopt the baby, and asked that the girl of the neighbour’s should help | her to carry the baby. Gave Baby To a Lady. That night, accused and Miss Alves walked to Te Kopuru with the baby. The accused said she was to meet the lady at the Te Kopuru post office at 8 p.m. When they arrived, there was no lady there. Miss Alves went qn to the Old Men’s Home, where she' works, and went to bed. About an hour later, accused came to her room and said the lady had taken the child. As accused was very wet she stopped there that night and returned home next morning. She arranged to stop at Mrs Alves’ home, but in the meantime answered by telephone ah advertisement, and got a housekeeper’s position. She told her mother the baby had been taken to Auckland and adopted. That was on April 4. Ten days later a man, Keith Warmin gton, working on the river bank at Te Kopuru, noticed the body of a baby on the grass near the water’s edge. The body was decomposed, but was identified as accused’s child. ■ “I am satisfied,” said, counsel, “that the evidence will force you to the conclusion that accused was upset and desperate with shame and her position in the home, and took the baby to Te Kopuru that night with the intention of putting it in the river. If it had not been for a high spring tide, possibly nothing more would have been seen of it.” Counsel added that an admission had been made to Detectives Finlay and Miller which would no doubt satisfy the jury of what had happened. . Tiie Evidence. Molly Richards, Plunket District nurse, gave evidence that accused appeared to be rather a dull girl. Witness knew she had tried to get the baby into a home. Verna Margaret Alves gave evidence that when accused told her she had given the baby to a lady, witness reminded her that she still had the suitcase containing the baby’s clothes. Accused replied that she had to send the suitcase to the lady the next day by service car. Marion Isobel Alves, mother of the previous witness, identified the petticoat found on the drowned baby as one she had given the accused for the baby. ■ - • To Mr Singer, witness said accused was a bit childish. Since' the birth of the child, she had complained of being nervous and not getting enough sleep. (Proceeding).