MURDER CHARGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21328, 1 November 1932, Page 11

MURDER CHARGE

I MAORI BOY ACQUITTED 1 EEATH of elderly man I JURY'S SHORT RETIREMENT 1 VERDICT ON SECOND TRIAL |i A T erdict of not guilty was returned B-'ln i I>3 Supreme Court yesterday in tho | retr a i 0 { s Maori boy, Heta Fred Gardi ner, z'ged 16, charged with murdering an I old-'ige pensioner, George Crewe, at RuaI tanjiata, near Whangarei, on or about I I Hay 27. At the first trial during the -August sessions of the Supreme Court the jnrv disagreed. The case had subsequently been before the Court of Appeal, and certain passages of a statement made to the police by the accused were held p to be inadmissible. P Following the verdict reached yesterI day a judgment by Mr. Justice Smith, 1 befcre whom both' trials were heard, pre--1 p a r.: d after the original hearing, was released. It dealt with the admissibility of cert vin evidence. Tie prosecutor was Mr. Hubble, the accised being represented by Mr. Trimmer, of Whangarei, and Mr. Turner. More than 20 witnesses were called during the retria.l. In opening the case for the Crown, Mr. Hubble said the facts relating to the nien- ; tflily °f Gardner were somewhat remarkable. While doctors had not declared the | accused to be insane, it was agreed that he was not exactly normal, and his state im'p;ht be described best as "feebleminded." Law and Feeble-minded Persons Mr. Hubble pointed out that everybody wasi deemed to be sane until the contrary was proved. Legally, the accused was sane, although he was feeble-minded. If i, leeble-ffiinded person were not held responsible for his actions, there would be :ao method of checking such a person. The purpose of the law in this respect touid be appreciated. }•••" Crewe was about 73 or 74 years of age, Mr. Hubble continued, and he* lived alone in i whare. He was last seen alive on May 26, but he was not seen i,bout on the following day. It was not until the Sunday that the police were called to the whare, where Crewe was ]yii:g dead, and evidence of foul play was. found. There was an axe near the bed, and the head injuries suffered by the deceased were-consistent with his having been struck by the axe. On the Friday, May 27, before anyone 'itßfw Crewe was dead, the accused had gore to Whangarei. The police were making inquiries regarding thefts, and the accused made a statement which placed his movements in the Titoki and Kirikopuni districts, within a reasonable distance of Ruatangata, it was suggested by the Crown. Subsequently, the accused led Constable Beasley to where a gun WEIS hidden among scrub. The gun, witI nesses would,show, had been owned by Crewe. After dealing with other aspects of the ev.dence to be presented, Mr. Hubble said conclusions could be reached that the accused had been in the vicinity of Rua--1 ta igata, apparently wandering about until ! May 27, articles he had stolen had been found where Crewe lived, and the deceased's gun had been taken and had been definitely in the possession of the acf cused. Evidence for Crown i The first witness for the Crown, Duncan Cameron McDiarmid, of Ruatangata,ga'ie evidence of finding Crewe's body, although, at the time, lie had not nuspectfld that the deceased met his death' | by violence. Under cross-examination, wit- ! ne.'is said there were always men passing through the district. The injuries received by the deceased vrere described by Dr. C. D. Costello. of Whangarei, who said it would be impossible to say ho-.v long after tho blow death occurred. Death occurred, he considered, between early on the Friday arid lato on the Saturday, although, in his opinion, Friday afternoon was the most probable time. Other evidence related to articles the accused had admitted taking at Kirikopuni, and the accused's movements in the district. Charles J. D. Bennet, sheepfarmer, said that a horse was stolen from his property on Wednesday. Gardner later stating that he had left the animal at Ruatangata. Evidence was also given regarding ari intention expressed by Gardnei to so to Ruatangata to exchange a horse with an elderly man for a gun and two.packets of cartridges. A boy, George Johnson, of Te Matarau, said he spoke to the accused near Ruatangata on a Friday morning in May, and then noticed <h;i barrel of a gun protruding from a bag Gardner was carrying. , " Cheerful Irresponsibility " Mr. Hubble concluded the case for the Crown bv reading a statement by Dr. K. M. Buchanan, superintendent of the Auckland Mental Hospital, regarding Gardner's mental condition. It was said the accused's intellect was not more than that of p. boy nine or ten years old, and his outlook was one of "cheerful irresponsibility," although it was easy to change hi; emotional state. He appeared "to be feeble-minded. ,N T o evidence was called by the defence. For tho accused Mr. Trimmer contended that the Crown had failed in its purpose | to establish conclusively the charge against the accused. "Even if there is a verdict of not guilty, this boy has faced an ordeal he will never forget," counsel continued. "Some of the tilings stated against him amount to suspicion, but there is not a tittle of evidence that Gardner committed murder." Mr. Trimmer said Gardner had lived all his life in remote districts, and his age and backward mentality—at 14 Gardner had not passed the fourth standard—all made it difficult for him to defend the charge. Gardner had been shown to have been at Titoki and Te Matarau on the (Wednesday and the Friday respectively. On the Thursday, a Maori boy, who had not been identified as the accused, bad , been seen wai rig away from Crewe's hut. Crewe was then alive and well. Dr. Costello had said Friday afternoon was the most probable time of death, and Gardner had not been shown to have been at Ruatangata then. Judge's Summing Up "There were no fingerprints and there wr.s no motive for Gardner to commit tho crime," counsel added. "Where is there in this case anything to explain why the carefree Maori boy of one day should hecome the brutal murderer of the next His Honor dealt at length with the evi-demc-e presented by the Crown, lie said the Crown had proved circumstances showin? an opportunity to commit murder, but proof of the actual charge had to be beyond reasonable doubt. The only evidence as to the probable time of death said tho time was presumably on the Friday afterncou, when the accused was not at Ruatangata. The question arose regarding any other possible explanation for Crewe's d-:a;h. At the same time, there was nothing whatever to connect the accused definitely with the death of Crewe. His Honor said it seemed to him that it would be unsafe for tho jury, on the evidence piesented, to bring home to the accused the death of Crewe. There was nothing to connect the accused with the striking of the blow with the axe. After a retirement of 20 minutes the jury returned a verdict of not guilty, Gardner being discharged.