BRUTAL CRIME

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23966, 16 May 1941, Page 10

BRUTAL CRIME

LIFE IMPRISONMENT TRIAL OF LEONARD NEILING MANSLAUGHTER VERDICT [uv TELEGRAPH —PRESS association] WELLINGTON, Tluirsday After a retirement of four hours and a-half, including tho tea adjournment of an hour, a jury in the Supreme Court, Wellington, to-night returned a verdict of guilty of manslaughter against Leonard Veiling, brushmaker, aged 29, whose trial for the murder of Mrs. Marjorie Livingston Hortoii was commenced on Monday. The Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, sentenced Neiling to imprisonment for life. When the jury announced its verdict and the prisoner was asked if lie had anything to say why sentence should not l)e passed, he said: "I have this to say: I am innocent of the charge." "I feel," said prisoner's senior counsel, Mr. W. E. Leicester, "that, although the prisoner has made that observation, as counsel for the defence I should say this: The defence feels that what it has been permitted to say throughout the trial is sufficient, with this exception. I feel it my duty to draw the attention of Your Honor to the fact that the evidence shows that accused was affected, or presumably affected, by liquor at the time the incidents took place." His Honor's Comment Upon His Honor asking for information about a conviction for assault on a female recorded against the prisoner in 19.18. Mr. T. 1\ McCarthy, junior counsel for the prisoner, who appeared for the prisoner on that occasion also, said a drunken brawl took place in Petone and during a struggle Miss Rangiwhetn. who had given evidence on the murder charge, was hit. "You have been found guilty ol a vile, sordid and brutal offence," said His Honor to the prisoner, "and you have been convicted upon evidence which the jury has regarded as conclusive, and I share that view. They have takqn a merciful view of the case in finding you guilty of manslaughter only. I shall not take on myself the responsibility of allowing you to be at large, even after the fairly substantial term that is usually imposed nowadays for the offence of manslaughter. The way in which you knocked this woman about —knocked her about in such a way as to cause her death —these acts. ,as I say, constitute a vile and brutal crime. The sentence of the Court is that you be imprisoned and kept at hard labour for life."

Duration of Sentence After the prisoner had left the dock His Honor explained to the jury that the sentence did not mean the prisoner would remain in prison for life. It would depend on himself if he could, after a certain period, satisfy the Prisons Board ho was safe to be at large. They would act accordingly, but in the meantime he had a duty to protect the public from men of that kind. During the luncheon adjournment today the jury visited the scene of the offence at Oriental Bay. They retired to consider their verdict at 4.28 p.m. and returned at 8.24 p.m. to ask the Chief Justice a question about the legal definitions of murder and manslaughter. They returned again at 9 p.m. and received a further direction, and eigiit minutes later delivered the verdict.

Counsel's Address to Jury Addressing the jury before they retired, Mr. Leicester said that if the jury found it had been established that accused was the man driven round to Oriental Bay, there was no evidence to show when he left Mrs. Horton. The Crown must establish that if MrsHorton received violence from an individual, that individual was the accused. There were three links 011 which the Crown relied —the state of accused's clothes, his disappearance, and his eonduct in Auckland. There was not a tittle of evidence to show that the knotted handkerchief found on the beach was his property, and the bloodstained handkerchief and the blood stains on his trousers were, as the .Judge had pointed out. quite capable of innocent explanation. .Mr. Leicester said that Xeiling presented himself on January 9 for breakfast a t the home of Mrs. Collins, saw the probation oflicer at Wellington and went to Khnndallah to see about work. On January 10 he left IVtone for Wellington. met Mr. Quintal, then stayed with Mr. and Mrs. Quintal at I'limmerton for several days, In regard to accused's actions in Auckland why could the jury not assume that they were consistent with the actions of a man who did not want to be punished for a breach of probation and serve the remainder of his sentence '