TO PAGE CHARGE 0F MURDER

NZ Truth, Issue 1079, 5 August 1926, Page 1

TO PAGE CHARGE 0F MURDER

Arrest of Elizabeth Ann Nevill Follows Sudden i ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ •■■ ■ ■ ■ ■■ • ■ ''"■,"■ Death of Young Married Woman "WILL PLEAD NOT GUILTY AND FIGHT IT OUT"

COL LOWING the young woman's 1 death,' Mrs. Nevill was charged with performing an unlawful act with intent to bring about a certain event, but when ehe came before Magistrate Page last week the charge was amended to one of murder. ' , , (mmßmmi_\ URING the Magis/r^rvfni^Kk^ trate's Court pro- {. f )?^lH ffi^W^ ceedings, the ac\ir^ cused, who was «/ vft^JHl represented by I jl^fHi lawyer J. F. B. Ik- [mWjk^klt Stevenson, was at T _J'/jßfi wM|P tired m a , smart f ir im wßK!zzo ur .coat and a OTSxii.f*^^^^^ Hatty. 1 toque, ,- but Pt^v^-^^^ \ sRe hid' her some-ffTr-^n — m' -^ what drawn, pale ' , ■••■>■ face from the public gaze by" nestling down into the folds of the high coat collarChief Detective Ward, who asked for the charge to be amended to one of murder, 'applied for a remand. ; ;The charge was that, on or about July 11, at Wellington, the accused did murder one Elsie Davis. Lawyer Stevenson: urged that under the peculiar circumstances, • bail could — and should — be granted. PLEA FOR BAH, * i '. . . . ' ,' i"This •is a serious matter," said counsel, "and I tiike it that it is a cardinal principle of British justice that an accused person is deemed to be inno.cent until found guilty." The question of bail, said Lawyer Stevenson, had been actively engaging the attention.pf; judges i at Home, and the principle' hadv]'l)^h laid down that every perlßA^whw'cQUjd be bailed out adcused absconding— was entitfea to bail. "As to they likelihood df this woman .absconding," , continued ' counsel; "I can assure your Worship with the full responsibility of counsel that there is no likelihood whateverof her going away. "Your Worship must take into consideration the fact that if you refuse, to grant bail you will virtually be im- . posing a term 'of three months' im-. -prisonment on the accused, as there are no further Supreme Court sittings for., three months, and this woman is not a convicted person. , "I say again that there is no likelihood of her going away. iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiH Our Contemporaries l|ll|ltll|l||||jilltlll>llllMllllll|llll<lil'l||lllllllllllMlllllMl ."Nelson Evening Mail": ''On an ocean liner bound from Calcutta to •Liverpool, A. J. .Raffles was woman who had been his flame m India the r.oad on the. day of the Muriwai .who suspected that he knew about the from the neck of a woman passenger one sengers, but there was one passenger, a a distinguished figure among the pasmysterious theft of a diamond necklace night as the vessel was nearing port." Too much Indian chow-chow has apparently made a pickle of the voyage. Anyway, stranger things than this have happened on ocean liners.

r '1 l » ■111 iiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiitiiiiiiiiniiiiHiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiuiiiiiiiiniiiitiiiiiiMiiiiinmiiuiniiiiiiiinininiiiuiiiiiit mmimmy f _ jiiiniiiiiiiiniiiiiiniiiiiiiiihiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiliimiiiniiiii iiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiMiniiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiciiiiiNiiiMMMiiiMiiiiiiinmiiinininiiiiiinnnntinniiiniiui: « If (From "Truth's" Special Wellington Representative.). ' || ji A CHARGE of murder has followed the death of a young H ' SI ;■ " TT ■ married woman named Elsie Davis at the 'Wellington ,|| Ji Hospital on the morning of July; 2l last, || If Elizabeth Ann Nevill, a married woman, 49 years of |f || age, and a resident of Lya^l Bay, is awaiting her trial on |f j| the capital charge. || r?ttiiTitiriit>titifitiiiiiuitiiititifiiii>tti>itiititiitiiitit>iiiiiti>iiiiiliitttititiiiiiiiii»iit>>i>iiiiiiMiiiiiitiiii>i>iiiiti>iiitttiiititiiiiiitiiiiitiiitiiittiiiiiiiiiiiiii>itiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiirniiiirntiiitrtitrnitiiitniiittit(tiitiiitM> :

- "Her family are here; she has .her own house, and all her. connections and worldly possessions are m the city of Wellington. • , "She has lived here for years, and ■any ready motley she has is iri- the Post '"pfnee : savings bank. ' ; "She. has' a young, child . four years of age which must be looked • after. ' -; : .■■■ .•;. "It is not only quite, impossible .for her to leave the country, but such .an attempt \\r.6uld beya virtual admission of her guilt. , ." - , " : , "She says she is innocent, AwillL plead not guilty, and intends 'to „ stay here and fight the 'matter ■ out. • . ■ -....• .-. ■.;:..•■■;. ■-: :'■ ■•'•■:;.■ •;.

"I don't intend to, comment on the verdict at the inquest other than £b say that the verdict was an open one." The chief detective remarked that' ho could only mention, the gravity of the charge m relation to the question of bail. : ■ .■•'... .-..-•■■ ■•- • ..■■'■'•... "•. ; The : magistrate said he would consider the question of bail, but the accused would have to* remain m custody until he gave his decision the following day. . . ' • . . • The following day, when' Mrs. Nevill came up on remand, she .was further charged that "on July 12 she did per-' form an :un lawful act ' upon ■• . No rah ' tjpekran, Nyith./in'tent'-.'^thereby.': to bring about a certain -event. . . ; • Chief .Detective , .^Vard ;' again^ asked for a (remand..: •'..-. "--■' .■-.;. <''.."...'

fr'.".V v .,'.V : : . '■•■■■■'"• , : ' -'•'•'. ":':..■'' ' The, magistrate said he had considered, the-'question of bail, and ; had decided to admit ; the accusad \' to bail on the' terms fixed by the previous mag istrate— -namely, £300, with two 'sureties of X 150,. and on • the further condition that she re-' . twice .daily to the police. ' The remand was granted; m each instance. "'■/ '■■'".' . '■■■ , •■.■• ; CAUSE OF DEATH ;&t the inquesl on Mrs. Davis, presided over 'by the district coroner, Mr. W. G. Rid.dell.^.M.,; Dr. Richard Bowden Martin, House surgeon^at the W,elllngtbn Hospital, said, that the ; deceased woman was admitted to' the institution about 9. a.m. on -July 14 as a result of a certain event.' She remained at; the "•'■' hospital, until July 19 and was doing well. - The patient, at her own request, was later transferred' to a •private hospital. ." The following day; however, she was readmitted to the Wellington Hospital (eh the morning of July 20) suffering from general peritdnitis. „ , , She was operated upon, but died • the ne*'t'--m_'or'riing.'" '.' A., -, To Mr. Steven,sori, who wati3hed ? the proceedings on behalf of Mrs. : Nevili, ; witness said that although it would have been better for the patient.had she remained m the Wellington Hospital, the result would m all proba-. bility haye, been the same. V :•■/ Dr. R. P. Lynch, pathologist at the Wellington Hospital, who con • .ducted the post-mortem examjna- .. tioh^ said that m his opinion death ,; had Beeh^diJe^to^gTneral peritonitis*following a certain event.- . Chief Detective Ward': Dig you find any wounds that may have been causedby the use of an instrument? — No. Could an instrument have been used, without leaving any wounds? — Quite easily. Only the unskilful use of an instrument would leave any wounds. 5 . . The verdict was m accordance with the medical testimony that death had been due to general peritonitis following a certain event; The coroner intimated that he did rot propose to comment on the evidence. ifiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiffl Our Contemporaries '•iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiMiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiii' ' "Timaru Herald": "Last year the rate notices were issued on the 71th June, and owing to the concession griven for prompt payment,' quite a substantial amount had been paid m by this time last year." • Terrible consequences of an elderly linotype operator ' wlta put 1 down his age instead of the date; * ■«■■ ■ * ' "...:■ Greymouth "Evening Star": v "The tourist business of the Dominion was m a hopeless position, so long as Mr %osworthy was m charge." Not half! ;

Mrs. Elizabeth Ann Nevill, wearing a smart, fur coat and toques snapped by "Truth's" photographer, with her solicitor, Mr. J. F. B. Stevenson. Mrs. Nevill is charged with murder. „,