"DELL" HUTTON'S LAST PARTY

NZ Truth, Issue 1249, 7 November 1929, Page 2

"DELL" HUTTON'S LAST PARTY

■ . — . — _*. . — Full Facts Not Told At Inquest On Girl Drug Victim SEQUEL TO FLAT ORGY

(From '* * 'N.Z. Truth V Special Sydney Eepresentative) . •■ The law lias written ''Finis" to the tragedy of*"Dell" Hutton, who died ilia Darlinghurst (Sydney) flat from an overdose of drugs following a wild party, at which one of the guests was Dr. J. P. Hennessy, formerly of Wellington (New Zealand), who left the Dominion last year after his acquittal by a jury on a grave charge. I * The story of "Dell" Hutton's tragic death has already been partly told int the- tolumns;of' < N.Z. Truth," and at the inquest recently the Coroner (Mr. E^ A. May), found that she died from the effects of poison self -administered m an effort to induce sleep.

AFTER the initial medical' evidence had been taken, Mr. Doyey, who appeared for William .Kelley, American mah-about-town and son of a millionaire, who struck up a friendship with .the girl just prior to her death, referred to sordid, details made m statements to the; police. ; Then Mr* May said: "If Dr. Palmer's evidence suffices to shovr that poison was the cause of death, I will let rhy inquiry hinge on whether she died from poisoning, and, if so/whether it was self-administered, and whether suicidal or accidental; if. administered by someone else, who that person island whether administered feloniously or hot. „ r-- ■-■:'■■'■ :';'..;■ ■. -:K'- : '-- '..r{' ''■•".■ "If the police were; exercising their duty — and quite .rightiy-^th'eFe are : lots of details which, m./- some circumstances, would be of assistance. :. "Such sordid details might be highly interesting,*, but they are not so to me: I am here really to find . -the cause of death." ' ■ ■.■:- .: *?. '■■■$.* r':- '>\^K: v y With those remarks Mr. May .shut the legal spotlight bff-a drama of Darlinghurst night life, and at no stage allowed witnesses to .deviate from a bald account of Dell Hutton's death. "On September 30 about- 1^.45 * /a.m. I was called to flat 43, 'Lakort,' : ' Royston Street,, and there , found -' the body of a young girl,', 1 said Dr. Robert A. Eakin, of Darlinghurst. "She had been dead "a short time. I could not say how rlong. •' '■'_■ "There were superficial scratches on hands and wrists/probably seif-in- - flictedJ In an ajd jacent room there were- three empty- bottles which' had contained a drug, v^' '

Doctors Version

1 ■ ■- •■■-• ■-- ■ ■ - • ■- ■ » "A girl there gave me; the history of the case, and from. the history and : Dell Hutton's appearance it would be consistent with poisoning, v "Some people," tlie doctor explained, "can take; 15 grains of this drug without fatalj 1 results, /and some can take only 10 ajid it: will, prove fatal., lf falcen w iny..safe Quantities it is a safe

hypnotic, but, if a person takes an overdose, ,as'"in this case, it is likely to cause death. • ■ a : . , ' "I don't think any layman would select it if he wished to poison somebody else." ./••■:.: ' ' .■'■:. --:- : .■■■-"v i - :^ .V - ■<':':. Detective- sergeant Miller said he went to Lakprt Flats 'about A12.15 p.m. on September 30, land saw a girl named Ruth' Arnold with a: girl "named Finck. Miss Arnold told film that Dell Hutton had died'.th'ere.:;,i!^Qn;:lKe' v . I w:6nt'-.to the: place; she *was lying; down fully dressed, with the exception of her hat. "I asked what caused her death," said the detective, "arid: Arnold said:' 'She has taken a drug', 'and has cuts on her legs and arms 1 .". ;>"' \ The detective produced a red' leather handbag:, which he said wa.s lying on a table, *and had contained three empty bottles. "The husband, Mr. Hutton, handed me a bag containing small white packets, broken pieces of tablets, and a bottle containing eight white

, tablets, which he said he had taken from her while they were living m flats m Darlirtghurst Road. In the bathroom of the Lakort flat I found a bottle of lysol." Wiiliam Menzies Hutton, the husband of . the dead ■ girl, : *" entered the witness-box, with his right /arm m "a black sling, the wrist and hand being encased m splints and bandages. He said he was an optician residing at Cooper-Street, Paddingtbn, and had been married to Dell for eighteen months. She was eighteen years of age, and they had lived together at Versailles, Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst, until the Thursday before her death. "She left on that day,'- he said, "and I did not see her again until after her death." ; "Do you know' if she was subject to drinking bouts?" asked Mr. May. "Oh, occasionally," replied Hutton, after some thought; and to another question from the coroner, he added that he didn't know- what his wife did after she left him. "For two' or three weeks before her death, did you know she was taking this drug?" asked Mr. May. . "Yes," said Hutton/ "Once I "found six or seven tablets m her bag. I took the' tablets away from her, and after her death handed them over to the police." Did she threaten to take poison within a fortnight of her death? — Yes, about ten days before she died. ' Taking up the cross-examination, Inspector Lynch asked Hutton if he had had a quarrel with his wife on the last evening he saw her. "No," answered Hutton, . , ' Ruth Hamilton Arnold, m whose fiat the tragedy took place, said: "I had only met Dell Hutton once before when she called at" my flat. I ddn't know her people or her husband. • She -.died at my flat, which I 'was sharing 'with Mrs.

;Hehnessy. She came there on the Saturday afternoon and left for Palm Court, and came back about 3.30 p.m. on Sunday. „" I had been told on Saturday afternoon by Mrs. Hennessy that the dead woman took poison, but I never saw her' take any. I don't know where she got it from. "On Sunday evening sh© and I were m the flat together. She said she knew a chemist where she could get some more, but she didn't mention his name to me, and she asked me to go along with" her, but I refused. That was after Mr. Cornock had taken the drug out of her possession. ■ 'The following morning I awakened and went to the kitchen about 8 o'clock when the milkman called. I had a glass of milk and poured out one for her and took it to. the < 'bedroom.;' I tried to wake her, but I' could not. She was sleeping nor-' mally, but very heavily. I .djd not suspect anything was wrong. I only .thought she was m a heavy /sleep/ .-'/.. ' . ; - : .. '■'.''' ■ ■-".■■ ■■: "When I .next awoke I think it was after 10 bjclock, and I, decided tb\tidy' the .flait and had just begun when there wks a knock on the door. !'l 'answered, and Mrs. McL/ellan and Mr. Hill came m.- Mr. Hill said he had called for Mrs._ Hennessy's clothes. I packed" most of them, and with Mrs. McLellan saw Mrs. Hutton. ' : v'Mfs. Mctfellari'said she thought Dell looked very 111, and- that I had better get a doctor. I replied that I had no money m the flat to pay the doctor. She said, 'It doesnjt matter. I would get a doctor if I were you.' " : When the doctor arrived Dell Hutton Was dead. x . • 'Dressed m a deep brown double-^ breasted suit of distinctly American cut, a fawn ov,ercoat on his arm and his jet hair smoothly parted, William Kelley entered the court room and, Yankee fashion, stood immediately before the coroner's bench.. ' ; ' "What is, your occupation?" asked Mr. May. \ ..' . ; '.■ - "I was m real estate at home," replied Kelley m his thick American accent, "but I h.ave not been occupied since arriving here." y •

Well, do you say you are, a man of independent means? — Yes. And you reside at? — Temporarily, at the Empire Hotel. "Did you see Mrs. Hutton take thla drug?" plied Mr. May. "The only timo I ever saw Mrs. Hutton take it," said Kelley, crossing his legs and reaching for the white handkerchief m his breast pocket, "I'd say it was about a week prior to her death. That time ' I believe she took two tablets from a small glass jar or phial. •■■ ,•■ "I had no idea what she took it for. That's all I -saw her take. . I believe Miss Arnold, while Mrs. Hutton was not looking, disposed, of the balance of the bottle." > The Coroner : Did she at any time threaten to take her life? ' Kelley: No, but she said, one day that she felt like ending it all. Did you supply her with the drug? — .No. -■;:•■''■.■ -. ■;.■■: . . - 1 ■ ■' '■■-<. > .'■:."■■'■ How ) long \bef ore her death did you see her?- i -Betw.een the hours of 4 and 4.30 on the Sunday night' At this stage, Inspector Lynch said that the police were perfectly satisfied that the injuries on the dead' girl's body had not been inflicted by her ..husband. •' Mr. May concurred. "Unfortunately, he said, "he had a wife who was neurotic—l think that is the way to describe her— and v likely to make statements^ outside actual fact. I am satis-! fied he did not inflict the wounds on the" deceased. '-' J . "Whether she took the drug purposely to end her life pr- whether to induce sleep— it is a drug, to induce sleep, and her husband has said that at times she w,as sleepless — I am going to give her and her relatives the benefit of the doubt regarding wilful suicide. 'A"i find that Maisie D.ellabo Marguerite Hutton; at 43,. Lakort Flats, on September 30, 1929, died from the effects of a poison, named veronal, accidentally self -administered m an effort to induce .sleep." '