SUPREME COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17156, 8 November 1917, Page 3

SUPREME COURT

CRIMINAL SITTINGS. His Honor Mr Justice Sim sat at the Supremo Court yesterday, when the criminal sittings were completed, with the exception of the Ledgerwood case, which stands adjourned. CHILD MTJBDER. Mary Beatrice Maud Walker, a young woman, was charged with tho murder of her infant male child. Mr Sourr appeared for accused, who pieaded "Not guilty. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr Win- C. MacGregor, K.C.) said that the offence was , committed at Lawrence on September U. Accused was a single woman, 23 years ct ] age, and prior to the offence was in scrvfoe in Dunedin. Previous to that she was an attendant at the Ashburn Hall Mental Hospital. Her mother and father lived at Lawrence, and she went there on September 17 to spend a holiday. She then appeared, so far as her mother could tell, in her ordinary health. Shei took with her a. suit-case. She stayed at Lawrence until the 22nd, when she left for Duncdin with her mother. She returned with tho suitcase On the way to tho station at Lawrence ±he mother observed that her daughter was not looking" well, and carried tho suit-case part of tho way. She noticed that her daughter did not look well at breakfast and asked her about it. She replied that she would be all right. They arrived at Dunedm about 11 a.m. They intended going to a married daughter living at St. Clair, the wife of Mr Anderson, a chemist, in Stuart street. They walked up Stuart street to Anderson's shop, where, on tho pirl's suggestion, she left the suit-case. They then went to the married daughters place, whero the mother noticed that accused was evidently ill. She called in Dr Evans the same evening. Ho examined accused, and then found out from the girl that she had given birth to a child at 3 o'clock that morning; that she had broupnt the dead body of the child to town in tho suit-case, and had left it at Andersons shop. The doctor went the same evening to Anderson's shop, and there found m the the dead body, of a fully-developed male child, wrapped up m a bloodstained sheet, along with some other articles marked with accused's name. The next day the doctor conducted a post mortem examination of tho body, and found that She, child was a full-term one, that it had been born alive, and had died from asphyxia. He also found four or five marks on the side ol the child's neck. The girl did not tell her mother anything about the birth, and no cries or commotion were heard from accused's room-during tho night. The girl had made no preparations whatever in the wav of clothing or otherwise for the birtn. In "most cases of this kind fiie unfortunate child was the first baby of a young and inexperienced woman, and the inevitable defence was that death was the result really of an accident. No such defence could, toe urged in this case, because it would be shown that in May, 1916, accused gavo birth to another child while she was an attendant at Ashburn HalL That child, also, was born alive, without anyone knowing anything about it, and was found dead, suffocated under the blankets of the bed, so that it could not be suggested in this case that accused was an innocent girl suddenly confined for the first time. That was the reason why she did not tell her motherland had made no preparations for the birth. No one but accused knew of the precise circumstances surrounding the death, and one had to look at the surrounding circumstances to consider whether or not accused was really and properly responsible for tho death. One had to consider whether there was any motive for the crime, whether there were any preparations for the crime, and also to consider the subsequent conduct of the accused to find out whether or not it was reasonable to assume guilt or innocence. In this caso the motive, of course, was to conceal her shame and the death which she had caused. Then, as to the preparations for the crime, there was the almost inhuman way in which the biriii ana death of the child were concealed, even from her own mother. In regard to tho subsequent conduct of accused, everything pointed to the fact that she did her best in every way to remove all traces of tho birth, so that, if she had not taken so ill and had recovered, she could afterwards have put the body out of sight altogether If the jury was not satisfied ,that accused meant to kill the child, it might possibly return a verdict of. manslaughter. Dr Evans said that, with ordinary care, he thought the child would have lived. Mr Scurr: That is, if the mother had retained consciousness throughout the birth? Witness: Yes. There would be a period of unconsciousness, and if it lasted sufficiently long a child might be suffocated. There were five marks on tho left side of the 'neck of the child, and none on the right. They seemed to have been produced by pressing of the .fingers. Mr Scurr: Can you say if these marks were produced during life? m ] Witness: Either during life or immediately after death. Re-examined, witness said that accused told him that the child did not breathe. He had no doubt that it did breathe. Evidence was also given by Christina Walker, Erank Leslie Anderson, Sergeant Boulton, Detective Hammerly, Constable West, and Dr WilL Dr Will said that accused was engaged as a nurse at Ashburn Hall on May 1, 1916 She gave birth while there to a full-termed child The child had been born alive, and had breathed. The cause of death was suffocation. Mr Sburr, in addressing / the jury, said that the Crown Solicitor in his opening had told them it was its plain duty to find this woman guilty of murder, but he (Mr Scurr) thought the jury would agree with him that the evidence adduced that day was not sufficient to convince any 12 men that a murder had been committed. Dr Evans had stated that the child could have been suffocated during its birth by the unconscious mother with the bed clothes. The jury had been told that a previous child of this woman, born under similar circumstances, had died from asphyxia, but the fact that that child and this last one had died from asphyxia would not influence the jury, in the belief that this child had been deliberately done to death by its mother.. The only evidence that would lead the jury to believe that the child was so done to death was the marks on its neck. These marks the doctor had said had possibly been caused by pressure of the hand, but he had also told the court that they might have been done by the patient unconsciously in the throes of childbirth. It was the duty of the jury to exhaust every possibility in favour of the mother of this child in coming to a conclusion. If the jury was of the opinion that these marks had been caused during the semi-consciousness of the mother by pressure exerted by her upon the child's neck, the jury would be entitled to come to the conclusion that she 'had not murdered the child. He put it to the jury that if the young woman had been going to do her child to death by taking it by the throat there would not be found marks on the one side of the throat only. There would have been found the thumb mark on one side of tho throat and finger marks on the other. The finger-marks were all ori one side of the neck. 'Then the doctor said that there was no proof that these marks were inflicted during life, and if they were inflicted after death, tho person so inflicting them would not 'bo guilty of murder. The Crown Prosecutor had said + hat the jury could find a verdict of manslaughter, but in order to come to the conclusion that the woman was guilty of manslaughter, the jury would have to find that there had been ncgligenca carelessness.' The jury was asked to draw tha conclusion as to manslaughter, because the young woman had not made any preparation for the birth of the child, had not any baby clotlws with which to clothe jt, and that sho had been guilty of negligence in not preparing for birth, so that the" child could have been born under sv.ch circumstances as would have ensured its living. The reason why she had no baby clothes, and had made no preparation for birth was explained'by her statement to Dr Evans, that she did not anticipate the child being born for another two months. If this young woman believed that sho was not going to be confined for another two months, jsho was not warranted in having any preparation made for the birth at Lawrence. He (Mr Scurr) asked the jury to believe that when the child was born the woman became unconscious, that during tho birth, and unconsciously, the child had been suffocated under tho bed-clothes. If .she had expected thai tho child was going to be born would she havo accepted her mother's invitation to go to Lawrence when she would want to hide her shame? His Honor summed up and the jury retired at 10 minutes to 12_ and returned at 12.30 with a verdict of not guilty. CONCEALMENT OF BIRTH. Mary Beatrice Maud Walker was then charged with having disposed of tho body of the child with intent to.conceal the fact that sho was its mother; sho pleaded guilty to the -barge. Mr Scurr said tho girl came of a very respectable family, who had behaved themselves well, the father and mother being highly respected residents of Lawrence. His Honor said that probably the best cairso would bo to detain tho girl for re-

■formative purposes, and directed that she be detained with that object for a term of not moro than live years. j wnsoNun ron sentence. Andrew Townley, who hud been convicted of failing to keep proper books of accounts, was Drought up lor sentence. Mr Scurr said Townley was 28 years of age, and had been for tho greater part of his life in this district tie liad been found guilty of not keeping sufficient books within the meaning of tho Bankruptcy Act. Ho was a man of no education, and did not know that books were necessary. He had followed tho praetieo adopted largely by dealers in tho same line of business as himself (cattle dealor). Ho assured him (Mr Scurr) that ho did not know what books to keep, or whether it was necessary for him to keep any. Ho came of a family of stock dealers, and had tried hard to get away to the war, but had been rejected for physical reasons. His Honor said this was a striking instance of the/ necessity of keeping books, becauso if accused had kept proper books of accounts and kept them balanced, ho would have found out long ago that ho was hopelessly insolvent. There was no doubt that the practice seemed to bo for stock dealers not to keep books of account, and tho sooner they kept them the better. Pie thought it was desirablo that a term of imprisonment should bo imposed, but in view of tho practice prevailing among stock dealers ho would mako it short. Accused would bo sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard laobur.