FRENCH JURY WEEPS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21022, 10 May 1930, Page 27

FRENCH JURY WEEPS.

SENSATIONAL MURDER TRIAL. Amid scenes of intense excitement, after one of the most dramatic trials ever known in France, Francois Pinet, the young hotel manager, was acquitted at Aix, Provence, of the murder of Miss Olive Branson, the English artist, who was found dead last April in a tank at her villa at Les Baix, a wild, rocky region, known as the "Valley of Hell." The decision was received with a great burst of applause in the packed court. People rushed forward and showered their congratulations on the acquitted man. Pinet, preserving the attitude of calm he had maintained throughout the long-drawn-out trail, showed no emotion at the verdict. Counsel for the defence painted a vivid picture of the romantic association of the dead woman and the accused man. He sketched the love scenes which drew tears and sympathetic murmurs from the jury. He referred to Miss Branson as a siren to whose attractions Pinet had succumbed. The substance of the defence was that Miss Branson committed suicide During his closing speech to the jury M. Boissier, the Public Prosecutor, pointed an accusing finger at Pinet and cried: lou killed Miss Branson; confess! Motives of vengeance and cpidity were attributed to Pinet by the Public Prosecu- : ter, who ended a speech of nearly three hours by demanding a life sentence of penal servitude. There had been fears of a riot when the was reached, and troops held back frantic crowds waiting in the court yard and square outside the court. Pinet returned immediately to Lcs Banx,’ where a fete was held in his 1i nriAin*