ATTEMPTED MURDER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21362, 16 June 1931, Page 8

ATTEMPTED MURDER

SEVEN YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT GRAVITY OF OFFENCE EMPHASISED (Per United Press Association.) HAMILTON, June 15. In the Supreme Court this, morning Frank James Kerr, aged 40, who was found guilty on Friday of the attempted murder of Gertrude Edith West, aged 19, at Te Awamutu, on January 24, was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment with hard labour. Addressing the prisoner His Honor said it was difficult to determine in a case of this kind what punishment was most appropriate. That the offence must be dealt with severely and in accord with present day standards was certain. Prisoner had been convicted, his Honor thought properly so, of deliberately attempting to kill this girl. There were some people in the community whose sympathy in cases of this description went out to the accused persons, but who had little regard for those who suffered as a’ result of the crime. This offence might have had a much more disastrous result. One regretted to note, added the judge, that recently the crimes of murder and attempted murder had figured prominently in the criminal calendar. Whether this was due to inadequate punishment or whether it arose from some other cause his Honor was unable to decide. It seemed to him that the prisoner had deliberately done what he was now to be punished for. It might have been that just before the incident Kerr had been drinking and that his sense of right and wrong was somewhat unbalanced. It was plain, .however, that for some obscure reason he made up his mind to revenge himself upon Miss West and deliberately shoot her. But for the intervention of her ward, a man of over 70 years of age, prisoner might have done further damage.

During the trial it was stated that the prisoner had been paying attentions to Miss West. These were neither acceptable to the girl nor to the parents. Kerr -kept pestering the girl, and was finally ordered to remain away from the house. A few nights / before the shooting Kerr attempted again to see the girl. The girl’s parents were poor, and the mother had to go out to do cleaning work. On the morning of January 24 Miss West was returning from office cleaning when Kerr, who, it would be shown, had borrowed a shot gun, followed her up in a motor car. He spoke to her and she resented his approach, passing on home. Later Kerr called at her parents’ house, and there, in the garden, shot the girl, inflicting a very severe wound which necessitated the girl remaining in hospital for a lengthy period, during which time her life was despaired of. Prisoner immediately after the shooting said he had fired the gun accidentally.