POISONING ALLEGED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21694, 12 July 1932, Page 8

POISONING ALLEGED

CHILD’S SUDDEN ILLNESSES CHARGE AGAINST NURSE ACCUSED COMMITTED FOR TRIAL (Per United Press Association.) v;; AUCKLAND, July 11. The hearing of the evidence against Elspeth Kerr, aged 45, a nurse, on a charge of administering a poison with intent to injure Dorothy Betty Cameron was begun in the Police Court to-day. The accused is a widow. The mother of the child Cameron said she was born at Nurse Kerr’s on June 22, 1924. Witness left the child with Kerr, but visited her on various occasions.

Dr J. S. Stewart said the child was admitted to the hospital on March 28 and discharged on April 6. On April 8 another doctor summoned witness to see the child at Kerr’s home. The child was semi-conscious. Witness was alarmed by her condition, and unable to diagnose it. He was unable to get any satisfactory information from Kerr, who said the child had been taken ill suddenly for no reason. A third doctor was called in, and he was also puzzled. On April 10 the child was much worse, and he decided that she must return to the hospital. Kerr objected, but he insisted.

Evidence was given of the consultation of five doctors, including eminent specialists, at the hospital, after which the child responded well to treatment. Dr Holdgate, said that on April 16 Nurse Kerr, after visiting the hospital, told him that the child appeared less well and asked him to ascertain her condition. Witness rang the hospital and was told that after the visitors had gone the child went into a deep sleep, and could not be roused. Dr Stallworthy said the child was admitted to the hospital on March 28, desperately ill and semi-conscious. She steadily improved, and later was transferred to the accused’s nursing home. On April 10 the child was returned to the hospital, deeply unconscious. She did not show the same clinical sigps as before. She responded well to treatment, but there was a change in her condition on April 16, On that morning he examined her and found her' in good health. As he was finishing his examination Kerr arrived. That evening he was called to the child and found her deeply unconscious, her condition resembling that when she was admitted on April 10, though less severe. He could find no reason. The child became conscious next morning, and he informed another doctor of his suspicions, and was informed that investigations were already being made. Catherine, M'Corraish, who was staff nurse in Ward 5 at the Auckland Hospital in April, said she was on duty on April 10, when the child was admitted. Witness had asked Nurse Kerr whether she had given the child anything to make her sleep and whether the child had had an injection. Nurse Kerr replied, “No.” The accused said, in reply to another question, that the child had had a powder. Asked what kind of powder the accused said it was veronal, which Dr Holdgate had given to her to give the child. Another nurse, Doris Harwood, said she was on duty in Ward 20 on April 16. There was a children’s concert in the ward that afternoon. Betty Cameron was then an inmate of the ward, and was visited that day by the accused. Soon after witness came on duty at 2 p.m. the child asked for a drink of water. The mug was placed on the locker after the child had had a drink. The accused had not then arrived, but was present when witness removed the mug. The child later appeared to he drowsy, but had not complained of being ill when she was given a drink of water earlier. The nurse said she had never given veronal to any children under her care, hpr had she ever seen veronal in the ward.

Phyllis Pottingcr, nursing sister, said she was in charge of Ward 20 in ApriL The child was in a comatose condition when transferred to that ward from Ward 5 on April 14. An improvement took place oh the following day, and on the morning of April 16 the child was very much brighter. Witness saw the child 1 propped up with pillows writing a letter to her mother. She noticed nothing unusual about the child during the progress of the concert that afternoon. Nurse Kerr arrived some time after 3 p.m. Prior to. that Nurse Harwood had given the child a drink of water. The accused was probably in the ward from 20 minutes to half an hour. About 4.45 p.m. or 5 p.m. witness noticed that a change had come, over the child. “ She was unconscious and I could not rouse her,” said witness. Continuing, witness said that Dr Holdgatc telephoned her about half an hour or threequarters of an hour after the accused had left. That was before witness had noticed that the child was unconscious. Dr Stallworthy’s attention was then drawn to the child’s condition. Witness said there was neither raedinal or veronal in the medicine chest in the ward nor in the poison? cupboard in her own room. She had never given either medinal or veronal to any of the children in the ward. A search was made in the child’s locker on “April 16 when the child became suddenly ill, but nothing was found which would cause illness.

The Government analyst, Kenneth M. Griffin, detailed the results of an analysis he had made on two specimens received on April 19 froni the Auckland Hospital. The specimens were marked with the name “ Betty Kerr.” He found veronal present in the specimens. The veronal extracted from the two specimens weighed about half a grain. A further specimen was received on May 2. Veronal was also present in that specimen, the weight being two and a-half grains. Detectives gave evidence as to interviews with the accused. When it was pointed out to the accused that the child had become suddenly ill after her visit to the hospital on April 16 the accused said, “ I cannot account for it. They make mistakes at the hospital.” A plea of not guilty was entered, and the accused was committed to the Supreme Court for trial. “I will ask your Worship to consider the question of bail,” said counsel for the accused.

The magistrate: I will not allow bail