BAYLY TRIAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22284, 9 June 1934, Page 12

BAYLY TRIAL

DOUBLE MURDER CHARGE EVIDENCE BY PATHOLOGISTS BLOOD AND BONE TESTS (Pes United Pbess Association.) AUCKLAND, June 8. Many points of medico-legal jurisprudence were raised during the cross-examina-tion of Dr W. Gilmour, which was concluded this afternoon. When he stepped down after re-examination Dr Gilmour had been 12 hours in the box, during which he was closely examined on the blood group teste, the' difference between drowning and comatose asphyxia, and results he .obtained by burning two sheep in an oil drum on separate occasions. He was succeeded by Dr P. P. Lynch, of Wellington, who detailed the conclusions he had drawn from the bones exhibited and a tuft of hair. Public interest wag again keen all day, many men women being disappointed when they tried to gain admission lata in the morning and in the afternoon. The early part of the examination was a continuation of the questioning on the two burnings. ■' '., .. In reply to Mr Leary, Dr Gilmour said he had given no evidence in the lower court on the possibility of burning a human body, but was prepared then to swear that it was possible. ' " Why did you not do so? asked Mr Leary. > ' , "Because I was not asked any questions on it," replied witness, who added that no evidence was led on that point. The literature on the subject did not mention oil drums. ' "Which test did you tell us about? The earlier one. , "Did the quantity of fat delay the burning? "—Yes. ■ "I believe the animal was so large that you had difficulty in getting the flames all round the body? "—Yes. "Yet at the end of three hours there was nothing left except the internal organs? "—Yes. . , Both burnings bad been carried out in the yard of Mr Meredith's house. Ihe subject of the other experiment was a ram of 1421 b. A sack and a-half of titreo (1411 b) wae used. GumboOts, pairs or working boots, light boots, braces, Palmer nap trousera, and a denture were* burnt in this fire. No fuel was added after one hour and a-foalf. Nothing was lett after six hours and a-quarter. That condition was reached in three hours in tne previous experiment. i'j«„„» "That, of course, is why no evidence waa given of this burning yesterday. Ihe defence was given no notice of this hre, hSKo right to say that," said 1 Witness', stating that pieces of bone were picked out after the burning, pro*M?wS «"n referred to. the blood test*. "In making the predpitm test, who prepared the anti-serum used? he oclrg(J Witness replied that the anti-serum was obtained" rom the Commonwealth Government pathologist. Ha. had made two control teste with'the anti-serum behne testing the dungaree trousers and aU tne other articles, using human and sheep • hlobd for the control tests. b Counsel detailed the manner of prenaring an anti-eerum ty injecting human Elood serum into rabbite, witness .agreeing that this was correct. Dr to mour said that with this test, if a cloud was obtained when the nrenared the conclusion was that ine blood was human, and nothing more was done. The quantities of blood were so email that there was no residue. v "We are in the unhappy position ot being unable to make a check test,' ob--Berved^o«nsel.d ye to accept fflSS bating that the reaction could be produced by agents other than wooa, while the benzedene test had been abandoned as uncertain. ..„*„.»! v " "I would not endorse that entirely, replied Dr Gilmour, who admitted that certain plant juices and cow manure would rive the colour reaction, but he disagreed ?hat the beniedene test gave uncertain results with small quantities of blood. In the ewe of colon? reaction with cow manure, the <»lour would be greemsh rather than blue. . . , T •• „ Counsel then readme opinion of Lucas who, witness afc™ed, wa, ™n Lucas opinion was that the anti-serum must be proved specific by positive tests for blood of the kind tested for. and negative tests for other types of Wood. Dr Gilmour said he used human and gheep's blood as control tests. The serum would be tested fully, before being sent. "That is only hearsay," said Mr LC "But accept that," replied D M?Leal?"suggested that witness could not say that the three spots, or.the dungarees tested together were all blood. Dr Gilmour said the spots, which wcra very small, together gave the test of human blood. He would not concede that one could be human and the other tW "i n suggest that the best plan of decline with the three would have been to test for other animals first," said counsel. "I think the spots were too small to give a reaction singly," replied Dr GHm°Connsel then suggested the possibility i of the reaction being due to the presence of albuminous urine, reading a medical doubted that this was possible with such small stains. The cells were dry, and the stain became distorted, tie had not examined the structure of the stains. Had he had further saline extract from the stains he would have made further tests. ■ .■'•■,. , "I come-now to the manner in. which Mrs Lakey met her death," said Mr Leary. . . Witness said a previous post-mortem had been made before he saw her, while putrefaction had set in to some extent. He had not heard of the blood-stained froth until recently. "The congestion could be more accurately described as a sign of asphyxia than of drowning?" asked counsel. " Suffocation, strangulation, choking, as well a s drowning are all causes of asphyxia," replied' Dr Gilmour, who added that asphyxia was the prevention of oxygen reaching the blood. Coma could be caused by concussion from a blow from which death could result. Boxers sometimes died as the result of a blow in the ring. If it was possible for death to ensue without damage to the brain or skull, coma resulting fatally from a blow could, present the features of asphyxia to a certain extent after death. Mr Leary then quoted a medical authority on death by drowning, which stated that the less aspiration of water into the lungs, the greater the importance that must bq attached to other possible causes of death. " I think he rather contradicts that elsewhere," replied Dr Gilmour. Mr Leary quoted further that if there was no aspiration of water, death wag not due to drowning. Dr Gilmour quoted other pases from the same authority regarding the presence of froth, which showed violence and attempts to breathe. Witness said he would concede that there was no water in Mrs Lakey's lungs. His examination had yielded evidence of a severe blow or blows. There was congestion of the eyes, and Dr M'Farlane bad observed congestion of the lungs. "I put it to you that no one can say how hard a blow would have to be to kill anybody?—Oh, no! Then there might have been sufficient damage done to kill her?—The bow might have been sufficient to kill her, but it would not account for all the findings. Witness agreed that the point was whether Mrs Lakey ceased to breathe on account of comatose condition following a blow, or on account of the supply of air.being cut off by water.

"I am asking you if there is not room for doubt? " asked counsel.

"There is no room for doubt. She died of asphyxia," replied Dr Gilmour, who said- he would not agree that it was debatable.

"The findings point to death from asphyxia," he continued. "There is no evidence that the air was cut off by strangling, a foreign body in the throat, or other method. The findings are not consistent with a comatose asphyxia! state. They are entirely consistent with

death due to immersion of the face in water while the deceased was not making a serious struggle for breath.'' In reply to further questions, Dr Gilmour said the conditions of drowning depended on a struggle for breath. In asphyxial coma there was no struggle for breath. The froth would consist of blood drawn through the nasal passages, which was churned into bubbles by the passage of air. , " You would expect some scum from the duck pond to be drawn into Mrs Lakey s lungs with the water? " asked Mr Leary.

Witness agreed. , "So that the only satisfactory way ot telling whether this froth was from water would be to test the ingredients.' -Jes. • Witness did not see the froth, lhere was no evidence of cow dung in the ugs. The blood in the froth would be Horn a bleeding mouth or nose. . Witness said the theory of death by drowning originated with him.. All. the svmptom« on which he based his opinion were visible to the doctor who performed the first post-mortem. . . . Questioned regarding the tutohiu, Dr Gilmour said he could not tell hew long it was when it grew. Human hail posed to high temperatures? asked All witness agreed. Some'women had coarse!hair ag tban men. The- natter a - faoiiprl to the hair gave a strong lmme diate react on of Wood under the benzadene test. It would not go to .solution in the other test, witness assuming that the reason was that it had been subjected that the probabilities.are very great that the hair would have shown singeing," said Mr Leary. XfffeiHr. were present when the Mood was moist you would expect to Una some* " M? Leary asked. " What properKate weight is represented by the bone identified with a total human Sk "iK weight.of bone positively identified was 41b 70z," rep bed witness, who said the weight would be greater before burning! The weight of an nnburnt *kol«; ton would be 101 b. Bones years old would burn black. There was nothing to show whether the matter clinging to the burnt bone had been old, decomposed flesh or new flesh. It was possible that other matter burned with clean bones might make a deposit on the bones. On resumption, Mr Leary again questioned. Dr Gilmour on the value of the blood group testing. t . "Assuming that Mrs Lakey's blood the blood at the implement shed, the blood on the wheels, and the blood on Bayly s clothes had been typed it was possible that very valuable evidence may have been available for the jury?" asked counsel. "Yes," agreed Dr Gilmour. "Then it might have been shown that all the blood on the Lakey property came from Mrs Lakey?" , "It might have been feasible that all came from the same group. " If two kinds of blood were found on the Lakey property it would have been proof positive that two people were dead there?" « yes.", " If the blood on the suggested assailant is of a different group from that on the suggested victim it would be proof that it would not be that of the victim?

"Yes" '< If the blood on the assailant and that on the victim were of the same group that would show it might come from the victim? " " But it would not prove that it came from the victim?"

" No " " Then the value of the tests is to show innocence, and not guilt? "

" Yes " Re-examined by Mr Meredith, witness said he had to make 15 experiments with different stains on these lines. As a result of my experiments, the test is not sufficiently reliable to warrant its use in medico-legal work," continued Dr Gilmour, who added that if the blood was wet and fresh there was a possibility " ( success, but if'dry it wasunreliable, tie had tried to test Mrs Lakey's blood, taking a stain from a piece of wood used to open her mouth. He got no result. "Was there any wound on Mrs Lakey which could have caused the stains on the implement shed ?" . , . " No. Some of the stains were obviously caused by spurting blood." In reply to his Honor, witness said he was of the definite opinion that the stains on the implement shed were not Mrs Lakey's blood. He could not have done both the grouping and the precipitin tests on Bayly's trousers. There was not enough blood for both purposes. The bloodstains about the implement shed were not fresh enough to make a group tC Requested by the Crown Prosecutor, Dr Gilmour read a summary from dmerent authorities detailing the time occupied in burning human bodies in various types of furnaces. He detailed various stages of the burning during the experiments. The carcasses were reduced to small fragments of burnt bone. .Witness produced a package of bone left at the conclusion of the second experiment. Less residue was obtained in the first experi- " What was the most difficult thing to burn? " asked Mr Meredith. „ "The internal organs and < intestines, replied Dr Gilmour, adding that the intestines of an animal were much more bulky than those of a human being. At the conclusion of both tests some fuel remained unburnt at the back of the drum. In the case of comatose asphyxia the air wa s not cut off. There was a marked difference in the appearance ot •persons who died from drowning and who died from comatose asphyxia. In cases where oxygen was cut pit .there were marked signs of carbon dioxide m the blood which was noticeable in Mrs LaKey. The fact that five men who saw the body removed from the water noticed frothy blood on the, face corroborated witness's conclusions.' ' " Can you say how many post-mortems you have made in the course of your professional career?" asked the Crown P ™ fhive' conducted 2000 to 3000 » replied Dr Gilmour. The tests made of the matter adhering to the tuft -ot hau showed that it might be blood. Ihe reaction was stroug and immediate, indicating that it almost certainly was blood In reply to his Honor Dr Gilmour said the amount of haemorrhage resulting from a wound from a shot or being struck depended entirely where the individual was struck Dr Philip Patrick Lynch, pathologist, of Wellington, detailed the handling of a number of exhibits. The tuft of hair produced comprised 200 to 300 hairs about two inches and a-half long. At the base of the hairs was a matter which gave rapid reaction to the benzedeue test, indicating that it was dried blood further crystalline precipitin tests failed to give definite results. The precipitin test failed if heat had been applied. l'rom the appearance of the material a 9 the result of the benzedene test I formed the con; elusion that it was coagulated blood, continued Dr Lynch. "Ihe bones in all groups had certain features in common. They were all burnt, and they were all associated with wood and charcoal. Ihey were all fragile, some extremely so. ihe edges in all case s were free from weatherlug- - i •> » "Are you referring to your notes.'' asked Mr Meredith. "No," replied Dr Lynch. They had on the surface a dark material which suggested that they had all been freshly burnt. There was a general similarity in their appearance. There was no dirt ingrained in the fractured edges, as would be expected if the bones had been exposed to the weather for any long period. One bone exhibit was that of a muscular individual. It displayed a dark bubbly material which, however, was not present in the joint at the surface. The broken edges were sharp, without signs of wear or weathering. ~,,,, Dr Lynch then demonstrated,the human characteristics of certain hones exhibited, including the cheekbone, the atlas or upper vertebra, and portions of the vault of the skull iiicb showed two layers separated by a spongy layer. In regard to the skull bones, the curvature showed the sine of the brain, which was larger in a man than in other animals. The pacchionian pits were made by the blood channels, and were of some importance in fixing the age of the individual. Thoy deepened with age. "One would judpe that this portion of the skull came from an individual of middle life," continued Dr Lynch, who answered questions by members of the jury. In every case where he handled bones he claimed they were characteristic of human origin. Witness stepped in front of the jury box and gave a detailed explanation. " I would say that the bones were from one human individual from the general points of similarity," declared the witness. Among those recognisable as human were a heel bone, portion of the base of a

skull to which the muscles of the neck were attached, and bones at the vault of the skull, all showing the same general features. Among bones not definitely recognisable as human were some which could be from the pelvis. In one exhibit were seven pieces of cloth which witness had not classified. The court then adjourned till to-mor-row morning.