THE STRING SENSATION

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 26 August 1908, Page 16

THE STRING SENSATION

- Ahe case f^)r the crown. S tSS^AQRDINARY CONFLICT OF . S&T EVIDENCE. " '§?lv^§[ °* manslaughter against j'»S«R&d: -Coybieb. wae resumed at the |gSiSw^e_P<Hirir &n the 19th. his Honor Mr Williams "took his seat at 10.30 jjCuPr l*ujra§}* (continuing, hjs evidence) said mP*®> IPf "fuiees °o *?« face a nd body of •rgUMbSag FpuW have different charaoterisTgjffjotfffijr to the latter being protected by ffilSfijmj' on ojys a - n " muscles and soft ;£umbJ Km ihe other. It was therefore pos''wSjribo* SQioe of, th^ bry^ses on the body '* iswX jfc^J iieen received at the eamo : **wC M J&* other injuries. The other healthy, and showed no signs £%. i9Mftlp6s bj.oodiessn.ess, as might have -«s&|» 'WCpectecT in a person who' had bled '«t$ v 2it.Ul> ' $*he blood found in the stomach .Ib|2 mobabjy been swallowed an hour or so JjwjjojS^ ijleath, which in jjjjs opinion had tjjjs^ir ©at»ed by— (i) thg congested 7x*ndi..jnon, pf _ the' brain* due to alcohol; (?) the ■ |>kedirig. oh the surface of the brain, due' "jroTbirifcaung which Would probably 1 not bare led to bleeding in a healthy subject ; '(3) an Indefinite ainoun£ of-. -bloaainft Whiej^ | . in a -wibtnnri in her os>hdj£i6~n _ would be c) < ; toonftfputing jceuse. The main fWtor of | jileath was t^e_brAin^l>ruase. -He-^ii|ned to .^at© .that 5 severed membraine pin th« 1 right side of the brain showed thai there' '• Bi£d been «. previous" hemorrhage. He knew pf his own knowledge that deceased jwsaß an aHeohoHd subject; • — ~~ . (to M£ Jpfafrlpa; H| made this i&st i&Sr>Aein~alone at tbe'suj«festion g| the police, [Ho hac since heard wjat it was cu&iom&ry j -'far two doctors to be^reseijt on important oases like this. Had he knomrn \te had ; Authority to (do so, he would llave considered 4fr tjrndent to have another medical ; sn*Q •anaopiated wiui him. It -would have j fc*«a fljvach more pleasant. His conclusions *^rer« not mere opinions. They had been on tbe basis of practical common : tense. He gave hb opinion as a medical j- irnftn. He Jiad altered his opinion the • inquest. Then he had only just learned iiow tJie woman h&&. fallen, "ana wae ' anxious to give accused the benefit tt any ' <Jaubfc. -- * I : Mr Bankai t VHai jraa tin* ©1 y6uT "but ; «l that" time tfc^fe wae no accused, I Witness went on to cay tha* on thinking it cot he <foiirid that.j3h« black* eyes and ; facial bruieeo oQultLnot have— he^n due to Abo wound -ijn -the head.- In his opinion- , 'ih« black eyes had. not been caused by • -jestr&Y&aation of, blood fron} tiie wound on .ihe right temple. - -JJe' -w^idd not say that in some oases a similar wound would not Jhave that ettect. All the swelling on the •faoe could noi have been caused by a fali. 'Such mjijrteiSf 0611X1 only have been 'due to intentional violgnoe. j Mr Hanlon: Epileptics fall veryisuddenly ; *r«d very violently. Would not this have • .accounted for it? 1 Witness said h^ thought not, especially j .es 'Mrs Coru^sh had been so light. A j .JEMifeicSiesty of blowte could only account j Scr 4fift fipfts#°fl fi* ks r c - *her© was

hardly any abrasion of the ekin. He would not expect a man's knuckles to abrase the skin. He had not seen many fights, but had seen combatants afterwards. Tlh'oy sometimes got cuts, but usually bruises were sustained. Had a man struck Mrs Cornish with ail his might the skin might have been cut. He did not think the injury to the brain could have been caused by alcohol. He was prepared to state that this injury could not have been due to alcohol, though hemorrhage of the brain was common in alcoholics. This bleeding could not have been caused by alcohol, which, however, might have been a contributing cause. On being asked how he accounted for hemorrhage at that exact spot, witness said "a blow in the face," as the brain was a semi-solid substance encased by bone, and in the case of a blow the brain would tend to remain stationary and the ekull would be driven ug against it. The brain showed a definite round bcyise slightly bigger than half a crown. Such could only have been caused by violence, probably by a blow in the face. It was purely mathematics. Mr .Hanlon: In the event of a blow on the skull, is not the injury to tlie brain ex<actly opposite to the blow? — Not necessarily. ts not that where you would look for it? — Not always. A constable then stepped up, and witness Illustrated on his head • how blows, dealt frojn various ■points, would react off various parts of the contents of the cranium. •Mr Hanlon: Well, it seems to amount to thiflj^that you think the bruise was caused by violence, but that you cannot telF how this violence was applied. Witness said tihat was so. At the inquest he had 'based come of his calculations on the statement of the oook to the effect that Mrs Cornish's facial injuries were apparent the day prior to her death. He would swear that the matter he found in the stomach was blood. With obronio drinkers there was sometimes bloofl in the stomach. There was no antecedent probabilities, that this was so. Deceased had not been in the habit? of vomiting blood. Had the blood been in deceased's stomach some time prior to her injuries it 'would have been in a ttore digested state. When he had his first conversation with Cornish the i latter did not seem to be very clear as to the time at -nhich he found his wife that day. j Re-examined : Witness was an M.8., a B.C. (Cambridge), a member of the Royal College of Surgeons, and L.R.C.P. He liad been assistant house surgeon at Leices- J ter, house physician at St. Bartholomew's for six months, senior house physician at i Sr -Bartholomew's, and house doctor at Southampton, so he was not a " new chum " at it. Witness went on to quote Ericksen to the effect that hemorrhage of the brain should, even in the case of advanced alcoholics, be attributed to violence. He believed the injury on the right temple to have, been due to a fall, and the brain i •bruise to violence done to the face. Lily Knox, aged 16, domestic servant, said she had been employed at the Stirling | Hotel for six or seven months prior to j Mrs Cornish's death. She remained there a month after her death, and was now in j

' service at South Dunedin. • At the Stirling | Hotel she "did "'all the rooms. The others employed at the hotel were Taylor (barman) and the cook. Accused and his wife also lived there. Mre Cornish did her char« of the work, but had been addicted 1 to drink. When that way she .was often I quarrelsome with the cook. | Mr Fraser: Only with the cook? — Yes. | Mr Fraser: It's a small house. You were there eiy months. I suppose you saw husband and wife together? — I don't think so. I never saw them together when I Mrs Cornish was not sober. Witness went on to say that Mrs Cornish when drunk was always in the bar, and ! usually noisy. She had seen Mr and Mrs Cornish in the bar together. Mrs Cornish was drunk, but was allowed to remain there. Deceased was staggering on the afternoon prior to her death. Mr and Mre Cornish had dinner together that day. Witness waited at table, but did not hear what they said. Mrs Cornish had tea by herself. She was then staggering and noisy. Witness saw her at~7 p.m. Witness was then going up to Bennett's bedroom. She went to bed about 9 o'clook, and slept soundly. She was up by about 6 o'clock the following morning, and " did " the commercial room, bar parlour, passage, and dining room. Mr and Mrs Cornish usually slept in the bedroom at the back of the building, downstairs. When witness cleaned up the adjoining passage that morning the door of Cornish's bedroom was shut. She only remembered the usual occupants of the hotel having breakfast that morning. She knew a man named Alexander Smith, commonly known as Soudan Sandy. His Honor: Wh&? Mr Fraeer : Soudan Sandy, your Honor. He was with Lord Kitchener. Mr Hanlon : Or he says he was. Continuing, witness said, having done the bedrooms that day, she did the dining room, but had heard no sound from the private sitting room next to it. Mr Cotnish often lay in bed late when he was not drinking. Witnes6 next went to Mrs Cornish's private sitting room. This would be about 11.30 a.m., though it might have been earlier or later. There was no one on the couch; only one wrapper "rucked up." and a cushion. She folded the rug and left it there, and arranged the cushion. The rest of the furniture was in place. The rug at the firenlace was turned a quarter over. One of the curtains at the door leading into the passage had been partly pulled from the rod. She saw nothing in the passage. She was not in a position to ccc everything in the passage plainly. Mr Fraser: In your evidence at Balclutha you swore you could see everything in the pas&tgef Witness said she could not see to the end of the passage. She could not see whether the door of the bedroom was open or not. The blinds in the sitting room i had been pulled up ; one curtain was looped back, and the other partly pulled down. The coal scuttle was overturned just inside the sitting room. She adjusted the curtain. Mr Fraser: Then you were right at the opening into the passage, and yet you say you^ only saw about 3ft of the passage. Witness : I just looked, and then looked away. Witness went on to say that near Ihe overturned scuttle was ft lump of coal

and one 6i Mrs Cornjfsh's slipjjers. Witness noticed no blood, end heard no sound. She left off in the middle of cleaning the room and went to the kitohen. There she said to the cook : " She has fallen over again as usual." She went to the kitchen oh purpose to say this to the cook, though there was nothing unusual in the occurrence. The cook returned with her to the sitting room, and helped her to tidy it up She believed the cook put up the curtain. It was no part of the cook's duty to attend to that room. Witness saw no blood at all. When the cook said that witness had cleaned blood up in that room she stated an untruth. Witness did not remember at first that a man had been staying at the hotel, but since reading the newspapers her memory had been refreshed on that point. She dfd not think that any meals had been served in bedrooms. She did not see Mrs Cornish on May 1. She did not go to the bar till 3 p.m., when she was sent by the cook to relieve the barman. Before that she had cautcht sight of accused going to the baihroom. She did not see what he had in his hands. He was fully dressed. After this she went to the dining room. She had forgotten this when ahe swore in the court below that she had remained foi* an hour in the kitchen. His Honor: When did you first hear Mrs Cornish was dead? When I was in the bar at about 4 o'clock. I Hie Honor: Do you mean to say you '• heard nothing till then. Why, the doctor I had been there. I Witness said she heard nothing of what had happened till just as the doctor was leaving. She took the doctor, on his arrival, to Mr Cornish, as he did not know which room to go to. j The Crown Prosecutor: And how did you i know?— l thought Mt and Mrs Cornish ; would be in the sitting rom. _ j Continuing, witness said Mr Cornish was , then lying on the couch in the sitting room when 6he showed the doctor in. It was part of her duty to "do up " the little j back bedroom in which the barman slept. She had not entered it that morning, I because she knew the barman had not i | sleot there the previous night. He had { ' told her at dinner time that he had slept upstairs. When doiner Mrs Cornish's hair on the Thursday, witness had noticed for the first time a bruise behind the ear. also a mark beside the nose. She had mentioned the latter mark before, but had forgotten about it. She had been asked if there had been any marks on the face before, but had said "No." This was merely a, mark; there was no swelling. Witness saw deceased asrain at tea time, but noticed no additional marks on her face. She had mentioned the bruise behind the ear for the first time at the Magistrate's Court. She had been in service in South Dunedin about a month. Mr Fraser: Do any of the people connected with the Stirling case come to see you there ? Mr Hanlon: I object to that question. Mr Fraser : Are you engaged to 6fl . married ? — No ! | To Mr Hanlon; Mrs Cornish' frequently got naetv bumps from falling about. Witness had seen her fall prostrate a few times. She had seen Cornish pick her up and lay her on a epfa. He was kind to her, and appeared iQnd of her. Mrs Oornish vfiiS to g«t so arunk that she fell io ihe

floor. Witness had never seen accused an* Mrs Cornish quarrel on any occasion. She had been present when Cornish searched her boxes, and those of the cook's, for a wrapper and a pin. The cook's room was first searched in her presence, and there both articles were found. The pin was sticking in one of the cook's blouses. Subsequently in the kitchen Cornish told' the cook the best thing she could do would be to go. She said she would.. On the morning of May -1 witness had not gonei into the cook's room except to make the bed. If it should be stated that she went into the cook's room and spoke to her. there, that would be untrue. She heard! no "dumping" or thumping going on. She did not draw the cook's attention, so as to cause her to listen to anything that was going on. If the cook said she did, •it would be untrue. Witness was quite sure she saw no blood in the sitting room l , and that she had cleaned up no blood any,* where. The oook* helped her to tidy the sitting room, but there was nothing unu6ua| in the room except what had already been, described. Mr Hanlon then drew a diagram of the sitting -room doorway, and witness pointed out on the drawing how the hooks on the curtain had become detached from the rings on the rod, thus, though the curtains were looped up lower down, they obstructed her view along the passage, which was a dark one. She was positive that the cook had told her that she had taken the clothes off Mrs Comi6h, but the cook had not told her where she had put them. ■ Mr Fraser: This conversation took place in the kitchen before the inquest. It was at night-timerand the oook was drunk. Mr Fraser: You told me you never saw accused and the latter together when the latter was drunk, yet you have just told Mr Hanlon that you have seen Cornish pick his wife off the floor and lay her, on a couch. Witness said she had never seen them together at any other time. She recognised the rug produced as the one belonging to ■Mrs Cornish's bedroom. If it was not i« Mrs Cornish's bedroom it would nave been in the barman's bedroom. To Mr Hanlon : The rugs or mats had na particular specified places. They were just shaken and put in any rooms that cam© William Taylor said he had been barman and groom at Cornifh's hotel, and remained on after Mrs Cornish's death till he left last Monday. During the time he was there Mrs Cornish never seemed sober. Her relations with her husband were prett* good, drunk or sober. Witness E ot on very, well with both. He had never seen deceased picked up when she fell ; she usually seemed able to pick herself up. She useil to help herself from the bar to # whatever she wanted. On the Thursday prior to heE death she wae very drunk. Witness »# her at 10 p.m. Her face was always highly coloured. He noticed no marks. She wa^ alone, going from the bar towards bedroom. Cornish was then standing u| the bar parlour. Deceased was noisy lq* fore leaving the bar, bu^ Cornish caM nothing, but after sh.e left Cornish jaddl to him, "The missus is Pretty fit. 1 ? £fo*r¥ were three men m the bar thftt night. If took deceased all her tiifl<j ft jfealk, gtfafeht.

(Witness heard no noise that night. He was a heavy sleeper. Be rose at 6 a.m. on May 1 and opened and cleaned up the bar." Lily Knox relieved him at the bar twice "that day.- He did not see deceased thair morning. He -usually" slept in No. 3 bedroom. He -had no belongings at the botel\except what" he had on. He kept his things at a little house on the hill. A little, "room, at the back was supposed to be fcis. • He slept in No. 3 bedroom that night. •Witness had seen~Mrs Cornish sometimes, after" ehe had gone to bed drunk, come to the -bar early in the morning. She did not 'do so on this occasion. He was not cur-, prised at her non-appearance, because she ' did not always- come to the 'bar early. In. the afternoon 'Gormen told 'him the "Missus was. idead," antL^eent him- with a telegram for the doctor. Witness just accepted the 'statement without comment. He had not noticed- the condition. • of the sitting room. He .Hid not remember -whether he went first- into the bar or straight to the Cornishe' bedroom on. "his wturri".MiS Fraser: Come, my good man, people are not always dying in every house you fcav&oeen. employed in. "Witness replied in the negative. He had feeld Jho conversation .with Cornish about his life's "death. He had always expected 'hereto die owing to her excessive drinking.f's To "Mr Hanlon: Witness would not be likely to discuss such a matter with Cornish. .On 'Ajprfl 30 he had seen Mrs Cornish in the T^ashhouse. He was cutting up a pig. Mrs came in, and' fell over a benchT He did nofc notice whether she had- injured- ierself. -This "jsort of * .thing tras'iio novelty.' Cornish had "assisted him to, kill a pig; on the Wednesday^ Cornish held the animal by the fore legs while witness killed it. Cornish got more blood on his trousers than witness did. Mrs Cornish's face was swelled and bloated from 'drink. She bled a lot at the nose, and garfi him the impression sometimes that ehe suffered from skin disease. He had beard no sounds of moaning or quarrelling, nor had anyone drawn his attention to anything of the sort. On the morning of May , 1 "James, M'Gregor, and Fisher entered and had- a drink. Witness did not see Mrs Cornish in or near the bar. {Witness did not remember James having spoken to any woman". He could not have spoken to Mrs Cornish in the bar parlour, as witness stood between him and the bar parlour slide. Cornish was always kind to hia wife, who had a good deal of control in the hotel. Cornish used to refer to her as the "first mate." She was the mainstay of tho business. Witness had never Sit any time seen Cornish guilty of any act of unkindness towards his wife. William James, farmer, of Inchclutha, teaid he was at the Stirling Hotel on the morning of May 1, in company with Fisher and M'Gregor, between 9 and 10 o'clock. He knew Mrs Cornish personally. Shecame to the door leading from the bar parlour. William Taylor was then in the •bar. Witness said '" Good morning, Mrs Cornish," and she rejoined, " Good morning, Mr James." She had no bruises or fclood on her face. Ho did not think there could be any mistake in the date. He had good reason to remember it. Mrs Cornish seemed to him to have been sober. He "did not hear of her death till the day •following. To Mr Hanlon: He saw Mrs Cornieh for about half a minute on that occasion. iHe - could swear that her face was not ibruised. He was in the bar, and Mrs Cornish was in the bar parlour, where the light was more dim. His two friends did not see Mrs Cornish, But they went out .before he 'did. He would swear that it was not the cook that he saw. Mrs Cornish was alive, and well, and sober, at about 9 a.m. on May 1- If anyone swore that 'deceased was at that time moaning in her (bedroom it could not be true. Thomas Atkinson, labourer, a new witness, said he was in Stirling on May 1. ■He had been in Stirling Hotel on April SO. Witness then became inaudible. The Crown Prosecutor : Are you 6ober ? Witness : No ! TEen stand down, please. m i Constable Marshall, stationed at KaiSangafca,- 6aid that at 4.20 p_m- on May 1 Bie, on receipt of a telegram,, went to Stirling, and was shown into a bedroom by the cook. He found Mrs Cornish on the feed. There was e-'but on the top of her iiead, a 6mali scratch on the left cheek, & bruise on the left breast, another on the light, side inclining towards the "back, another on the right thigh. Her hair was matted with blood. Cornish was laying on a couch in the sitting-room. Witness asked him what time he had last seen his wife alive. He said 10.15 p.m. on April 30. Witness had then asked him when he tad next seen her, and Cornish replied at 10 a.m. next day. When going from hjs bedroom to the* bathroom he had nearjy ifripped over her dead body. Accused said \ had then gone to the kitchen and called Lizzie, the cook, saying, "My God,

Lizzie, the wife is dead." and had asked her to-, give him .a hand to lift his wife on to the' bed. Accused was so much under the influence of drink that witness could not get a clear statement' from him. He* was drunk again next morning, and when asked what time he 'found his wife, replied, ." 10 o'clock on Friday morning." On Sunday, May 3, Cornish went to Kaitangata to try to get the inquest, adjourned front Monday to Tuesday. Witness again asked him what time it was when he found the body of his wife, and he again replied at 10 a.m. Witness then said, " Why did you not send for the • police and doctor sooner than you Hid?" Cornish replied that he did not know. The - mat produced was lying by_ Mrs Cornish's' bedside. The bloodstainsOwere then on it. ' To ,Mr Hanlon : ' Mr Cornish had answered his questions in the ordinary colloquial way. The doctor- had nob told him how long the woman had been, dead. Witness had not asked him: , He had never found or aeen Cornish under the influence of liquor before. He would say that during his first two interviews with Cornish after the death he was labouring under strong mental excitement. On the Sundayhe was quite sober. „ Alexander Smith, labourer, said he had been in the Black Watch. He slept in the Stirling Hotel on the night of April 30. He was shown to his room between 10.30 and 11 o'clock Mr and Mrs Cornish both saw him upstairs. There were then no marks on her face. Mrs Cornish went back to his door, which was ajar. She asked" what he meant By ushig some' ward. Cornish then returned, and told her. to come away out of that, and not to disturb people. Witness then hoard him pulling her along the passage. A door closed ; there was whispering for a bit, and then silence. Witness did not have breakfast next day, but had dinner The girl Knox waited upon him. He heard about the cteath that afternoon. Mrs Cornish could not have been very drunk on the Thursday night. She walked upstairs, quite well. She was nofc quarrelsome. Mr Hanlon : She was not by any means Bobei'j you mean. I mean she was not by any means drunk. Mr Hanlon : What was the word she wanted to know the meaning of? Witness said he did not know. The door was ajar, and Mrs Cornish stood in- the doorway. Witness got up at 9 a.m. (too late for breakfast). He spent most of the forenoon in the backyard. He was also in the bar parlour talking to Taylor. He was in the bar parlour when the witness James was in the bar. but did not see Mrs Cornish theiv>. He did not think it would be possible for Mrs Cornish to have been with him in the bar parlour and for him not to have seen her. From where he sat he commanded the door leading into the bar, also the one leading to the passage. Detective Hunt crave evidence to having visited Stirling Hotel on Monday, May 4, and to the woman Bennett showincr him Mrs Cornish's bedroom. There were bloodstains on the moulding of the passage 6ido of the door. There were also emears and spots of blood on both the inside and outside of the door. Higher uo was a patch of coal du6t and blood, and another on the bedroom side of the door. Ineide the bedroom was a smear of blood on the oilcloth. ' There was a bloodstain in tho passage near the sitting-room curtain, also coal dust. The witness Bennett told him that any mat or clothing that TTad been removed from the bedding was out in the washhouse. He found a runner, on which was a bloodstain corresponding to the bloodstains on the passage floor. Anyone standing at the curtained doorway could easily see any object in tRe passage. The depositions taken at the coroner's inquest haying been read, the Crown Prosecutor said, " That is the case for the Crown, your Honor."