BIGAMY CHARGE PROVED

Taranaki Daily News, 4 December 1930, Page 8

BIGAMY CHARGE PROVED

JURY RECOMMENDS MERCY LETTER ANNOUNCES WIFE'S END.; A LACK OF CARE IN INQUIRY, i By Telegraph.—Press Association. Nelson, Last Night. The hearing of a charge of bigamy against John Charles Rumbles Topp was concluded to-day. After.two hours’ retirement the jury returned a verdict, of guilty with a strong recommendation for mercy. Mr. Justice Reed ordered lopp to come" up for sentence if called upon within 12 months, imposing certain stipulated conditions. Witnesses testified to Topp s good character in New Zealand, the police Stating.that.he had answered all questions openly and frankly. Summing up, His Honour said the case was important from the point of view of accused. It was also important to the community because of the danger of people coming. from distant countries and by concealing the fact that they had been previously married practically destroying or injuring the lives of young girls of New Zealand. It was an important question from a social point of view and it was for juries to fix the standard of. reasonable care that should be exercised in inquiring as to the former wife’s death. . . After explaining the law dealing with bigamy His Honour said the jury would have to determine whether they considered the letter which accused said he had received from the first vvifes sister announcing his wife’s death had ever existed. If they came to the conclusion that the whole story was a make up they would need to go no further. If, however, they considered that the letter possibly existed they had to consider whether the accused honestly believed in the truth of the letter on reasonable grounds, and then came t'he function of the jury in settling the standard of care vhich -hould be exercised. The jury returned with a verdict of guilty with a strong recommendation for mercy. The, foreman stated that the jury was agreed that the accused had received a letter from “J.” but that he had not used reasonable care and judgment to prove the death of his first wife on receipt of the letter. On hearing the verdict Topp collapsed and was carried sobbing into an ante room; His Honour, in passing sentence said: “I am very glad that the jury has done its duty in this mattei regardless of the sympathy which one must feel for the unfortunate second .wife. At the same time it shoves that juries as far as this place is concerned are not prepared to allow a man to come and make the simple excuse of having had a letter without making further inquiries apd then going through a form of marriage while his wife is alive.” His Honour went bn. to say that he did not propose to sbnd the accused to gaol or to grant probation, but he would order him to coinc up for sentence, if called upon. “Aly reason for doing this,” added His Honour, “is that I propose to see that you do the right thing by this young woman; therefore you will be ordered to come up for sentence pt any time within twelve months on the following conditions: The payment of the costs of the prosecution (£lO. :13s) to be paid in two half-yearly instalments, and that you take immediate steps to obtain a divorce from your first wife and marry the second. If that is done within twelve months you will hear no more of this matter.”