GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS

Taranaki Daily News, 27 May 1933, Page 6

GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS

NURSE KEIRR’S THIRD TRIAL POISON ADMINISTERED TO CHILD. SENTENCE DEFERRED TILL TO-DAY “STARTLING EVIDENCE” IN TRIAL. By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. At the third trial of Nurse Elspeth Kerr the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all Counts. Mr. Justice Herdman immediately remanded the prisoner for sentence to-morrow.

The charges against Kerr, who is 48, were that on April 'B, 10 and 16, 1932, she administered poison (veronal) to her eight-year-old foster daughter Betty Kerr with intent to injure her and so that her life was endangered. , The case was heard in the Police Court last July but did not reach the trial in the Supreme Court until March. That month Kerr had two trials, the first lasting eight days and the second five days. In each case the jury failed to agree.

The jury returned after an absence of an hour and ten minutes. Some demonstration of surprise from the back of the court was promptly suppressed. In discharging the jury the Judge said; “I have to thank you for your services. You have been engaged upon a difficult and important case. You will be relieved of further service on a jury for three years.” Summing up, His Honour said that although the case had taken a long time the matters in issue were comparatively simple. He invited the jury to concentrate its attention on the charges relating to April 10 and April 16. In poisoning cases the operations as a rule were conducted secretly. The jury was invited to draw an inference of guilt from certain fact-? and circumstances proved. The three elements in the offence charged were that the accused administered poison (veronal) to a child, that she did it with intent to injure the child, and that by the administration of the drug the life of the child was endangered. With regard to the last point there was abundant medical evidence to justify the jury in coining to the conclusion that the child’s life was in danger. . . In discussing the second point His Honour reviewed the evidence descriptive of a series of illnesses suffered by the child. He drew attention, to the fact that two bottles were received and examined by Mr. Griffin, analyst. In one Mr. Griffin found half a grain of veronal and in the other 2J grains. It was open to the jury to consider that this discovery solved the whole mystery of the child’s illness. It would bear in mind the evidence of distinguished authorities in their opinion that the child was suffering from veronal poisoning. Startling evidence relating to the deaths of Nurse Kerr’s husband and Mrs. Day had been adduced, His Honour said, to show that the administration of the drug to the child was not accidental but was for the purpose of causing injury. He suggested that the possibility of the child having obtained veronal in the hospital was out of the question. “Altogether it is open to you if you think fit,” said His Honour, to conclude that the one person who did this deed and interfered with the child is the accused. It is not necessary for the Crown to prove a motive.”