MURDER CHARGE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIX, Issue 21963, 15 May 1941, Page 6

MURDER CHARGE

Death Of Mrs Horton Evidence For Defence (P.A.) WELLINGTON, May 14. The trial of Leonard Neiling, aged 29, on a charge of murdering Mrs Marjory Livingstone Horton at Wellington on or about January 9, 1941, was continued before the Chief Justice (the Rt. Hon. Sir Michael Myers) to-day. Mr C. H. Weston, K.C., and Mr W. R. Birks appeared for the Crown, and Mr W. E. Leicester and Mr T. P. McCarthy fqr the defence. The final medical witness for the Crown, Dr. J. o. Mercer, who examined Mrs Horton with Dr. Lynch, described his findings. In the course of a very long examination, he said that he agred with Dr. Lynch that if the injuries to the head were taken together, the possibility of a fall as opposed to applied violence could be excluded. To the foreman of the jury, he said that he thought the injuries to the head would have been sufficient In themselves to have caused death. Arrest Described Constable Needham, of Auckland, described having located the accused and another man in the public bar of an Auckland hotel on the afternoon of January 23. He asked Neiling to accompany him outside the hotel where he told the accused that he was making inquiries for a man named Leonard Neiling, of Wellington. The accused said that Jie was Bob Manning, of Onehunga, and that the barman in the hotel would say that was his name. The barman told the witness that he did not know the accused, but had seen him once before in the hotel. Constable Needham added that he left his companion, Constable Goldfinch, to keep watch on the accused while the witness went to make inquiries. Returning two minutes later, he found the accused and a man with him going down Durham Street West. They looked back and saw that they were being followed. Witness ran and caught Neiling’s arm and told him that he was satisfied that he was the man being looked for and that he was arresting him for a breach of probation. At the police station he took possession of Neiling’s clothes.

Detective-Sergeant McLennan said that accused, in reply to a question, said he would not make any statement about his movements between noon on

January 8 and noon the next day. When told of the allegations against him Neiling said: “I was not in a taxi nor at the Carlton Hotel, nor at Oriental Bay with this woman. I did not know her.” Neiling’s explanation of the bloodstains on his clothing was that he had knocked his hand on a door in a Newmarket Hotel, but he could not give the name of the hotel. Accused later admitted that he had been in a taxi and had gone to the Carlton Hotel to get some beer. The last witness for the Crown was Chief-Detective Young, who gave evidence regarding an identification parade held at the Wellington Police Station. Defence Opens Opening the case for the accused. Mr Leicester said that for a verdict of guilty to be returned the Crown had to prove that its theory was the only reasonable one on which the jury could act. He hoped to show that not only was the Crown’s theory false but, further, there was an alternative one on which they should act. Even if it were assumed that accused was the man who was at Oriental Bay with Mr Horton, the defence had an alternative theory of how she came by her injuries. The Crown put forward the theory of throttling to account for her death. An alternative theory, that evidence would be brought to support, was that here was a woman who, under the Influence of liquor, suggested that she and the man with her And a dark spot in which to drink. While they were there she wanted to vomit and placed her false teeth down and went down to the water. She was wearing high-heel shoes and the defence suggested that she fell, suffered cuts .and broke her jaw. Mr Leicester said expert medical evidence would be brought that would be a counter to the theory that death was caused by throttling and to show also that the facial injuries would not have caused death had Mrs Horton not had degenerated arteries. Evidence was given by Frances Rose Quintal that the accused stayed with her and her husband at Karehana Bay, Plimmerton, from the evening of January 9 to January 12 at 9 a.m.. when he departed for Auckland. In that time he went about openly. Robert Watt, Probation Officer at Wellington, said the accused was at liberty on probation granted by the Prisons Board at the time of the alleged crime. He had been in gaol for breaking and entering. On January 8 and 9 he called at the witness’ office for money due to him. Expert evidence was being given by Dr. A. E. Park to support Mr Leicester’s contentions when the Court rose.