CHARGE OF MURDER AT KAIAPOI.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7239, 28 October 1901, Page 1

CHARGE OF MURDER AT KAIAPOI.

.: ■ ■ . ♦ . (BUSPICIOUS DEATH OF' A MARRIED WOMAN. t ARREST OP THE HUSBAND. A woman aged twenty -six, wife of Carl Tritt, a labourer at Kai&poi, died on Friday evening under circumstances that led to- an inquest being opened on Saturday ■night, and subsequently the- husband Avas arrested pa ~a charge of murder. The deceased' "was a daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Jrße'ath, of Eirwee, where three. of; iher brothers still reside. ... ~ the Inquest. An,' inquest was held at the Kaiapoi Magistrate's Courthouse en Saturday afternoon by Dr M' Arthur, S.M., touching the death of Elizabeth Tritt, wife of Carl Tritt, which occurred the previous evening under circumstances that led her medical attendant, Dr Murray, . to refuse to give; a certificate.* ; -;^lj>'E. -Feldwicfc; - was- ioremlfii ©.f " the jury.' . "'.,',. . . -"- The Coroner, in opening the, proceedings, said that in. this unfortunate 'case it ' would be necessary for the jury to take more than the usual perfunctory ■_ vi^r of the "body. The circumstances BUOToundjnjj ,fche\ death reported to him were such that he must request the jury to make a careful and very close inspection of the body.. The jury then ' went to the house, white deceased had resided with her husband. The body presented an appearamce which led to the supposition that deceased had been severely illtreaited, there being several bruises on different parts of ' the body, some of them, being very large and livid. These the Coroner drew minute attention to, the viewing of the body taking some time. On returning to the Courthouse, which was crowded with the public, the case ha\ - ing excited much interest, the following evidence was taken. Carl Tritt, labourer, Kaaapoi, stated that he was the husband of Elizabeth Tritt, the deceased. They were married on Jan. 30 last. Witness came to Kaianoi from Oxford about the beginning of July. Deceased had ailed more or less since their marriage. She complained of pains in her chest and bad headaches. She conBulted Dr Volckman at Oxford, and was afterwards better for a little while. The doctor said she was suffering from, a bad attack of influenza. She complained of illness after they came to Kaiapoi, but it was not serious enough to cause her ifco take to her bed. Deceased was confined on Sept. 19. Before her confinement she was queer at times. Witness found her on two occasions sitting down in a dejected manner as if in 'trouble. She cried, and appeared to have something on her mind. He pressed her to tell him what was troubling her, and she said, she was going to have ai baby. She cried for half an hour after this, and he again . pressed her to know what was the matter. She then said she was sorry to have to tell him that the baby was not his. Witness did not upbraid her nor illtrea<f> her in any way. He asked her why she had not told Kirn before 'to get the trouble off her mind. Sha seemed to be a lot better after this confession, and he asked her who the father of the child was, and she replied that she would tell him another time. This was about three or four weeks before l>er confinement; Deceased appeared to improve in health, and ihe never troubled her .to know the father of the child. She got over her confinement very well. Dr Murray attended her. About a fortnight after her confinement she told witness the name of the child's father. They were perfectly friendly after the admission, and he was pleased to see an improvement in her health, as he had feared that she would go out of her mind. On Tuesday morning last she arose apparently well, and went about her household duties. Witness, after working in the garden, returned to the house for breakfast, and found his wife sitting on the bed. She complained of being unwell, 'and witness persuaded her to go to bed. She said she felt weak rind faint. This was at 'about 7.30 a.m. Witness told one of his boys to stop at home with her. i Witness left home for work, and returned at 12.15 p.m. His wife then said she felt much better. In the evening, when he came home, she was in about the same condition. On Wednesday deceased, appeared to be very much better, and said, she felt so. Witness had three boys by a former wife. The eldest, thirteen years of age, looked after deceased. Witness left home for a short time. during the evening, and returned at twenty minutes to nine o'clock. Deceased then seemed much better, and talked aboub getting up. She was quiet up to aboufi midnight,, and then became restless until 3 a.m. Then she again became quiet, and witness went to sleep. An. hour later he awoke and found his wife was not in bed. He discovered her in the sitting-room lying on. the floor and groaning. There was an empty cup beside her, in which there' had been "milk. There was spilt milk on, the carp«fc. Witneat^aidLi "Hullo, what's

the matter with you?" Deceased tried to i speak, but could not. Witness carried - her to bed, and got her a drink of water, , which she took. She then recovered, md 1 appeared to be as well as on the previous • day. He asked her why she did not call him if she wanted anything, and she replied that as he had to go to work she did not care to disturb him. He returned " to bed a quarter of an hour later. Thqy talkad together for some time, and then > deceased began to ramble and was deliri- > /his. Witness called in Dr Murray at 8 a.m., and asked him to see deceased. On returning home he found his wife very weak, but not delirious. He obtained the services of Mrs M'Quaid to look after $ deceased! Immediately Mrs M'Quaid came » she said the case was a serious one, and , went for the doctor "herself. Dr Murray came at about nine o'clock. Mrs Horsfall, a neighbour, was 'there. Witness saw the r doctor as he was leaving, who said deceased • was very ill. During the day she grew worse. The doctor saw her again at night and the following morning he called in Dr v Parsons 'for a consultation. Deceased was not conscious from three o'clock on Friday ) morning until her death, Avhich occurred i hit 9.10 p.m. on Friday; Since coming, to Kaiapoi his wife had been out into the town twice. They quarrelled occasionally. He objected to> her leaving the houss when he was not at home. The last quarrel , hi had with his wife was about three weeks ago. He had been in. Christchurch that day. He gave her some port wine nnd rum, and she became terribly excited and • struck witness. He told.. her that he would never give her any more, and this ' angered her. To ai juror,: . His. wife was twenty -six '. years of age last February. His eldest son knew that he quarrelled with has wife. \ ■ Dr J. A. Murray, Kaiapoi, stated that he knew the deceased. He was called to see i her on ! Thursday morning last, between ■ eight and nine o'clock: He found Mrs M'Quaid in tlie ihouse, airodi afterwards Mrs Horsfall came in. ' Mm Tritt was very. r seriously ill. He made an examination of her. She was considerably jaundiced, but ' did notj complain much, of pain. Her heart action was feeble and rapid. She was evidently suffering from some internal disorder or injury, which, on txamfaiatton was not evident. ' She had a number of bruises on different parts of the body, which had apparently been, caused by blows. When witness saw her on that occasion she was perfectly rational. , Mrs M'Quaid and Mrs Horsfall were in the loomi whiem foe mafic his • examination . Wit jtoss asked deceased how she came by the bruises, and she said her husbandl beat her. 1 Witness. asked if it was a, strap he had usned 1 , a.nd she'*sadd yes. She. proposed s-ending for the. strap . and witness «uid he would! see it later. Witness then gave uisfructiong '- to ' Mrs ■ .M'Quaid as to the treaitnwmifc of the patient, , and then prepared to leave. As he was going out of the room he met Mr Tritt. He asked how has wife was-, amd witness !; tpld him she was very ill, and them left. ;: '$!u^jrifis called in again about 10 p.m., and found deceased ; had* become worse. She was partially ratioial. Witness gave some furtlber instructions, and them left. He was called again/ at four o'clock the next i morning. The patient ./was them- wiMy delhiius, and h*e asked her hrasband to allow him "to call Dr Parsons 3n consultation.. He consented with great readiness. The consultation was held' a little after 5 a.m.^ ~di r tioW was ; if worse. - He called again, at about 7.30-p.in.; and she was then dying.-. He called again a^ six o'clock, ,on Saturday morning, aiiad! found; 'hier dead. In i canAiiitaition both Dr Parsons and witness ■;., .considered her case . quite hopeless. He ; and O4 Parsons had made a ptet mortem exami'catiion. They found the body well ... *ri<»jiM!sh,ed,. jaundiced, amdi with the bruises i* is^B&-in" life still evident. Thesi bruises distributed ;over mest of the body". L There was one behind the left shoulder ; [ t\vo on the left uppar arm andi one on tlie ; fight upper aim. One over the right \ cheekbone, one over the right Ship ; a num- [ ber over the back, and outside of tlie right . tihigh, aaid several over the iront and back , of the left thigh. There were also bruised ' spots on the forearms, and! legs below tte knee. There were none in. the front of the trunk from the chin to the thighs. There , were also none on, the head except -the one ' on the cheekbone. Theire was no evidence of any disease or injury in any part of the body internally except in the abdomen, \, where they found extravasation, of blood, din the whole course of the mesentery. In the region behind the stomach they found extensive extravasation of blood amd evidence of local inflaniniaiti<>n. A part of tihe pancreas had been injured! tuad its attachments were infiltrated with, blood. The same con- ; di'tion existed in tihe parts wibich connected the 'liver with the duodenum, The stomach itself was evidently ummjured and healthy, but its contents revealed the presence' of ' blood. There were ether parts of tbg bowels injured", but not to the same exteart as tih© one already referred to. All the other abdominal organs .were quite healtfiy and uninjured. They attributed the jauntdice to tfhe injuries in tlie neighbourhood of the duodiejram, and ithe death to the ab"dominal injuries. The injuries could not ' have been, caused by', ai fall on the floor. He based that statement on- the situation of the bruises, .iiheir general distribution and shape. Many of tive bruises "were of an 1 elongated shape, mostly slraigbt, but some curved. It was quite, possible that all the bruises could have been inflicted with the same instrument. Witness considered the bruises were inflicted sometime within two days and a .week before his examination. There was no- outside evidence of tlie internal injuries ; that is there was no visible bnii'se ofo the- surface of ths abdomen- Witness attended deceased during her confinement on Sept. 20. She. had a gocd recovery. He did not consider htr ■W be a. robust woman. The- bruises were such a? would be caused by a heavy e'ta-ap. It was possible that (the. injury to the abdomen was caused by a hard blow of something heavy, but it was more probable that they were due to the crushwig effect of a weight, but not necessarily from above ' downwards. It mighit conceivably have been, caused by deceased falling down : against something. The injury to tfce abdo- - men, and the bruises were probably caused.' a:t the same time. > To the jury: Witness thought that if ! deceased was dressed when fihe received : the injuries' she must have been lightly clad. • "Witness did root see the strap deceased mid 1 she was beaten witth. Deceased, When • speaking of the bruises did not make res ference to internal injuries. Sr.me of *ihe , bruises might have been caused by a kick. > Tr. the Coroner : Deceased did not die of ; natural causes. k The Coroner, before reading over Dr . Murray's evidence, requested the deceas&d's L kusband to' listen to it carefully. He also i drew the attention of the jury to the gra- . vity of the statement, and asked them to . make such notes, mental or otherwise, that . would enable- them to weigh it carefully. . Dr H. C. Parsons, Kaiapci, stated that ' lie had not seen the deceased prior to \ Friday morning last, when he held a con- ' sultation with Dr Murray, who .said he ' considered the case a very serious one, and attended by suspicious circumstances. De- ' ceased was delirious, and so violent as to 1 render it impossible to make any careful examination. She was jaundiced, and dur- ' struggles it was comparatively ea.«y i to observe the extensive bruising to which ' I)r Miirray called his attention. Tier i heart's ' action was exceedingly rapid and i weak, 'and her general condition caused

3 them to regard live case as a hopeI less one. On leaving the house they in- , formed Mr Tritt of the opinion they had i formed, and witness asked him how he< s accounted for the bruises-. He said lie 1 knew nothing about it, and witness re- .' ferred to the bruise on the- right cheek, , remarking that he must iwve observed \ that. Ho syid she must have received the , bruise the day before. Witness assured i him that tie bnmc was at lea?t four days old, as it was already commencing to fade. i Witness saw deceased's body at the time they made the post-mortem. He quite con--1 curred in practically every detail given by ', Dr Murray." Tlie bruising on both thigns 1 he consid/red to Imve been given by blows ' delivered from behind, as they sloped down- • wards and forwards. One curved bruise 1 below the left knee-cap and a bruise with ' two curves at the back of the right thigh • were distinctly suggestive of a heavy » leather strap. " A gap between the bruising I on the left thigh and the bruise b?low the ' left knee-cap was distinctively Eiiegestive > of a folded stocking or garter. The in- • ternnl injuries to which ht- and Dr Murray ; attributed the cause of death were suffic iently circumscribed , to ■suggest the impact [ of some large defined body, such as the t end of a pest, a knee or, a foot. He con- , sidered the external -bruising to b; four or five days old and the internal injuries to ; have been caused about the same date. [ He attributed death. to the injuries in the abdomen which were caused by some ex- ' tevnal force. Some of the bruises cou.d i not have been caused by falls. Martha Elizabeth Rule, redding at [ Kaiapoi, stated that she had known de--1 ceased five weeks that day. She was 1 called in by Mr Tritt to look after his wife. She was in bed, and had been recently confined. Witness remained a fortnight. Deceased got on splendidly after her confinement, and appeared quite well. Deceased complained to witness on the Sunday afternoon, the day after she went to the house, that the bruises on her left arm were caused by her husband beating her two days before she was confined. There were several bruises, from her left elbow to her yhculder. When witness went to see her last Wednesday because she was ill, she stated that her husband had beaten her on th& Monday evening previous, Oct. 21, because fhe was abed when he came home. Witness saw bruises on her right wrist, also on heT left leg. She Said her husband had beaten her with a piece- of trace which was hanging- behind the backroom door. Witness went into the room off the kitchen and «uv a bit of a trace about/ a yard or a yard' and a half long and <e bout an inch aiid a half wide. Saw deceased again on .the previous afternoon, but she was then delirious. The piece of trace was still hanging behind the door. To a Juror: During the time witness lived at Tritt's she saw nc quarrel between, deceased aud her husband. Annie M'Quaid, wife of Robert M'Quaid, Kaiapoi, stated that she met deceased first . on Sept. 19. Mr Tritt came for her to go and nurse his wife. Deceased was confined and got oji fairly well. Witness only remained until the next day at noon. On Thursday last Mr Tritt came for her again. ' She found Mrs Tritt in bed very ill, and remained with her until her death at nine o'clock on Friday night. Dr Murray attended deceased while witness was present. Wiiltaess dtrew the doctor's . attention to bruises on her legs, back, arms, and 'also on her cheek. Deceased informed the doc- ' t«r that her husband caused the bruises .with a- piece of trace which witness found - ' bshindi the > door. - Witness -'s&ow&dthe strap to Mrs Horsfall, and also to two others at eleven o'clock on Saturday. A little after dinner she locked again for the strap. and it was gone. The strap was about a yard and a half long. This was all the evidence offered. . The jury retired at 10.15 p.m. to consult with the Coroner, and on returning to the. Court -room the- latter stated that it had been decided to adjourn tlie inquest until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, to enable the production of any further evidence that might become, available. The inquest was then declared adjourned accordingly. ARREST OF TRITT. Immediately after the inquest Tritt wa« arrested by Detective Bailey and brought before Dr M'Arthur and charged with the murder of his He was remanded until Tuesday, and was brought into Christchurch yesterday by Detective Bailey and lodged in the lock-up here. Inspector Ellison, (who returned from Timatu r.n Saturday, night, went up to Kaiapoi yesterday to further investigate the case. ■