MAREO FOUND GUILTY.

Wairarapa Age, 18 June 1936, Page 5

MAREO FOUND GUILTY.

DEATH SENTENCE PRONOUNCED NO RECOMMENDATION TO MERCY. SUMMING UP BY JUDGE, i AUCKLAND, June 17 T> For the second time this year Eric Mareo, the well-known musician of Auckland, had to-night to hear a jury bring in a verdict of guilty of murder against him and to listen to the judge pronouncing sentence of death. There was a ! very large crowd about the precincts of the Court when the final decision came at a somewhat earlier hour than had been expected. When the first trial on the same charge concluded on February 26, the verdict was one of guilty with a very strong recommendation to mercy. No such recommendation was made tonight. The, trial began on June 1 and has thus lasted for 14 days. The jury retired at 5.30 and were back in their places a few minutes after eight o’clock. Mareo showed considerable emotion in a few sentences he addressed to the Court before Mr. Justice Callan pronounced sentence of death. The charge against Mareo, who is 45 years of age, was that he murdered his wife, Thelma Clarice Mareo, aged 29, at Auckland, on April 15, of last year, by administering poison, veronal, to her. The prosecution was conducted by Mr. V. R. Meredith, Crown Prosecutor, and Mr. F. McCarthy, while Mr. H. F. O ’Leary, K.C., of Wellington, and Messrs T. Henry and K. C. Aekins have been in charge of the defence. EVIDENCE REVIEWED. Summing up, the Judge reviewed the evidence at length. He said it was definitely established that Mrs Mareo had died of veronal poisoning. The next questions were: “Did Mareo give it to herf” “Did he give it to her with intent to killf” Regarding the first of these, the Crown set about answering it by this means. They said , they would prove that Mrs Mareo woke voluntarily and would show how long and under what circumstances she stayed awake. Then they would show that after milk was given she went from a sleep to a coma. They said they would establish that it was scientifical- ' ly impossible for those facts to happen without a further dose of veronal and ’ that veronal must have been given in the milk. If each of those steps be safely taken, said His Honour, then it was safely established that Mareo gave the milk that killed her. If any one of these broke, there was a break in the case. The history of the symptoms] of the patient depended almost entirely on the evidence of Fred Stark, to such extent that if the jury had not entire faith in that evidence it was not good enough to build medical opinion on. Was she sincere 1 She was a long time in the box and so some impression must ' have been formed on that question. His Honour would say this much, that it was a very useful thought to askt‘

"Was she at all shaken in cross-exam-ination!” The doctors did not agree, pointed out his Honour, "but you as laymen must try to understand what it is these doctors are saying and you must not be afraid to determine it.” QUESTION OF MOTIVE. Motive was next dealt with by his Honour. "If this man killed his wife, why!” he asked. After quoting authorities his Honour said two things in the trial had been brought to notice. They were the apparent lack of association between Mareo and his wife and the association of Mareo and Eleanor Brownlee. There had also been stressed the tragic and melodramatic letter written by Mareo to Betty Mareo. If the suggestion was that his state was desperate/ he had lost his job and he perhaps thought there was no hope for his film project, the jury was entitled to ask what particularly would cause Mareo to take Thelma Mareo out of his life with him if he contemplated suicide. If, by evidence of another kind, the jury saw that the man had committed murder they were not to be held back from finding him gnilty. Asked if he had anything to say Mareo, whose voice showed signs of emotion, said: "It is very hard to say anything under the circumstances, because it is the second time I have been through this terrible ordeal I can only say that it seems to me, from a logical clear-minded man’s reasoning from the way the whole of this case has been conducted by all counsel and after your Honour’s, may I say marvellous summing up, I have been sentenced on the lying word of Freda Stark. I ought not to say that,” he added after a pause, ‘"but what can I say! nothing more. ’ ’ —(P.A.)