POISONED CHOCOLATES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 197, 23 August 1935, Page 8

POISONED CHOCOLATES

GIRL FOUND NOT GUILTY VERDICT IN HASTINGS CASE ( Ter Prasa Association. ) HASTINGS, Aug. 22. The trial of Phyllis Leslie Tui Mar shall, 18-year old daughter of a Tikokino farmer, ended in a verdict of not guilty after the jury had been absent tor two and a-lialf hours. Accused was charged with attempting to murder, and alternatively with intent to injure by causing Alma Lorraine Keith to take poison. His Honour discharged accused after the jury had returned its verdict. In his summing up, His Honour said the case was undoubtedly a very ini portant one. “If you read the newspapers you will sec that the matter of chocolate poisoning has received a good deal of publicity lately,’’ he said. His Honour referred to other chocolate-poisoning cases and said there was a grave danger of neurotic people following a course set by others. The jury was not entitled to say if they thought accused guilty. She was a young girl and she had learnt her leson. The issues were quite clear. The first was, did accused send the packet? The answer was she did. Th: 1 second issue was, did she know what was in the packet? It was for the jury to decide this on the evidence placed before them. His Honour proceeded to refer to the admitted facts, which if they could* stand alone would lie perfectly clear evidence of the guilt of accused. The statement made by accused to the police on June 28 contained no sugges tion cf the present defence that had arisen after the second statement made by accused on August 16. “Accused is a very clever girl and an ex ccllent witness,’’ he said. “Masters, on the other hand, was labouring under the disadvantage of having the blame put upon him. Further, he had been charged with having intended an injury to accused with an implimcnt which would have fractured her skull. ’ ’ His Honour made reference to a letter written by accused to Jack blasters, and which accused alleged Masters had threatened to seftd to a paper for publication and show to her fath-er. “It. is nothing more than a well-expressed love letter from a girl to a boy,’’ added His Honour. When the statement had been taken and De-tective-Sergeant Nuttal pointed out. to accused the seriousness of her position if Miss Keith had eaten any of the chocolates, accused had replied, “What would it have mattered if she had died?’’ The jury was entitled to take this into consideration in deciding what they thought was accused’s animus towards Miss Keith. “I ask you Is it possible to conceive of a girl loving a man as accused did and not asking blasters what was in the parcel he asked her to address to her rival?’’ His Honour.