SUICIDE PACT ALLEGED

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 83, Issue 290, 8 December 1939, Page 8

SUICIDE PACT ALLEGED

MAN AND WOMAN DRAMATIC STATEMENTS READ IN POLICE COURT EVIDENCE AS TO RAZOR BLADES AND LAUDANUM 1 r AUCKLAND. Dec. 7. Evidence alleging a suicide pact was given in the Police Court "hen a man and a married woman, who wenfound with their wrists gashed in a bedroom of the Station Hotel on November 6. appeared before Mr. F. H. Levien. S.M. The accused were brands Leonard Laurie, storeman. aged 3tt. and Josephine Norton Laj'coe.r. age-. 34. Pleas of not guilty were entered by both accused, who were commuted to the Supreme Court lot trial. Laurie was charged with attempting | to murder Laycock on November . and aiding and abetting in the .-uicldc of his wife. Beatrice Florence Run, Laurie, on November 5. Laycncs w.s i charged with aiding and anetting Laurie in attempting to murder her. Intense public interest was shown :n the case to-day. it being noticeable, that a great proportion of the onlookers were women. On? of the early witnesx>. Thomas. Audas, a friend of the Laycocks, tor* of receiving a ring from Mrs. Lay-| cock on November 5. When she wen’ to Laycock's home. Mr-. Lav > k -<i. ”You will not see me again. an: added that she had left a letter for her husband which would explain; everything. Doctor** Ew id**n<*r. Dr. A. Kirker gave evidence of n< - ing called to the hoU* and nes r e; examining Laurie, and said there wa.a great deal of blood about the ~ ?n. After sending for the ambulance witness found the huddled form of a woman lying on the other side of the ( Asked what had happened Laurie 1 replied: They told me it would j work in 20 minutes. bu» it <T.dnt Laurie laughed hysterically when told Mrs. Laycock might need a ■ transfusion, and said: “She ■ :an * laudanum. The bottle > over there. Witness picked up the botl.e an : asked if the injured woman had taken the lot. Laurie answered: "Xo. gave my wife a dose last n.gnt at home.’’ Similar evidence was .ven -y Detective J. Hamilton. ho .-a with Mrs. Laurie and see if she was all right. Detective F. Hunt .-a a that on th* wav to hospital in the amhulan Mr.Laycock regained consciousness an i called: ‘•Frank." Laurie reachori out and took her hand and sa Don? let them give jou a Toon tr.an.-T »n. Became Violently in lz»%e In a statement made to DetectiveSergeant Walsh ar the Auckland H - pital. Laurie said ho became fr end’y dor to his home at Belmont. \ a year agn I became violently in love with Mrs. Laycock.” Laur - continued. “We talked things over a- ! decided that the only thing we » '»uld do was to go away together and then die together. ?Ir-. Laycock azreed • . this.

*T foui without Mrs. Laycock and toi 1 my v I would see her and try to get to go away with me. I vent to Laycock’s house and Mrs. Laycock sa *. she would come away with me. I returned to tel! my wife vc we: _■ .’ng away together, and would end it a" • • a bottle of laudanum, and we both intended to drink some, and that w hen fhe poison took effect. I w-xild ‘•ever ar. artery in Mrs. Laycock’.- arm and treat mvself in the .-ame u t M of the poison, and I poured a luantity into a small glass." Laurie added. “My reasn n for doing this ■ did not want to leave my wife to carry on alone. When I left h°m n . about noon. I took the remainder of the laudanum and tv.o safety razor lades. I arranged for a tax to call fnr .Mrs. Laycock and I came tn -he --i’y tn. ■ tion Hotel in the tax . I hooked in a- i a.m. we decided to carry out our pact. • into a glass an' 4 handed it to Mr-. Laycock, who drank The : :-->n appeared to have n« effect on h*'i and. at her roques*. I gave h"r some whisky. This also did not hav< the desired effect, and I gave h n r rr. ■ r rtion of the poison. h’»; ng it on i< ’ have the desired result. It did not. “I then asked Mrs. Lay . still wanted to complete our pact.” Laurie's statement continue’ Sh emphatically answered 'Ye.-.' I pro- ■ duced one of the razor blades and endeavoured to severe an artery in her» left wrist. This bled freely for sone*. time and then stopped. I again asked I her if she wished to carry’ on and she said ’Yes.' I then made a second attempt caused intense bleeding, as if a main artery had been cut Cut In M rist Bled I reely "I then decided t<> sever an artery I in my own arm. I used the other razor blade and cut my wrist, which bled freely for a time, but later stopped. I then deepened the cut with . a view to reaching an artery. I* • caused intense bleeding, but stopped again. “The next thing that happened was I a housemaid knocking at the door." Laurie stated. “I made a second incision in my wrist. I wanted to hurry i things along. I thought Mrs. Laycock was dead and I wanted to follow her.” Detective-Sergeant Walsh said fhai when he interviewed Laune in hos- [ oital he explained he had procured i he poison from a medicine chest o?i » trawler. “He asked me if I could tell him ! anything about his wife." said Detec- ■ tive-Sergeant Walsh. "I told him she I. had been found dead and he said: ‘I i i am glad that she is gone? He also ■ asked me if I would be seeing Mrs. { Laycock. I told him she was very ill 11 and I might be seeing her. . He then 1 1