TO FACE MURDER TRIAL

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXIV, Issue 126, 29 October 1930, Page 5

TO FACE MURDER TRIAL

Sequel to Coleridge Tragedy

CASE OF A. J. S. COLENSO

ONE WITNESS UNWELL (Per Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, Last Night. Alfred James Stanley Colenso will be tried in the Supreme Court tomorrow week on a charge of having murdered Robert William Cockburn on September 3 at Lake Coleridge. A true bill on this charge was returned by the grand jury when the criminal sessions of the Supreme Court at Christchurch were opened before the Chief Justice Sir Michael Myers, this morning. The Crown Prosecutor (Mr. A. T. Donnelly) stated that one of the principal witnesses for the Crown, Arthur Edward Farquharson, was unwell and a medical statement had given that he would not be able to give evidence for one week. Mr. Donnelly said that counsel for the defence, Mr Lascelles, had expressed a desire that Farquharson should be present at the trial.

The hearing was thereupon set down for to-morrow week. Reference to the case was made by his Honour in the course of his address to the grand jury. “1 do not think it is necessary to make to you any statement of the facts, because all you have to do is to decide if the evidence is sufficient in your opinion to find a prima facie case, and so reduce the trial to one by common jury,” said Sir Michael Myres. “If you think there is not, you will ignore the bill oi' find ‘no bill.’ As far as a Charge of murder is concerned, subject to any defence that might be raised, there is always a possibility, or nearly always a possibility, of the charge turning out to be one of manslaughter. It is competent for the grand jury to find a true bill for manslaughter. I recommend that you do not adopt this course in this case. It is one of those cases where it is difficult to say without hearing all the facts whether or not the case is one that should be reduced to manslaughter. The man who is charged admitted doing the shooting, and you will probably come to the conclusion that the propel' course is to find a true bill and leave it to the common jury.”