MAREO TRIAL

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 9817, 22 February 1936, Page 9

MAREO TRIAL

HUSBAND CHARGED. QUESTION OF POISONING. PATHOLOGIST CROSS-EXAMINED. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) (Continued from page 7.) AUCKLAND, Saturday. The trial of Eric Mareo on the charge of murdering his wife, Thelma Mareo, was resumed this morning. The crossexamination of Dr. Gilmour, the pathologist, was continued. Before Dr. Gilmour was called, His Honour, Mr Justice Fair, said the jury had intimated that they would like Graham Mareo and Miss Stark recalled in order to demonstrate with a cup similar to the one used to give the milk to Mrs Mareo. ” I think it is a request that should be acceded to,” said His Honour. ” The witnesses should be called immediately after Dr. Gilmour concludes his evidence. Have counsel anything to say about this?” Mr Johnstone, K.C., for the Crown, said he w ? as not sure if the witnesses were in attendance. His Honour: They should be. Every witness should be in attendance during the hearing of this case. Witnesses to be recalled should not be allowed to confer with anyone. Mr O’Leary, K.C., for the defence, said he thought a demonstration should be carried out, but steps should bo taken to see that neither witness knew the purpose of the recall. Mr Hubble and Mr Henry left the Court to arrange the purchase of milk and cups for a demonstration. At a later stage demonstrations were given by Miss Freda Stark and Graham Mareo. Cross-examination Resumed. Mr O’Leary. K.C., for Mareo: In your evidence in chief you gave details of various cases set out in a paper by Sir William Wilcox. I am at a loss to know' why you quote him. Witness: To sliow the quantities recoverable in cases of veronal poisoning. Mr O’Leary: How many cases altogether ?—Seventeen. All fatal?—Yes. What was the largest quantity recovered?—l66 grains. Those cases cannot tell us how' much veronal was taken?—No. from the data you cannot calculate it. But it must have been more than the quantity recovered?—Oil, yes. And the cases don’t tell us how long after the taking or veronal death occurred? —In one case it does.

Counsel pursued his cross-exarnina-lion lengthily concerning the quantities of veronal recovered by the Government analyst. Witness agreed that Hie margin between a therapeutic dose and a toxic or poisonous dose was very small. It could be generally stated that addicts to drugs were inclined to suicide. Cases of death had been recorded after taking even such small doses as ten grains of veronal, though in such cases other factors were probably also present. Re-examined by Mr Johnstone, K.C., for the Crown, Dr. Gilmour said veronal w'as readily soluble in hot milk and its presence w'as disguised by the colour of the milk. It was impossible to say whether the last dose was given on Saturday night. It was probably true of all poisons that the preponderance of deaths came from misadventure, suicide and murder, in that order. Giving veronal in milk was a common procedure. Experiment's by Analyst. Replying to Mr Johnstone, Dr. Gilmour declared it would be impossible to dissolve a fatal dose of veronal or anything like it in three teaspoonsfull of sal volatile. His Honour asked witness to carry out experiments in that connection and give the results later. The foreman of the jury asked Dr. Gilmour whether during the postmortem he found any cause which would account for the pains experienced by Mrs Mareo. “ I found no cause to explain it,’* said Dr. Gilmour. K. M. Griffin, Government analyst, recalled, described experiments *to prove the solubility of veronal in milk. He said six tablets could be dissolved in half a cup of hot milk in two -minutes. z Dr. E. B. Gunson corroborated in the main the evidence given by Dr. Gilmour. Dr. Gunson also concluded from the evidence of witnesses that Mrs Mareo must have had 100 grains of veronal. Dr. Gunson was still in the box at the adjournment. This afternoon the jury is attending the M.C.C. cricket match at Eden Park, and to-morrow will be taken on a picnic to Motuitl under police escort, cort.