FINAL ACT IN DRAMA

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21039, 15 February 1940, Page 8

FINAL ACT IN DRAMA

MOTEL CASE SENTENCES MAN AND WOMAN GUILTY ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES (By Telegraph.—Press Association) AUCKLAND, Thursday ihe final phase in the hotel drama of November last was witnessed in the Supreme Court today, when the the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, passed sentence. Francis Leonard Laurie, married, aged 40, having pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Josephine Norton Laycock and attempted suicide, was sentenced on the first charge to two years’ reformatory detention, and on the second charge he was convicted without sentence. Mrs Laycock, having pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted suicide, was admitted to six months’ probation. Laurie was originally charged with aiding and abetting his wife, Beatrice Florence Rita Laurie, to commit suicide on November 5, attempting to murder Mrs Laycock, and attempting to commit suicide on November 6. Mrs Laycock was charged with attempting to commit suicide on November 6. Counsel on Tuesday announced that Laurie desired to reverse his pleas to the second and third counts —attempting to murder Mrs Laycock and attempting to commit suicide. Laurie pleaded guilty to these two charges, and counsel for the Crown said he did not intend to tender any further evidence on the first count of aiding and abetting in his wife’s suicide.

His Honour then directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty on the first count and verdicts of guilty on the other two counts. The jury returned verdicts accordingly, and Laurie was remanded until today for sentence. Plea For Leniency Making a plea for Mrs Laycock, Mr Dyson said that in view of His Honour’s favourable remarks at an earlier stage he felt it unnecessary to address the court at length. His Honour: Has she gone back to her husband? Counsel: Yes. They are living together again. Passing sentence, the judge said the female prisoner would seem to have returned to a more normal frame of mind and apparently the husband was a decent, hard-work-ing citizen. There seemed to be no reason why they should not live together happily. “Until this offence the prisoner Laurie was held in the highest esteem by his fellowmen,” said Mr Henry in a plea on the male prisoner’s behalf. “His life has been blameless. He has been nine years in the Navy, had a good discharge, and immediately afterwards was engaged at the naval dockyards. The position in which he found himself with Mrs Laycock apparently so preyed on his mind that he became abnormal, and after making an effort to break away and not having the strength of mind to do it he resorted in utter hopelessness to a suicide pact.” Suicide Pact The plea of guilty in this matter, proceeded counsel, involved an element of attempted murder, but he would ask His Honour to consider the matter substantially on the basis of attempted suicide and not substantially on the basis of attempted murder. It was a suicide pact and not murder. His Honour: Even suicide pacts must be discouraged. “I realise that,” said Mr Henry. He knew the prisoner must suffer punishment, but he asked that the punishment be not severe. His Honour in passing sentence said the position of Laurie was quite different from that of the other prisoner, but he thought it a case where reformatory detention was preferable to hard labour. It would meet the case as far as society was concerned and so far as the State was concerned, and was probably best in the prisoner’s own interests. His case would be considered after a reasonable lapse of time by the Prisons Board.