THE PAPAKAIO CASE.
[BY TMJSGBAPH.] Dunedin, To-day. .fudge Williams in his charge to the jury, said—This case, like most cases of the kind, depends on circumstantial evidence, and it may be well that I should preface my remarks by explaining shortly vrhat circumstantial evidence will justify It jury in arriving at a conclusion that a prisoner is-guilty of the' crime he stands accused of. Now, circumstantial evidence consists of a series af circumstances pointing in one direction, namely, to the guilt of an accused person. They must also be inconsistent with any other rational conplusioni‘ That is a consideration most important for the jurors in cases ef circumstantial evidence to bear in mind. 1 will not dbmpare circumstantial evidence to a chain; ‘ and say that where one of the circumstances attempted to be. proved fails
' to bd'proVed, that therefore is a missing ]|nk and that the whole fabric must fall to There may be a number of oirormstances adduced in evidence with- - out ppoef of one of them, but it does not .-V-lweeftaarily follow from that that the case 'be proved if the remaining circumproved -point to the prisoner’s guilt. The jury have to be satisfied first / >that Mrs -Seattle was murdered. As to
'‘’tile suggestion of the prisoner’s counsel , ?that-■ the': appearances of the body when foandwero consistent with the theory of deathiby sUicide'or by accident, her pre:viou» mental (condition was not inconsisn tent with that view. His own view was that-the>a&pearances were not consistent with suicme being the direct cause of _ death. iSe'ro'Was- no evidence that the |SSeiSBWH^ I lfliSri#pted to bang herself. possible guesswork. |||i; What wpp&ied,’ tb -he the weak part of the that it plight be oonsisBBSfwfr with the" evidence that the woman -before, the prisoner went to her i^§s-Bhrj!. ! This conclusion one reading Pr De Lautour’s iwriiiWto that from his point of attempted suicide herBBSnbd we* murdered afterwards. If the ■|^™@^|^.'hii«^TOK h«jt head inflicted bjr some
body else, it could not be reasonably expected that blood would be found on the clothes worn by the person who inflicted them. Beattie was acquitted after two hours’ retirement of the jury.
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Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 852, 26 January 1883, Page 3
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355THE PAPAKAIO CASE. Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 852, 26 January 1883, Page 3
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