Stuck Given Life Sentence For Murder

Chronicle (Levin), 6 August 1948, Page 7

Stuck Given Life Sentence For Murder

Prcss Assoctation)

(Per

GHR1STGHURGH, August 5. A jurv, in the Supreme Gourt today fouiid Albertus Ivaii Stuck, a buteher, aged 40, guiit'y of the murder of 'Bertiia Bessie Aiiiy Day at Paparua on May 14. .Stuck was senteneed to imprisoiiment with. harcl labour for ' life. . Mr. Justiee Fieming reieased the jury fro'm further .service'; for three -years. - . The jury retired at ,4'.4y >.m. agd retuthed at' ;7,'4pj p.m. ... d / , » ,Thn-G.r>\vh •p.rose^CLtOr,.' •$£*./ '.W> the , jufy^ said-theye ; was^hb/^bubPthat' 'the waipail Kpow'h as Btuei's wife was killed and Stiiek admitted he was earryiug the guu thai killed ' her. The only question was whether the killing was deiiberate. The "faets were not eapaDle'-'of anj' innocent ' expia'iiation. Btudk had taken the dead womau .on a shootiug trip to a lonely part of the eountry when she had jus.t speut tliree 'hours\ gettiug her hair dohe aird wanted to iron aiid paek her clotlies. He told the Smiths that they were goiug to see sonie people named Hazeldine at a Dunsandel whert' there -were no such persons. Moreover, he drove out on the main west roaii wlif.reas Dunsandel was ou the maiu south foad. - iSlr. G. 1. Joseph (for Btuck), addressiug the jury, said that if this was a murder, tlien no murdei-cr ever so de liiiitelv eried aloud, "Gome and ge: iue.,,V There was no cnnning in hiactioiis after the aeeident. lt wa- ■ inuocence actuated by fear aud desperation beeause he had done a wrongful thing. Deaiing with the evidenee of Bergeant KelJv, arins ex pertj.AIr. Joseph saul: "it is inipossiblc I'or Ivelly or anyone to come here anu ,-ay an aeeident can't happen wlien ge1 ting thiougli a tence with even this

gun. Bhooting aecidents differ in every . way from eaeli other. Aceused says .\iiss Day.was. eauglit in a barb and i .vhen he went" ' to release her the guu .vent off and shot her. VVhat a mental sliock it must have been. Would auyoiii11 reinember -every tiny detail of it »' L'here is ho mOtive for this erime. Lf aceused had run out on ,to the road aud -ereaLived and told soineone he had slioi a woinan there would have been no eharge of murder. Suspicion is n >1 onough to couvict a nian. 1 subniii strongly that it would be dangerous to ' eonviet Btuek on the evidenee. 1 sul».nit tlvat it was au aeeident and aceused panieked in a few minutes. He had disposed of the body and there was only oue thing left — tiigiit. It is the biggest tragedy of all to aceused that tio dui not return the shovel a few days earliei for if he had done that he would not have had it with hiin on the Fridav and would not have lmried the body. If he had not buried the Vbody there. woul'.t have beou no eharge of murder." "I have uever known auy case more 1'airly presented tinui this oue. 1 do

not think anyone eould have presente> the Growu ease with iuore fairness ealmness and freedom from lualicc thau did Mr. Browu, " said his Honoui. in Hiiuiiniiig up. ''Tliere is a lot o> eominou ground in this ease. it 19 not disputcd that .Miss Dav was killed by shot li'red 'froin a gun' he'fd by'aceuseii. The question for you to deeide is, wa? the shot lired aecidontally or de liberat.ely i" >■ Referring to aeeused's aetions 011 ilay 14, his llonqur said; . ".On ae e u se d/ij; vst ht' 0111 e 11 fc: vfh ev weye. i.'eturniug 10 tli^Tfei-i It.tfte, sluiQTtBSv^^vd^' oue might think the gun, should have lnsen unloaded. llowever, men are sotnetimes eareless. ALiss Day was gct ting th rough the fenee and got eauglit. lle put out his haud to free the barli aud in some mauner the gun went olT aud .Miss Day was shot tlirough tlnbrain. Gould that wound have been aecidentally dcne?" . The Judge then reviewed Ihe evidenee of Hergeant Ivelly, arms expert. reterred to the way the bodv had been buried and continued: 1 ' Aceused 1 may have been a good strategist but he wa.- - a bad taetician. This case will probabiy be known as 'the broken denture case.' Jf the broken denture had not l>een left there, the body might not have been found for years.