JEALOUSY LED TO MILK DOPING

Chronicle (Levin), 21 December 1949, Page 6

JEALOUSY LED TO MILK DOPING

Press Association)

%■ ? Allegation Against Woman In Auckland Case

(Per

■ AUCKLAND, Dee. 20. When Una Jean Riga Corin, aged 33, marrled, appeared. On remand in the Police Court tdday anotlier charge vyas substituted for that of att.empting.to nrurderx Adrienne Honey, the vvife 'of a, carpenter at Bloclchouse Bay on Oc'tit>er.24. The police proceeded on an'aiternative charge of "with intent .to injure and annoy, she did attempt to cause to be taken by Adrienne Honey a Aoxious. thing. " k'riehiofvDetehtive Fell prosecuted and Mr K. l£. Davdson appeared for the ac~ cused. Gilbert Hartley Honey, who resides with his wife and two young sons, testiiied that when he was at his mother's house two niontlis before Labour Bay he lieard Mrs Corin fell his mother that his vvife was "having an affair" with Harry Milton, an eideriy man with oue .arni. She said she did not want to cause trouble, but told witness to wateh his wife. A fortnight later the aecused had been worrying his wife. Witness ana his wife went to see her. Mitton came out of the front door and they talkea to him for about 10 minutes. The aecused came out appearing to be liaif dazed as though sick and went back again. Three vveeks later Mrs Corin and Mitton came to witness 's home. He thought they had been having an argument. The accused started talking about his wife and Mitton. Witness toia Irer to go. A week later, whlle having tea, witness noticed the milk was a bit curdled Ther.e was a brown colour on top of the milk, a little red'underneath the brown, and under that a greeny colour Witness tipped it into three jugs and" noticed a lot of sediment in the bottom of the billy. • ' " Allegations Denied i\lrs' Adrienne Honey said she had lciiown Mrs (^'orin ior about 1S months HS a casual acquaintance. Bhe had aiso known Harry "Mitton for 13 moiiths or two. years. fcihe met him when tie came to her place getting' pine needle.1 for his wife's -stravvberry patcln Ht came several times for that purpose. He had never been in her home. in June or Julv Mrs Corin accused her in the street of having associatioiis vvitl. Mitton. "1 denied it because 1 had not," . witness declared. Later the aecused toid her the detectives vvere vvatching her and that she was suppos-

ed to be going to Itotorua with Mitton Later witness and her husband visited the accused 's home to let her make the accusations before him. Mrs Corin was unvvcll, and witness said she woul.i see her anotlier time. On two occa^ions aci used passed through her place into the pine trees at the back of the house. Bhe wrould stand there and watch, and theu disappear into the bush. This occurred at intervals of about oue mpnth. Alrs Iloney,. said the accus6d callecl once and seu't her son to seq if Alitton , was at her liome. On returning homel , from shopping about midday oue Fnday witness saw the accused standmg jnside her front door. Bhe was agitated and said she was looking for Mitton. Bhe pushed a piece of paper into her overcoat p'ocket. Benior-Detective Fell: What wouirl you say conceriiLug the stories the ae cused told you l Witness: 1 would say she was -just jealous of Mitton. Bhe said Alitton had obiigations towards her. * Witness had business in the citv that afternoon, and on returning noticed the milk ',all curdly. " A capstiie had been broken showing the contents to br bright.^olden. Supplies of Tabiets. John Hen'ry Lincoln, 'cheniist, said his records showed that from 194(5 to February last, accused received a constant montlily supply of pheno-barbitone tablets. There was a record of a supply of 30 nembutal tablets to Harry Alitton in Mareh last. Evidence of Jealousy. Harry Alitton said he had known accused for about 18 months. They had beconie quite intimate. He also knew Alrs. Honey but she had never been more tlian a casual acquaintance and he had never been inside her house. Since the niiddle of the year accused

seemed on ocpasions to be jealous of Mrs. _ Honey althougli here was no reason for her to be so. Ground Glass and Drugs. Kenneth Alassey Gritfen, Government analyst, said a small jar of sediment contained about oue oun'ce of ground glass and 21 grains of a mixture of pheno-barbitone aud nembutal. He considered that a full quart of milk would have coutained about 191 grains of tJie drugs. Samples of soil taken from accused 'S horne contained pieces of glass of a specilic gravity identicai "fvith that of the glass found in the milk. Dr. WaJter Gilmour, pathologist, said that as far as the glass -found in tlie milk was concerned, it would have hud uo poisonous eft'ect and it was so finely povvdered it was not likely to cause any mechanical irritation. There was a possibility that spicules mjght pene- ' trate the walls of the stoinaeh or bowel more especially of a young person. The amount of- drugs in the eight ounces of milk would be quite harmless to a healthy adult. , In view of the fact that the drugs were bitter, it was uulikely that a child would drink more tlian oue or two ounces of milk before complaining. The quantity of eight ounces of milk would have a poisonous elfect ou a child but would not be fatal.

Accused 's Statement Benioi Ji/bitjciive Hay produced a statement from ' accused. Bne said she had been on friendly terms with Alitton for about two yeaio and they had beconie miatuated with oue another. He diu quite a lot of vvork about her plaVe. • ' Vv e were happy together for quite! a time but about the beginnmg of the year 1 had reason to beLeve lie was bemg too rrieudly wi;thi Alrs. Honey. 1. sjiuke lo him about it. but Ife denied it. " Accused had said that furth^, trouble existed between her and Mitton"*' because of what she had seen when vvatching Alrs. Honey 's house. The elfect was to make her very jealous. Accused had aiso said that Alitton had giveu her some yeilow capsnles. He had said something about their being something to dope her with if she needed them. i. years she had been taking pheno-barbitone and dilantins for her health. • Accused had admitted she had put some of the nembutal capsules and ten or a dozen pheno-barbitone tablets and some ground glass in the milk at Honey 's gate about 5.30 or 6' o'coick on the morning of October 24. "When I put the stulf in the milk 1 had not the intention of kiiling or doing serious mjury to anyone. 1 just 'thought ^that if they found that their milk had been interfered with it might stop Alitton associating with Alrs. Honey. I did not put all the nembutal capsules in the milk. • I emptied about four of them into the billy and threw the capsules away in the grass and placed two of the capsules in the milk so they would be seen. Aly intention was to let the Honeys know there was something in the milk and it would probably frighten them. " Accused pleaded not guilty and was committed for trial. •