CHARGE OF ILLEGAL

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1757, 23 May 1913, Page 6

CHARGE OF ILLEGAL

OPERATION. ' . $ —:— WITNESS WARNED, (THE DEATH OF MINOTAUR BUSH. (By Telegraph—Prea3 Association.) . Auckland, May 22. The hearing of two charges or having murdered Minotaur Caroline Bush,'-fend (having performed an illegal operation '■preferred against Sarah Elira. Skellon, ■ a 'married woman, '58 years of age, described viis a nurse,' was commcnced at the Sniipremo Court before Mr. Justice Cooper to'<lay. ".Accused-pleaded not guilty. The fiirl at. the time of hor death was aged 36 years and four months. i Tho Crown Prosecutor explained that >tho charge was ono of murder, not accom'jpaniert by violence, but the result of the illegal operation, which was alleged to (have been performed by, accused. Tlie girl had found herself in"troublo/'alut a taxicab driver, named M'Kay, was the Jcause of her trouble. He had made arrangements with accused' to put matters Tight for a sum of .£3 or £i. M'Kay, dt was alleged, had arranged to take the girl to accused's house on Monday, Januury 20, and had taken the girl there- in |liis car. At about 7.30 p.m. on the day '■arranged the alleged operation had been [performed. M'Kay waited, and then the girl had been taken to tho house of a [friend of accused (Mrs. Morris), where she Iliad remained for a-few days. On the fol-lowing-Thursday-it had been considered ■that Miss ButlThad sufficiently recovered: to be taken' " home again, .and' this had been done, but the girl had sijon •become so ill that .she had been Temoved to the hospital. M'Kay had teen seen by tho police, and had nmde a statement which had been shown to accused, but 'she had denied the contents. She- had further protested that she had not touched the girl, and had simply given her (pills. Continuing, 'the Crown Prosecutor ieaid that the girl had died on February 20 and a post-mortem had been conducted by Dr. Bull, who described tho cause of death as peritonitis—the result of .tho illness. It was not duo to natural circumstances. Tho woman Skellon was now changed with murder, T>i)t, if the,jury chose, thiy could find her guilty of the ijess grave offence of manslaughter. • His Honour intimated that he would 'direct tho jury to find accused not guilty nf murder if they were of opinion that fcho did not expeefc death to result from the operation. A statement made by the girl when she jwas dangerously ill waa then read. When Thomas Wm. M'Kay,, who was sin custody as an absconding witness, was -called, he was warned by his Honour that he was not bound to say anything that ■might incriminate himself. . Witness stated that be was a taxitlriver, and said that he had known tho girl for about 15 to 18 months before her tleath. Ho admitted that he had been -the cause of the girl's coalition. After discussing matters, it-had been decided that ho should take her to the house ot was cross-examined at length, ■and his evidence varied in parts from former statements in the Lower Court, and in the Coroner's Court. His Honour warrned witness that he ou'ht to bo careful, a 9 he might lay himself open to a prosecution for pei--3' At a later stage his Honour remarked, in connection with some of tradietions, that witness seemed to have little or no moral sense. , The Court adjourned , after M Kay had been under cross-examination ior over four hours.