MAGISTRATE'S COURT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2762, 4 May 1916, Page 9

MAGISTRATE'S COURT

ERNEST DEVOIN IN COURT

COMMITTED FOR TRIAL

■Circumstances connected' with the tragedy in the Nairn Street Reserve ojt tho night.'of March- 27' we're'"investigated in--the Magistrate's Court, before Mr. W. G. P.iddell. S.M.f yesterday morning, when Ernest' Charles. Jewel; Devoin. was., charged • with' at* tempting to murder Louisa White, nml with attempting to commit suicide. In-' snector Hendrey conducted the nrosecution, while Mr. T. M. Wilford (instructed by Messrs.- Perry and Linklator) appeared for the accused,

Miss White's Case Hopeless. . Kighfc .witnesses' -were called . li.y the police, but: there ,was ; practically no cross-examination, the accused reserving his defence. Dr. Bertram Frederick Aldicl. house surgeon - " at the •• Wellington Hospital, knew the. accused as a patient, nnd know Louisa White also as a uatient.' Both wero admitted to the Hospital about 11 .p.m. on March' 27. Accused Dsvoin was suffering from a; 1 bullet wound in. the right temple, -and was quite unconscious and bleeding profusely. On the .following'morning Devoin regained consciousness, and explained of, slight pain, but there appeared to hfi no sigu of.any serious complications. An exn in illation bv the X-rays located the bullet in two fragments. Np- effort was' made to remove the'bullet-, which was regarded as being in an area wliero it. could do no damago. When discharged from Hospital a fortnight later, Devoin was quite fit to leave. The patient Louisa White was suffering from extreme shock at the. time of her admission to the Hospital, and experieiiced pain in. the region of the abdomen. She had lost the power .of movement from the hips downwards. Tliern wns a small wound slightly to the left of the backbone, and about the middle of the back. .From the. symptoms,'it was clear that the spinal, cord bad been severed. From the time of- her admission she had . been gradually sinking. Ip the" opinion, of the witness her condition was hopeless, and. this was the oninion ot the medical superintendent. Tho wound from which Miss Wliite was suffering . waj apparently 1 a bullet wound, but the bullet could not be located under tile' X-ray's. The mental • condition of Miss White' had been sound -until the last few days, and she was quito rational on'.the day on which her evidence.was taken:

Dr. D. Lloyd Clay, who war. called b.T.telcphonojto the scene of the tragedy in Nairn' Street • Reserve on tho night of March 2". described the condition of affairs as lie had found them. He first attended to. the girl, who was lying. on her back on tbe ground, and in evident' agony from n .wound m tho back. . .The doctor observed that tho woman wafi_ conscious, but paralysed in the lower limbs. Devoin was lying nn the ground about three yards below'the girl,' and was unconscious, suffering from a bullet wound in the bead. Witness ordered the removal of both patients to the Hospital, and accompanied them to tho institution in the ambulance.

William Joseph Buckley, a clerk of the Magistrate's . Court, produced Louisa White'e depositions, which had been taken at the Wellington Hospital a. few days after admission to tfio institution.' The denosit'oEs wore tijken before Mr. Riddoll after the. accused Devoin had been charged with attemnted murder. Miss White recounted tho conversation which bad taken place just before_ fibs was ; shot, but stated that she did not actually see Devoin fire at her, and had no renson to suspcct that he was going to shoot her.

First Arrjval on the Scene. Joseph Henry Helliwell. secretary of the Wellington Gas Company, stated ■that be ivns.reading in the dining-room .of his residence in Bidivell Street, at about, twontv minutes to 10 o'clock on the night- of 'Starch 2". when he heard the sound of a pistol shot, accompanied hy a. scream. A fcv." seconds later them ■was the sound of a socnnrl shot, and the continued sound of screams. AVitncss proceeded to tho Nairn Street Reserve, and found a, "woman (whom ho afterwards learned to bo Louisa AYhit"l lying at the bass of a. tree. She told witness she had been shot in the hack Mr. AYilford objected to any evidence of any conversation while Dpvoin wok unconscious, and His Worship upheld the objection. Proceeding, tta -witness stated that

he subsequently found the body of a man—apparently dead—at a distance of from Bft. to 10ft. from where Miss White was lying. Ho (lid not know tho man's name was Devoin. A revolver was lying close to the left hand of tho man, and this revolver was afterwards taken away by the polico officers. To Mr. Wilford: The reserve was not lighted by any lamps of its own, but it gained some light from the tramway system.

Constable Barnes, of Mount Cools, gave evidence as to the removal of the accused and Miss White fromthc Nairn Street Ileservo to t-lto Hospital. Eliza Skinner, ijiother of Louisa White., declared that she had known the accused Devoin for about two and a half years. He had been a visitor to witness's house in Devon Street, and for the past two years had been engaged to . witness's daughter, Louisa White. Witness understood that. Devoin was in business at Foxton as a tobacconist and hairdresser, a.nd arrangements had been made that witness's husband should go to Foxton to look after the business while Devoirt came to Wellington for the marriage', which had been fixed for March 30. Instead of meeting Mr. Skinner in Pal. merston North as arranged, the accused ' appeared at .witness's hcyise on tho afternoon of March 27, and offered a rambling explanation. About 5.30 p.m. tho witness' saw him off the premises, and afterwards, when on her way to the pictures, about 6.45 p.m., she saw Devoin turning from Willis Street, into Aro Street. Witness never suspectod. that Devoin was a married

Accused a Married Man. William _ Skinner (stepfather of Louisa White), Robert W. S'. Ballantyne, and Dctectjve A. E. Andrews, of Mount Cook, also gave evidence. The last-named produced a marriage certificate showing that oil October 2, 1914, the. accused' was married at Auckland to Maria Bailey, who was present yesterday in the witness's room of the Magistrate's Court.

Mr. Wilford drew, attention to the fact that there was no evidence before the Court that Devojn had actually fired' a shot at Miss Write. , It was, of course, for His Worship to sav if a case had been made out, but no'tliing had been proved as to deliberate or reckless shooting, resulting in. Miss V,'lute's injury. ~ The Magistrate was of opinion that tho case must go to a jury. On being formally charged, Devoin pleaded not guilty, and reserved his defence. His counsel said the plea of not guilty ivas tendered to the charge of attempted suicide in order that the whole of the facts could be placed before the Supreme Court. Counsel had been; informed that both of accused's parents had committed suicide. • The Magistrato committed the accused to tho Supreme Court for trial and renewed the previous terms of bail.

THEFT.

Andrew Boyd, 17 years of age, ; apr poarod for sentence on ten charges of theft of bicycles. Ho had pleaded guilty to these thefts last week and yesterday lie admitted a further theft, committed at Foxton on' April 15. Mr. H. l'\ O'Leary, who appeared for the youth, stated that his client had apparently fallen into crime through evil associates, whose .acquaintance he made at a' flaxmill. Boyd had been living honestly until lie-left his unfle's farm near Foxton a few months ago.. His undo was prepared to take him back and it might he that, if the young man were given a chance, lie wOulil not trouble tho Court again. i Tho Magistrate, after severely admonishing the accused and fixing terms of restitution, recorded convictions and ordered accused to cr:iiiO'up for s'entcyicc when called on. A waterside vjnrker, named Ernest by Mi\ P. J. pleaded guiity to the theft of four bottles of cough mixture. Ho was fined 405., the alternative being stfvcn clays' imprisonment.

' YAGIUNCY OHABGISS. Emma Crawford, 52 years of age, pleaded guilty to charge's of theft and vagrancy. She was said to be homeless and when arrested had'admitted that she was huijgry. .She'was sentenced to six months' imprisonment.. Alice D'Beere pleaded guilty to being an idle and disorderly without sufficient lawful means of support. Inspector. Hendrey stated that the woman ha<l hcon drinking; heavily and probably did not realise her position. 110 suggested that she should he remanded for a week. The Magistrate adopted this suggestion. . How Lee, otherwise known as George 'Howe, was remanded for a week on a charge of keeping a brothel at Ifilbirnie. and Annie Geaiy, Annie C'ourtenay and Martha C'ourtenay were similarly remanded on charges of assisting in tlio management of a brothel. AH four accused were also remanded on ''agraiiey charges. Mr. H. F. O'.Leary appeared for Row Lee and Annie Gcsry.

OTHER BUSINESS. In the case of Edward Muleahy, whu had pleaded guilty to a charge ' of indecenc.y in Tui Street, off Tory Street, the police reported that he had been in gaol for fourteen days .in order that the gaol surgeon might look into tho question of his mental.condition. Tlin .Magistrate said that apparently the accused was quite normal, and had been sufficiently punished, lie'would be convicted and ordered to come up lor sentence \j-heu called upon.

An insurance canvasser, George William Gcggie,. US .years of age, was charge with embezzlement at Portland, N.S.AY., on August !i, 1915. Alter evidence of identification had been tendered by a police officer from New South Wales, Geggie was. handed over in custody to that officer.

■ Frederick 'Watson, appearing on remand, was further remanded this morning, upon a charge 1 of stealing £8 from the person of Alfred UuUer, at Tauherenikau, on- April 22. ft Ernest Jlarsh appeared on remand-on a charge of attempting to commit suicide. He pleaded guilty and was ordered to come up for sentence when called upon. The Magistrate directed that a prohibition order should he issued against the accused. Two men, named Alexander Higeins and -Peter M'Donald, admitted that they iiad . been guilty of threatening behaviour in a public place, thereby causing a breach of tho peace. Each was fined <10s., the. alternative being seven "days' imprisonment. . Frederick Englson pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting a tram conductor while the latter was engaged in his ordinary duties. A linn of was imposed,- the accused being drdcrcd to pay the sum of Bs. for witnesses' expenses. Default was fixed at. seven days' imprisonment. Two first-offending inebriates .were dealt with in the usual lenient manner.

NAIRN ST. TRAGEDY