MURDER CHARGE FAILS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 198, 19 May 1944, Page 4

MURDER CHARGE FAILS

Trial Of Young Woman EVIDENCE GIVEN BY ACCUSED (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) I ' WANGANUI, May 18. After a retirement of 40 minutes the jury in the Supreme Court returned a verdict of not guilty in respect of Grace Rosaline Robertson, an adding machine operator, single, aged 26, of Auckland, who was charged with the murder of her infant son, aged 14 days, near Mangaweka, on December 18 last. is she left the dock, accused turned to the jury and said: “Thank you. Thank you very much.” The trial lasted three days and related to the finding of the naked body of an infant child near the Main Trunk railway on December 20 last. Accused in a statement to the police said the father of the child was an American serviceman. The trial was heard before Mr. Justice Smith. Mr. N. R. Bain appeared for the Crown, and accused was represented by Mr. J. Goldstine, Auckland. Accused, giving evidence in her defence, said her mother belonged to a sect known as the Exclusive Brethren, the members of which kept strictly to themselves and excluded themselves from the outside world. Witness was not allowed to take playmates home, was not allowed to take part in organized sport, and did not go to the pictures till she was 22 years old. Witness described her meeting with an American serviceman at relatives and attending a party in an hotel lounge. Witness said she had never taken drink and distinctly told those at the party she did not want any. She had one drink that night and it went to her head. She did not know what it contained except that it had “Scotch” in it.

Describing the journey in the express train, witness said there was a lot of noise and it was impossible to rest. She and the baby were both upset Witness had portion of a meal and felt queer. The baby was awake, and crying, and, ‘kinking he was cold, she picked him up n her arms and cuddled him.

Mr. Goldstine: I want you to try to tell us what happened after that. Accused: The last memory I have of my babe is that I had him in my arms. I was cuddling him close. I was standing outside the carriage—the babe had gone. I did not know just what had happened. I was in the act of throwing myself off the train and on the verge of doing so when someone from the next carriage opened the door and walked through. I pulled myself together and groped my way back to my seat, and on arrival found all the clothes I had made strewn about everywhere. Mr. Goldstine: Do you remember removing the clothes from the baby? Witness: The last memory is of my babe in my arms, hugging him close. You don’t remember removing the clothes? —I don’t remember. Cross-examined by Mr. Bain, witness said she had tried to feel normal when boarding the train at Wellington. Mr. Bain: You know the child' was found without clothes. Can you account for the absence of these clothes? Witness shook her head and made no reply. Doctor’s Evidence. The Crown called Dr. T. G. Gray, Director-General of Mental ’Hospitals in New Zealand, to give evidence in rebuttal of that given yesterday by Dr. George H. Robertson. Wanganui, who said accused at the time she threw the baby from the express train was suffering from puerperal insanity and incapable of knowing what she was doing, “In my opinion there is no evidence to support the suggestion that she is suffering from puerperal or any other form of insanity,” said Dr. Gray; Cross-examined by Mr. Goldstine, witness said he was asked to give evidence on Monday and had not seen accused previously. Mr. Goldstine: Is it not a fact that authorities say that recovery from a first attack of puerperal insanity is comparatively rapid? Witness: Some authorities say so; others say the opposite. Mr. Goldstine: You agree that mental abnormally following childbirth is unfortunately common. Witness: 1 1 would rather not answer yes or no to that. It would give a wrong impression. His Honour: At the time of the act would you say accused was capable, of understanding that what she was doing was right or wrong according to the accepted standards Of reasonable people? Witness: In my opinion she was. Mr. Goldstine said that he had examined the factors in the case and they had made it abundantly clear to him that accused had never had the will or intention of surrendering her baby, nor had any direct proof of a criminal act been adduced by the Crown. Dr. Gray, counsel submitted, was not in the position to rebut the evidence of Dr. Robertson. Mr. Bain said the facts were admitted, there being no dispute over the fact that\the child was thrown from the train, and that it had been thrown was further proved by the fact that the defence had raised the question of accused’s sanity at the tim,e. “Those of you who are married and probably thosS of you who are not will have observed that what this young woman has gons through is nothing but what the normal woman experiences in childbirth and has to go through every time she endures it,” said Mr. Bain. Summing up, his'Honour said this was an extraordinary case. To throw a child from a fast-moving express train on . a bare hillside at night left no other inference than the realization, if a sane person committed this act. that the child would meet its death. There was no doubt that accused was highly strung and had been living in two capacities, one as Mrs. Jones and the other as Miss Robertson. With her departure on the train from Wellington as Mrs. Jone* these two capacities were being drawn closer and closer together as she travelled toward Auckland, where she was known as a single woman without a child.