Poisoning Charge Against Nurse Before Court

Grey River Argus, 21 September 1948, Page 3

Poisoning Charge Against Nurse Before Court

WELLINGTON, Sept 23.

On April 27, 1948, Fay Roberta Phillips, a tutor nurse of Taumarunui, was tried at Hamilton, before Mr Justice Gresson and a fury o?' 12 on a charge of administering poison, namely belladonna, or atrophine, an alkaloid of Belladonna, with intent to injure or annoy Elspeth Gwendolyns Denison, a nursing sister, of Taumarunui. The charge related to a happening in Taumarunui Public Hosnital in January, 1948. During the course of the trial, the Judge excluded as inadmissable, and did not allow the jury to hear certain- evidence relating to incidents in the Taurmarunui Hospital in October 1947 and also excluded a statement obtained from the accused by the police while making inquiries as to •the circumstances in which the crime had occurred. At the trial the jury returned a verdict acquitting, the accused.

Counsel for the Crown asked that the trial Judge state a case for the opinion of the Court of Appeal. Today the Court of Appeal commenced hearing the ease for an opinion as to whether the evidence and statement were wrongly excluded. It may order that there be a new trial of the accused.