NOT MURDER

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 169, 4 August 1937, Page 5

NOT MURDER

— Press Aasn.-

Suicide Leaper Who Fell on Boy and Killed Hini 0W D0CTRINE AND NEW

(By Telegraph-

— Copyrisht.I

(Received 4, 10.40 a,m.) DONDON, Aug. 3. The coroner, Mr Inglehy O.ddie, in. recording a verdict of suicide at thq inquest into the death of Mts Mary Warburton, who died after failing from the fourth. floor of a building on to a young man, Donald Blaek, who was fatally injured by the impact, drew a distiirction between constructive murder and constructlve manslaughter which is interestiug nowadays because it is not so strictly interpreted as formerly inasmueh as a motor-ist kxlling a person by driving dangerously is usually punished for dangerous driying vsdthout be.-, ing charged with manslaughter. Mr Oddie expressed the opinion that a verdict of murder would be imprope^ in the present case, though the old legal doctrine estahlished that when a p.erson committing felony unintentionally killed another he was guilty of ccnstructive murder. Similarly, a person committing a misdemeanour unintentionaliy c.ausing another Js death was guilty of constructive manslaughter, but since Mrs Warburton was not fully in possession of her fa« culties when she committed suicide she was not guilty of felonious iutent. Forthat reason the death of Black was accidental, and a ver-diet was retur-ned. accordingly. Mrs Warbur ton 'a husband diselosed that his wife had previously attempted to commit suicide.