POISON CHARGE

Hokitika Guardian, 12 July 1932, Page 5

POISON CHARGE

NURSE COMMITTED

MAGISTRATE REFUSES BAIL

(Per Press Association — Copyright.)

jAUCKUVNI), July 11. The hearing of evidence against Elspeth Kerr, aged 45, a nurse and widow, on ; a charge of administering a poison with intent to injure Dorothy Betty Cameron, began in the Police Courc to-day. . . /. ; The mother of the child Cameron, said she was born at Nurse. Kerr’s on June 22nd., 1^24.< Wtp.ess left the child with Kerr but viii'teU her on various occasions. , '.- \ ,

Dr. J. iS. Stewart, said the child was admitted to the hospital on March 2oth. and discharged on April 6th. un April Btii. another doctor summoned witnesb to see the child at Kerr’s home. Th© child was semiconscious. Witness was alarmed by her condition and' wais linuble to diagnose it. He was unable to. get any. satisfactory information from Kerr, who said the child had taken ill suddenly for no reason, A third called in, and he was also puzzled, On April 10th, the child was much worse and ho decided she must return to the hospital, Kerr object, e’d, hut he insisted,'; * .- - -'• •'

Evidence was given of a ©onsuitatiou of five doctors .including eminent, specialists at the hopitaf, after which the child responded well to treatment. Dr.- Holgate said on April 16th., Nurse Kerr nfter'visiting the hospital, .told him the child 'appeared less well an d asked him to ascertain her condition. Witness rang the hospital and was told that after, the visitors had gone', tho child went into a deep sleep and'could not be roused.

At the trial of Nurse Elspeth Kerr, evidence was given by Nurse Catherine McCorinish, who was Staff Nurse in Ward 5 at the Auckland/Hospital in April. She said that she was; oh duty on April 10, when the child was admitted. Witness had, asked . Nu-sfe Kerr whether she had given the . child anything to .make her sleep, and whether the child had had an injection. Nurse Kerr replied “No!” The. accused said, in reply to another question, that the child had had a. powder.

v Witness said when she. asked Nurse Kerr what kind of power it was, the accused said it was veronal, which Dr. Holgate ha.d given to her to give to th© child. . : ‘

Another nurse, Doris Harwood,, said that she was on duty in Ward 20 on April 16. There was a Childrens’ Concert in the Ward .that afternoon. Betty Cameron was then an inmat? of the Ward, and she waJ visited that day by the accused, Nurse after witness came on duty at 2 p.m.; the'child had asked for a drink of water. The mug was placed 'on the locker after the child had had the drink. The accused had not then arrived, but .she was- present when witness removed the mug. ■ The child latter appeared to drowsy, but sho had not complained of being ill when sh'e was given the drink of water earliei. NureS Harwood said that she had never given veronal to any c-hil-drefi under her care, nor had ! she ever seen veronal- in the ward. Phyllis Pottinger, Nurs'ng Si ter, said, that she was in charge of Ward 20 in April. The child was in a comatose condition when transferred to that ward from Ward 5 on April 14, An improvement took place on the following day. and on the morning of April 16 the child was very much brighter. Witness saw the child propped,-up with pillows, writing a letter to her mother. She noticed nothing unusual about the child during the progress of the concert that afternoon. Nurse Kerr arrived - c ome time after 3 p.m. Prior to that, Nurse, Hanvood had given the child a drink of water. The accused was-, probably in the ward fro-m 20 minutes to half an hour, bout 4.45 p.m- °r % P- m> . witness noticed that a change had co-me over the child. “S'h'e was unconscious, and I could not. rouse her,” said witness.

Continuing, witness said that Dr. ( Holgate telephoned her about half an hour or three quarters of an hoim'after the accused had left, f That' was before witness had noticed “that .the child was, unconscious. ‘ t)r. Stallworthy’s attention was tb°n drawn to till" child’s condition. ’ Witness .said that there was neither medinn.l or* veronal , iii the medicre chest in th o * .ward. nor in the myVnS cupboard in he** own room.' She had .never g'ven either medinal ’or veronal to anv of the children' in the ward. A search was made in the child’s locker an Ariril 16. whi n the, child became s.uddonlv ill, hut I’otbinfi was found- which would cause- the illness. The Government Analvist, Mr Kenneth Griffon. detailed ’ the wsi)lts of an ana.lv&is that be hfidvmr’do on two snecimens received on Apr l 19 fppTp tlm Auckland Hospital. The spscimo"s we"e mark'd with the name of “Bettv Kerr.” Hel found veronal pK>sent in the snodriW’iß. The veronal extracted from the two specimens weighed about half a grain, A further specimen was received, on May s>. Veronal was a>o ty-esent in that ■specimen. the weight being grains. Detectives 'rave evidence ns to theV interviews with accused, when it was minted out to the accused that .the child bad become, suddenly ill. After bev visit to the hosmtal on Apiril 16. •tlie accus'd said:- “I cannot account for it,. Tliley make mistakes “at the how.it-nV’ /

A plea of-not guilty-was entered.

The accused was comm.tt'ed to the Supreme Court for tr.al. “I will ask Your Worship to consider the question of bail,” said counsel for the accused. •r . )• The Magistrate; ‘‘l will not allow bail,” .