MURDER CHARGE

Hokitika Guardian, 26 July 1932, Page 6

MURDER CHARGE

DEATH OF YVOGAN. . WHALLEY on trial. (Per Press Association— Copyright.) 0; . TIMARU, July 26. The (session of the Supreme Court opened this, (morning, the- Chief Justice. Sir Michael; Myers, presiding. There is! only one case for trial, that -against William John Thomas Whalley, married, aged thirty-three, for the.alleged murder of William Edward Wogan at the Hermitage, Mount Cook, on November sth., 1931. 'Addressing the 'Grand Jury the Chief Justice said: “In saying to you what I wish to say, I intend carefully and deliberately to refrain from any com.pient of my, own for this reason. My understanding is, and has always been, that n-rife of the fundamental principles of our administration of justice in criminal cases, that a- person accused of a crime lias the right, 1 plight- almost say the sa-cred right of appearing before a trial by jury, unembarrassed and unprejudiced by any judicial comment, and correspondingly in my opinion there lies upon every juricinl officer, be he a Justice of the Coroner, Magistrate or Judge .of. this Court, the sacred duty of avoiding any comment calculated pre-j-udically to effect that right.”

Then, dealing with the case iigairist Whatley, lie reviewed the case at jmigth. ".jTlic grand jury returned a true bill.

,3,-The:, crown prosecutor’s opening lasted, ; for half an hour' in which he reviewed the circumstances leading up -to the charge. He said that in-, a case of this type, where a man-is charged vWthi rpurderi-ng another, the. jury no . ck»ul)ti did not pretend to have any strong motive to suggest, -and where a man was on trial for his -Jifc it would be ill-becoming' to build up theories concerning a motive. The only motive suggested from the evidencewas the statement fade bV' accused to a bus driver two days prior to the tragedy, who would say that accused said “if Bill aqks you if you took any money down, say ‘Yes’,” referring to racing transactions.