COUNSELLED TO COMMIT SUICIDE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3004, 27 February 1926, Page 2

COUNSELLED TO COMMIT SUICIDE.

DORN SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT.

Hamilton, February 26. A young man, Roy Charles Dorn stood in the dock in the Supreme Court to-day charged with attempting to murder Muriel Tetzlaff on January 7, and with counselling her to commit suicide. The major charge was withdrawn before the ease went to the jury. When asked to plead, prisoner, who wore a worried look, answered “Not Guilty” in a firm voice. He follow the proceedings with keen interest

Muriel Tetzlaff, who appeared in court looking very frail, pale, and ill, told her story in a weak, nervous voice. She was attended by her mother, but Mr. Tompkins (counsel for the prisoner) objected to 100 close attendance by the parent, saying that in the lower court she had noticeably prompted her daughter in certain answers. The mother was permitted to remain, but at some distance from the girl. Brokenly the girl told her story along the lines of the evidence given in the lower court. She was pregnant to Dorn, who told her that he could not marry her as the only girl he loved lived in Gisborne. A letter which she wrote to Dorn, to the effect that she was going to leave him free and get out of the world, as read at the original proceedings, was traversed, while two others were produced. To Mrs Dorn she wrote:

“Dear Mrs Dorn, —I promised Roy that I would not write to you again, but I think he will forgive under the circumstances. When you receive this 1 will probably be where 1 will be no further bother to anyone. 1 know you practically hate me, dear, but I learned to love you as dearly as if you were my own mother, and you have no idea how it hurt me to know you disliked me so. My father was going to force Roy to marry me, but I love Roy, and I thank God my love is not selfish, so I am taking the only way out to save Roy. So this is good-bye and God bless you and Roy. Your broken-hearted friend, .Muriel.”

The following letter was written to her mother: —“Dear Mother, — When you receive this I will probably be beyond recall. I only hope to God I am. Roy went with dad yesterday and got the tiling fixed up, and yesterday afternoon lie got a letter from that girl in Gisborne and owned up to me that lie had been down there at Christmas. So last night he came and told me he could not go on with it. He said lie would rather die than tell her anything. lie said that it was cither him or 1 that would have to do it, because he would never marry me. So. mum, I can’t hear it. I told him I would. Mum, I love Roy better than life itself, so 1 can’t go on without him and bear the shame. As soon as it’s over ying him up and tell him. Dear, give my love to all. —Your broken-hearted Muriel.”

The girl stated in another letter that she wrote her letter to Dorn in her sound mind, and added that she could not ruin the man she loved by letting him marry her when she knew he loved someone else.

Under cross-examination the girl said that she had on more than one occasion threatened to take her life, but this was only to frighten Dorn into marrying her. She had no intention, however, of committing suicide

Dr. Martin, of Ngaruawliia, said that when he was called to see Tetzlaff she was vomiting violently and was in immediate danger of death.

Dorn gave evidence, admitting intimacy with the girl, and saying that lie always intended to marry her, but was unable, owing to his financial position to do so. On one occasion when she was pressing him to marry her she put several moth balls in her mouth. He seized her by the throat and forced her to eject them. She threatened suicide on several occasions. On the night before she attempted her life she said that she knew he did not love her, and the best thing was to end things. She asked him if he had any poison. He tried to persuade her against attempting her life. She seemed determined to commit suicide, however, and he gave her cordite, thinking that it would give her a headache and merely frighten her. The ammonia he gave her was weak, and he did not expect it to kill her, or even that she would take it.

So contradictory was prisoner’s evidence compared with his statement to the police when arrested that the Crown Solicitor was given leave to attack prisoner’s credibility. Prisoner was questioned as to previous convictions for theft which he admitted. After retirement for fifteen minutes the jury brought in a verdict of guilty. Mr. Justice Stringer,h'n passing sentence, said the prisoner had been found guilty of a cruel, cowardlyl, and contemptible crime. It was fortunate for the prisoner that the law allowed him to ho charged with a minor oli’ence. The maxium sentence, two years, was imposed.