MERRETT MURDER TRIAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 3597, 10 February 1927, Page 3

MERRETT MURDER TRIAL.

THE HOUSEMAID’S EVIDENCE

London, February 7

The trial of the youth, John Donald Merrett, on a charge of murdering bis mother, was continued. The Court raptly listened to the evidence of Dr. Rosa that Mrs Sutherland (the housemaid) told him that she saw tho deceased (Mrs Merrett) remove her false teeth and shoot herself in the presence of her son, while Mrs Sutherland’s Wk was turned. The witness understood that Mrs Sutherland saw the deceased falling after the shot. Mrs Sutherland denied the statement as to the false teeth. Professor Robertson, an alienist, deposed to the effect that a shock might affect the deceased to an extent rendering her subsequent statements unreliable. Sir Bernard Spibbury (Government Pathologist) said that the accident theory could not be excluded. The case was adjourned. ACCUSED SENTENCED ON FORGE R.Y CHARGE. CHARGE NOT PROVEN. London, February 8. The trial of the New Zealander. John Donald Merrett, aged 19 years, on a charge of murdering his mother, Mrs Bertha Merrett, on March 17, 1926, by shooting her in her flat ai Edinburgh has ended. The jury returned a verdict that the charge of murder was not proven. Accused was found guilty of forging cheques and was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment. Lord Alness, in summing up, pointed out that deceased’s depositions were not taken. The precision desirable in a murder trial was entirely lacking.