STANLEY'S HEINOUS "PROGRAMME"

NZ Truth, Issue 1184, 9 August 1928, Page 5

STANLEY'S HEINOUS "PROGRAMME"

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Dreadful Threat To i&^al liM C^ School Teacher A^

"WOULD MMB A SHPOE QF HER WITH BUU-KTS %

• ■-, •" ■.'■.': ■ (From ""n.Z. 1 Truth's" Palmerston North Representative.) . • '.. , i( I will carry out my programme as soon, as \:l have completed 'my; world tour, '/Wrote Norman Ernest Stanley, ship V steward/ to h& think, however, that before he got very far on his journey he Would be the guest of His Majesty's prison officials m New Zealand for six months— this, as a resuU of it bemg rfto talked about, included the taking of his wife's life m a mostheAnouswayy

QTANLIEYJ it,>wm.!be. remembered, O. married a school teacher who resided ..in : the Manawatu river port of Foxton. • : She was-a bride of one , day only, her husband departing on the day after the nuptials with £5 borrowed from his wife, to "his farm m the north," which, it was afterwards discovered, did not exist. . . , Since then, he has journeyed to various parts of the world, but from every port of call, came! back to the bride m New Zealand veritable shoals, of letters, the majority of which— she told Mr. Justice Smith, m the Palmerston North Supreme Court last week—repeated threats to take her life. .. And, as a result of these billetdoux, she was genuinely afraid. Stanley eventually returned to New Zealand by the ttuahine, which arrived m Wellington m June last. Oh landing, he set out for Foxton, where his wife was still; residing:, with the intention— according to his side of the .story— of making ..humble apology for what he had done. : '; "The threats were . not seriously made," he explained; to .Herbert, ;Heriry Russell, police detective.. "I] never in-tended-putting them into effect. ; . "„ "The letters written while I was m a foolish and despondent mood, brought on by deep ' aff efetipn r fbr\ my wife. .■.■■.' " . : .": V ■'::;/.■ ■ ■ '-■.'■ •; :v ' i : :■. "My earnest desire , is to' prove that I am other than :■ the': : man ; my -letters make me out to be." ; ; His wife.however, did not'have much faith m his sudden repentance, judging: by the. following conversation jyhich ensued between counsel arid.'. herself :

A Miitder TMM^

Crown Prosecutor. F.. H. : Cooke: Did you Believe m his apo|bgy?; ' Mrs. Stanley: No, I still thought he would carry out his threats* He has always carried them out previously.

However, when he reached Foxton, his wife had\ tSlveh refuge, and accused saw only his father-in-law. To his credit, -he made the apology —lie was very humble, so his wife told the judge—^-and thea returned, to hrs ship, being eventually arrested at Lyttelton on a chai-ge of sending a letter to one James Petrie Innes (Mrs. Stanley's solicitor) 1 , m which was a threat to kill his wife. r ; _ "When the justices hear.d. the storey of Mrs. Stanley, they considered there was a case for the husband to-answer, and accordingly committed him to the Supreme Court tp take .his, chance before a jury. ' Stanley took an amused interest m the whole of the ■ court proceedings, though he followed the . evidence very closely.. . ... „ •','•• Producing a notebook, he pencilled therein copious note's..' Lawyer J. A. Grant counselled him m his'defence. Lawyer-Innes told the .. court how, after receiving the letter from accused and no,t ; knowing v the'man intimately, he decided to hand, the missive over to the police. ; ! / He did not know whether to take the threats as: genuinely meant or as' a bluff. ... ' .. ' However, lie considered it ■■■ prudent not to take the risk. He< produced the letter, a literary gem that brought smiles to the faces of the jurymen' as each m turn perused the typewritten copy that had been specially prepared for them. ,

. Stariley wrot'e ( ,'.'„>' inter, .alia: , "1.,. might tell you that although I lack good grammar, I am an adept at - composing appropriate verse. Too, • an adept at the most, cutting wit— . the .stuff which strikes at the very/ . centre of the human structure and ■' vyhich ; fay constant use wijl drive the most careful and sane of sane . person's to the .'nearest ( lunatic asylum, there to stay for no mean, . .number, of years, i .• ",''' "I would have filled .each. one. of them chock-a-block full of .lead,!' he. wrote m reference to nis wife's brothers. . -'"••■: "I Jiad m my ppss'es'slpri ■ 250 rounds of ammunition; : 3 six-chambered - revolvers and two automatics which Jield 5 rounds eacli. ■■-. ) ."Granted, they; were, only ?2's, ■', but one round would suffice » to . clean up the strongest, of 'em. I had all .five arms- on me the' evening' Constable Owen • and .his mate made a sort of examination of me and my pockets. "You , see, I, always being prepared and of a foreseeing turn of mind, an-ticipated-their movements. ..■•...-.. i"When the police came, they requested me to turn out my pockets, which I did. Had they attempted' to do any arresting stuntr— l had my plans

well worked ou^— I would have cleaned up the. pair of them.. .'•• .'•. ■• ■ : . "However, they didn't attempt any funny stuff.. I, of course,, kept very "cool and had no cause to draw my arms. ; ' ' • i ' "Mind you; I yras careful : to ..see that I was nearest' the door and that I had my. back close to the wall, ready for any 'funny stuff. "They foolishly stepped right inside the" room,, whii^t I merely stood close to the door and did not. move. ",'ijwould have been a sorry day for ail concerned had they tried any monkey: tricks. •:'•'!■■■•.. . '/Fortunately for all concerned, they were sensible . ."Mind you, I can get into New Zealand, do the deed, and get out again m less than 24 hours . . . .and you could not trace ttiat I : had : ever been to New, Zealand., . , . j /'l'd watch my chance, would.get. her. and ■• get away quick ... . and no ■one would know how I left or entered. ; "I'll; wager you can't point out the steamer on which I arrived m New Zealand last February. Neither can you find out the one on which I left, and,' mind' you, I was a passenger entering and leaving.

' "Look, old man, I mean every ... word 1 say. I'll do m the whole — - — : family and get clean away, leaving the crime a; mystery for your idiotic Government and half- . pie police to clean up. .' , "Little did they know I had five ' reliable and tested squirts on me. Mind you, whilst at Delungra, I practised squirt- shooting at from 50 to 5. yards at wads- used for loading No. 12 shotgun cartridges, and I got so good I could plumb the wads fair plum 10 out of 12 shots. . . ." , "failing her" (his wife's) "letter of promise, I will carry 'out my programme, so soon as I have . completed my world tour, which starts from here (New York on the 3rd of next month (Dec). .. "Mind you, with my knowledge of ports, customs, immigration laws, etc., it is quite : a simple matter for me to enter New Zealand and leave it without a trace." Stanley's < "programme" was that he would wait for his wife on the road' and put a bullet through a tyre that would bring her midget car tOi a standstill. He would then strip her naked, pegging her hands and feet frog-like to a gorse bush. • ■ ; • He subsequently proposed to cut out certain portions of her body, arid; when this was done, "make a : sponge of her with bullets, taking care not- to puncture any vital parts, so that she may die- m intense agony, asking forgiveness." Stanley did not tell the police, what* sort of mood he was, m when he penned this effusion. • '"- ■ ■

His War Injuries

Counsel) m addressing the . Jury, considered that it savored more of bluff than intent, but his honor directed the jury to dismiss any such suggestion. . . . The law said that no person could write to another m the strain that accused had done; nor could the fact that he was sorry afterwards have any effect upon the case. There was. just the simple question to answer of whether Stanley had committed the offence or not. A verdict of. guilty was returned. In pleading for accused, Lawyer Grant intimated that Stanley had not been before the court on any previous occasion. . He had been rather severely wounded m. the war,, including injuries to the head, but he could not say whether those wounds had any effect upon 1 his mentality. Possibly, he really! heeded some medicaJL attention. . . Stanley had spent some considerable time at sea and during the last voyage to New Zealand had been ■promoted. ■ His Honor: "What does he pro- ; pose to do after the sentence; of the court has been served?" ; Counsel : "He has been a steward and possibly he' might be prepared to leave New Zealand." ; ■■<. : After consultation with prisoner, Lawyer Grant intimated that, Stanley would., give an undertaking to J - stay away from the Dominion. ;.'•.•■•< 7 His honor stated that the language of the letters would suggest that .accused was not normal, which might.be a result of his war service. The sentence of the court . would be six months, on the understanding that he left the. country for ; good as soon as he had served his term. :