DEATH STILL A MYSTERY

NZ Truth, Issue 1201, 6 December 1928, Page 5

DEA TH STILL A MYSTERY

Nobody Will Divulge Vital Information About Freda Clark's End WITNESS 9 SLOGAN TO ANSWER" Allegation That Sowerby Was Locked In Detective s Room (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Representative)

Shrouding the tragic death of Freda Helen Clark m an Auckland nursing; home is an impenetrable curtain of silence and mystery. The world will never know the secret of Freda 'svun happy end, because nobody will speak or do anything to assist the authorities to rend the veil that hides the real truth. What caused her death — natural causes or the illegal act of some other person 7 That was the question around which raged a legal battle m the Coroner's Court. The law was at cross-purposes. The coroner and the police demanded that the law be! satisfied by the divulgence of all the faots, but the same law entitled the witnesses to decline to answer questions that might incriminate them. The result was stalemate. Freda Clark is dead and the se cret of her death lies buried with her m the grave.

QENSATIONAIj as "trer© the first 0 two hearings of th© eaßo, the third, which lasted for three hours, was marked by many dramatic Incidents, which culminated In a further adjournment, m the hope that fresh evidence might still be procured. The position to date is that the coroner is no wiser concerning Freda Clark's death, except that she died from septicaemia, than he was when he first opened the inquest. The story, of Freda's death has already been told m this- paper. Employed as a clerk m the office of the Te Aroha Borough Council she came to Auckland two days before her death and on November 1 ehe was found dead m Nurse Cblnett's house 1 at Grey Liynn. At the second sitting- of the court there was a sensation when Mrs. Doris Dannefeard, the dead woman's sister, declined to answer any questions concerning a letter she was alleged to have written to. the dead girl. It was expected that when the case was resumed there would be sensational developments, t>ut nobody anticipated what, did happen. Mrs. Dannefeard, attired , m a blue frock and biscuit-colored hat, seemed nervous as she turned to face Crown Solicitor Meredith. "Have you a sister named Ruth?" was his first question. "No, I have not," came the answer m low tones. Lawyer Meredith: Well, have you a friend named Ruth? ! Mrs. Dannefeard glanced across at Lawyer Singer and paused for several moments. . , "Come on, now," prompted Lawyer Meredith. • The woman then admitted that she had a frien.d, of that name. "And ! /who Is she?". she was asked. j "She' is Mrs. Slmms, of.Mt. Albert." Counsel then produced the letter alleged to have been written by Mrs. Dannefeard to Freda Clark prior to her arrival In Auckland. "Is that your signature?" he Inquired. Then the curtain of silence and secrecy once more came down on the proceedings. , > "I decline to answer," said the "witness. • ••.■:.. "Why do you refuse to answer?" , "Because what I may say now might incriminate me." Evidence Unsigned i : >_ "Is that letter m your handwriting?" Again Mrs. Dannefeard refused to reply, and she would not say whether she knew Mrs. Bauer or whether she had had any .communication with her. When asked a further question about Mrs. Bauer, Mrs. Dannefeard said she would like to consult her solicitor. The coroner intervened. "No, I don't think I should allow that," he said. . , Lawyer Singer: Then I tell her from here not to answer the question. It is your worship's duty to warn the witnesses before they give evidence m a case of this kind. The Coroner: You are appearing for her and watching her Interests. "I know, sir," replied counsel, "but that does not absolve your worship from warning the witnesses." The coroner then turned to the witness. "Did your sister send any money up to you?" he asked her. Mrs. Dannefeard declined to answer the question. There was another pasßage-at-arms between the coroner and Lawyer Singer when Mrs. Dannefeard stepped down from the box. Her counsel advised her she need not sign the typed sheets of her evidence. The coroner took exception to this. "I don't know about that," he said. "Well, sir, if there is any law that can compel her to sign it, she will do so, but I Instruct her not to sign it," retorted counsel. The Coroner: Well, then, I will be prepared to make an affirmation, that she gave' this evidence before me.' Lawyer • Singer: As your worship pleases. The next witness was Detective Allen who had interviewed Mrs. Dannefeard at the Newton police station. He produced a statement purporting to have, been made and signed by her m his presence. "I saw her sign It," said the detective, and I know the signature as hers." .The writing of the signature. on the statement, Allen considered, was the same as that m the letter Mrs. Dannefeard was said to have ■written to her: sister. The letter had been found m Miss Clark's room at Te Aroha. Allen said he now knew Mra Bauc?. 1 Ho had first seen her xsrhen Iniorviaw!sng>Mra. .Dannefeard. She 'had coma jio the-! door .end had askecl how 2ong Mra Dannefeard would bo. Both the statement and the' letter were handed up to the coroner who read them out aloud. ....'. Part of the letter reads: — "My dear Fred,— -I was out this morning and rang up .Mrs. Bauer and she can arrange for Saturday. She will meet you outside the Post Office at 9.30. Her car number is 4518, and has one of those, little policemen at the back window, so I don't think you will miss her ,» . The statement was then read. In it Mrs. 'Dannefeard was alleged to have said that her sister stayed at her home on Labor Day. Her sister ' had said she was not very well, and asked If sho knew of ;any' place to go to for a rest. She then returned to Te Aroha. Freda, at that 1 time, had not said anything to her'sister about her illness so far as its nature was concerned. "One day last week," the statement continued,- "I made arrangements with Nurse ColnettJ Williamson Avenue, for her to take my sister there. ."After making arrangements with

Nurse Colnett I wrote to my sister and asked her to come to Auckland. She arrived on Saturday morning last by the express. I met her at the station. We did hot return ■ to my home, but went to Williamson Avenue. "I have known Nurse Colnett for about ten years. She is a friend of mine . . - "On Monday, October 29, 1 visited my sister at Williamson Avenue. - She seemed quite cheerful. That was' the last time I saw her alive." Clarence Spedding, handwriting expert, gave evidence that he examined both the handwriting m the letter and. the signature on the statement.- and pronounced them, m hia opinion, to be the same. • The Grown Solicitor received another serious setback when he proceeded to examine Mrs. Doris Bauer, who resides, at Kpsom Avenue, Epsom. She admitted she drove a car, the number of which was 4518, but she declined to say whether she knew Mrs, Dannefeard, although when the question was put m a different . form she admitted that she knew of her, but how she knew of her she refused to enlighten the court. Nor would she say whether she knew Freda Clark, or whether she had called at the police station on the day the girl died. She declined also to say whether she had met any trains on the same day. I Mrs. Bauer did not sign the typed sheets of her evidence, on Lawyer Singer's advice, which he gave to all the (witnesses whose interests he was watch ing- ' There was a. stir of Interest m the court room when the name of Percy Seymour. George Sowerby was called. At the previous hearing, Chiefdetective Hammond had 'referred ■» to Sowerby as "the man m the case." Sowerby said he was a farmer residing at Kereone, near Morrinsville, and was a married man, although not living- with his wife.

"Man In The Case"

His only statement that had any real bearing on the inquiry was that he had. known Freda Clark. Lawyer Meredith: How long had you known her? Sowerby: I decline to answer. You know that she was found dead? — I decline to answer. The coroner lost patience. "You can't refuse to answer that question," he almost shouted. "If you don't, I will commit you." This drew a. vigorous protest from Lawyer Singer: "I would ask your worship not to use that tone of voice. The police have been unable to get anything much, from him. They would have tried to threaten him if they had got him m one of their locked room's at the' police station, but they cannot do it here." The Coroner: This is shocking. I do not intend to sit here and watch this inquest bluffed out by witnesses refusing- to say anything. The Crown Solicitor intervened with *Borne strong comment on the remarks of Lawyer Singer apropos the police. "This is a coroner's inquest," said Lawyer Meredith. "A body is found and it is the coroner's duty tp inquire into the death of that person. To say that the coroner's court is being used by the police for the purpose of obtaining evidence they cannot get outside is a most improper suggestion." A further effort was made by the Crown Solicitor to obtain information from Sowerby. "Are you responsible for the condition the girl' was m?" he asked. Sowerby declined to answer. He refused to say whether he had been aware of her condition, and gave similar answers to further questions concerning his knowledge of the girl's movements prior to her death. I

No information of a helpful nature was obtained from George Alfred Col- | nett, the husband of the nurße.. He refused to state whether he was the occupant of the. house on the day of Preda Clark's death or whether a death occurred m the house. J The Coroner: What is your wife; is she a nurse? — Yes. Is she a registered nurse?— Yes. Does she take m patients m the house? — I decline to answer. The coroner: But you can't refuse to answer that. j Colnett replied that he wished to ! speak to- his solicitor. The result of the consultation was that the question went unanswered. The coroner then asked who occupied the house. Colnett replied that he and his wife were the only occupants and that they had lived m Williamson Avenue for the past 17 years. ' Nurse Georglna Alice Colnett for a little while answered questions readily insofar as they related to herself. She informed the court that she was a fully-qualified nurse, but not a registered one. She had failed In her final examination. She came from Sydney 25 years ago, and for the past 17 years had been nursing m Auckland. She had no further training after leaving Sydney. In reply to the Crown Solicitor, Mrs. Colnett said she nursed people m their own homes, but once a month she was allowed a patient m her own" house. All questions relating- to Freda Clark, Mrs. Bauer and her visits from the police, she declined to answer. Lawyer Meredith: Well, was Mr. Singer, your counsel, m your house on the day of this young woman's death? "I decline to answer" was the reply. "And why do you not answer that?" the Crown Solicitor inquired. "Because I might 'incriminate myself." The Coroner: You will tell me nothing- whatever about it? — No sir. Chief -detective Hammond's entry Into the witness-box was the prelude to, an acrimonious conflict between him and Lawyer Singer, which culminated m sensational charges being made by counsel about police methods m Interviewing Spwerby. The chief-detective first told of his visit to the Colnett's house, where he was met with a refusal . to give any information. He went Sowerby's Statement armed with a search warrant and found certain articles. Later he #ot m touch with the police at Morrinsville with reference to Sowerby and was told he had had an urgent call to Auckland. Five minutes prior to the arrival of the Waikato train on the day m question he saw Sowerby and Mrs. Dannefeard on the station talking to Hyman, Lawyer Singer's clerk. He made himself known to Sowerby and told him he wished to speak to him. Sowerby accompanied him to the police station after being warned by the clerk not to make any statement. Sowerby, said the chief- detective, made a statement, which was produced and read out m court. In the statement Sowerby was alleged to have said: "i knew Miss Clark* and had seen a good deal of her during the past few months." He allegedly admitted that he had been intimate -with her and that she had told him she was m a certain condition, althoug-h she did not mention who the father of the child was. He last saw her alive on October 20 when she told him of her condition. He understood she was going back to Te Aroha from Morrinsville. He did not know Mrs. Colnett. He knew Miss Clark came to Auckland to see her sister, but she had never told him she was going at any specified time. The statement went on: "I am a married man. My wife was applying for a divorce and it had been ray intention to marry Miss Clark after the divorce was granted." Sowerby, m his statement, denied that he had ever given the girl any money and had no knowledge that she was going to Auckland for a certain purpose. Lawyer Singer: I arrived at the police station at about 11.30 that night. Hammond: You did. I told you I had been instructed by Sowerby to act for him? — I think you did. . You know I did? — You were only act- ling for Mrs. Colnett' then. I was acting for Sowerby. also, and I made that perfectly clear to you. At the moment of my arriya! yey ■ kad fiawerby -iasksd \n yocr t'Oejtt, hid you no*? — Looked? < Yes, locked.— l c'on'fc think Cho doer wao locked. Lawyer Singer: ii, wao tockod. The Chief-detective: Well, If H was, I am perfectly entitled to lock my door if I want to. Lawyer Singer: Yes, and lock people m if they are fools enough to let you do it. The Chief -detective: I should have locked' you out. Counsel: You unlocked the door to admit me, and I told Sowerby that he could insist on your placing him under arrest or- being released and that if you did not do so his legal rights entitled him to kick your door. down. This cpncUiued the evidence, but the Crown Solicitor, ' suggesting an . adjournment, intimated that there might be -further evidence later. "Yes, I will adjourn the inquest sine die. Ido not propose to close it at this stage. The position is most unsatisfactory," stated the coroner. . What new evidence the. police hope to obtain is not clear, but m the meantime the. blanket of silence muzzles the issue. Nobody will speak, and it is not likely that some, of. the witnesses ever :wul. . ■ | A