CHARGE OF MURDER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26616, 12 November 1947, Page 4

CHARGE OF MURDER

Woman on Trial at Oamaru

LENGTHY EVIDENCE TENDERED

Special Reporter,

OAMARU, Nov. 11

The trial of Phyllis Freeman, single, aged 33, on charges of the murder of Mrs Joyce Maysie Morrison at Enfield, North Otago, on October 3, 1942, and the attempted murder of Ina May Pearce at Enfield on May 23, 1947, began in the Oamaru Police Court this afternoon before Mr J. D. Willis, S.M.

After the Crown Prosecutor, Mr F. B. Adams, had raised the point whether the court should proceed on the one charge of murder, the magistrate intimated that he would remand the accused on the second charge, of attempted murder, to appear at Dunedin on Monday and the court would accordingly proceed with the murder charge. The accused, who was represented by Mr J. E. Farrell, Appeared quite composed when she was escorted into the dock by the police matron and remained quiet throughout the first day’s hearing. About 100 persons, mostly males, crowded the seats at the back of the courtroom. An adjournment was taken at 6 p.m. until 7.30 p.m.

Mrs Margaret Alexandria Mavor, of Airedale, a sister of tne late Mrs Morrison, said that Mrs Morrison lived with her husband until her death, on October 3, 1942. “ I would say they were quite happy together," witness, said. “Mrs Morrison never complained about her married life.” Witness, said the last time she saw her sister was a few nights before her death. Witness noticed nothing unusual, and her sister was in good spirits. Mrs Morrison had made no mention of strychnine or the purchase of any for poisoning rabbits in her vegetable garden. Husband's Evidence The evidence of Hector Morrison, farmer, of Kia Ora, husband of Mrs Joyce Maysie Morrison, began at 2.15 p.m. Witness said they had been married for about 18 years prior to his wife’s death in 1942. He had known Phyllis Freeman about 10 or 12 years as she was a daughter of a neighbouring farmer. “My wife and the accused were good friends and the accused used to come up quite often to visit us,” witness said. “ When my wife died the accused agreed to stay as housekeeper and remained so until July 16, 1947.” Before her death his wife was in reasonably good health, witness continued. She had visited a doctor some time before her death, but witness did not know the reason for this. “On the day of her death we had dinner together at noon and I noticed nothing wrong with my wife nor had she made any complaint about 'her health,” witness said. When he left the house on Home Guard duties no one else was about the house. “ I came home about 5 p.m.,” Morrison said. “I found her lying on the floor in the bedroom, just inside the door, fully,clothed. She appeared to be dead.” After going for a doctor he returned to the house where he found the accused and Mr and Mrs Simpson, who were neighbours. No Inquest Held

morning tea down to the paddock and went back to the house. “There was nothing peculiar about the accused when I saw her,” said witness who added that he did not see her again till about 12 o’clock,' when she had met him one or two chains from the house.

“ ‘ Get a doctor,’ she said, ‘ Ina has taken a bad turn.’ ” Witness continued. He went inside and found her lying on the bed. breathing heavily and groaning. Her fact was very blue. She said she did not think she could go to the doctor. Witness rang for the doctor, who arrived about 1 p.m. Morrison went on to say that Miss Pearce had improved a little in the interval, but either the accused or Miss Pearce herself told him that she had vomited. The accused made no suggestions about what might have caused the illneSs.

The accused was occasionally subject to sick turns and had a weak stomach. It was not unusual for her to complain about being giddy. Witness saw nothing of the lollies on the day Miss Pearce was taken ill, and he never saw them afterwards until the police had begun inquiring into the' matter Broadcast Message

May 27, 1947, was the first time witness knew of any police inquiries. That was before the broadcast message. “The accused admitted to me that she had sent a message,” witness added. He visited Miss Pearce three or four times in hospital, when the accused accompanied him. “ Miss Pearce told me there had been a false broadcast requesting her and her party to return home, but the accused said nothing about it. On May 29, in hospital, the accused apologised to Miss Pearce for having sent the false broadcast message,” said witness. On June 15, at his house, the accused had said that another person had asked her to send the message. Asked if there was any mention of cake, witness replied that the accused said she had received a piece of cake with an Otautau post mark but no name. A short note with the cake said it \£as from an old friend. The only person she knew in the Otautau district was Miss Pearce. “The accused did not say what happened to the cake and I did not see anything of it,” witness said. On June 18, the accused denied having seen or purchased strychnine, but on the following day, at the police station, the accused admitted ordering a bottle of strychnine for Mrs Morrison. The next occasion on which the police interviewed the accused was on June 25, when she admitted sending a cake to Miss Pearce. On that day she said she had found strychnine in the washhouse. , “ Often I got the mail at my house but very often the accused collected it,” witness continued. He remembered going to the box on Saturday, June 21, when there were two letters and a paper for the accused. He put them on the kitchen table. The accused later complained that the letters had been tampered with. On June 25, when the matter of letters was discussed with the police, she thought the police must have opened them,” witness said. . “My wife was not taking medicine or drugs at the time of her death.” witness asserted. “ Nothing had been prescribed for her.” Asked who Miss Rose Hill was, Mor • rison said she was a cousin. He thought the accused had told him once that Rose Hill was in the Oamaru district.

“I don’t remember the accused saying anything about my wife being dead,” witness said. “ I saw no signs of a meal having been eaten.” Witness thought there was nothing unusual about the accused visiting his wife that afternoon. A doctor arrived about 6 p.m. and his opinion of the cause of death was haemorrhage of the brain. The accused was not present then. The police had made no inquiry into his wife's death at the time and no inquest was held. “I had no suspicion at the time 4hat my wife had been poisoned,” witness declared. “ She was buried on October 5, 1942, in the Oamaru Cemetery. “As far as I know, at the time of my.wife's death there was no strychnine about the place,” witness said. He had never known the accused to be in possession of any strychnine. “I did not know anything about my wife trying to kill rabbits in any way,” he said. Jar Mentioned

“ Speaking generally, the accused never spoke to-me about strychnine, nor did I speak to her about it.” witness said. He was present at an interview between the police and the accused on June 25. 1947, when a jar was mentioned. - “ The accused told the police she had found a jar of strychnine when she was cleaning out a washhouse just after she came to the place in 1942,” he continued. “She said she had put the jar into a tin and thrown it into the dam.” Witness stlid he had never seen a jar of strychnine in the washhouse; but it could have been there without his knowing. The accused told him that she had ordered strychnine for Mrs Morrison but had not taken delivery of it as it was to be posted out. “The accused said my wife had asked her to buy strychnine to poison rabbits, which were eating vegetables in the garden,” he said. “On July 1 the police pumped the water out of the dam. but I was not present when a tin was found,” witness said. He then identified a tin that was exhibited by the Crown prosecutor. “ When I was shown the tin there were some small seeds and a little jar rolled in paper inside.” he' said. It is a similar tin to one I keep in the woolshed containing tar for sheep cuts.” He had not put the jar or bottle into the tin.

Statements Amplified

Morrison finished giving his evidence at 8.30, after being four and a-half hours in the box. When his evidence had been read over to him, Morrison said he would like to clarify some statements. •*' On June 18, the police interviewed the accused at my house about the false broadcast message.” he said. “On that day she said there was another person connected with the sending of the message who gave her name as Miss Scott, of Rangiora. I have a hazy recollection of the accused denying ever seeing or purchasing strychnine.” On June 19, witness said, he went into the police station and then he went back to her father’s home and brought the accused to the police station That was the day on which she had admitted ordering strychnine, for Mrs Morrison. Witness saw the poison book on that day. He thought that it was after he saw the book that the accused admitted ordering the strych'"witness finally left the box at 9.30. George Simpson, a farmer, of Kia Ora said his house was about a mile away from the Morrison home. He had known Mrs Morrison for about 10 j'ears prior to her death. The accused came to his house on the day of Mrs Morrison’s death, when she appeared to be very upset. “She said that Mrs Morrison was dead or dying. I am not sure of the words she used,” witness said. “ I told Mrs Simpson to ring Dr Fitzgerald and tell him of the tragedy. The accused did not mention Mrs Morrison’s symptoms at the time.” When witness arrived at Morrison s he found Mrs Morrison lying on the floor. When he saw Mrs Morrison some time before her death she was in good spirits. “To the best of my knowledge Mr and Mrs Morrison got along very well together,” witness declared. He had known the accused since childhood and she always appeared to be normal, witness concluded. , , The court adjourned at 9.45 until to-morrow morning.

The accused had once been engaged to be married to Alexander Gibson, a farmer at Enfield, continued witness. Gibson was a cousin of his wife. The engagement had been broken off some years before his wife’s death. “There has never been any suggestion of marriage between the accused and myself, and I have never promised to marry her,” witness declared. “The subject has never been discussed between us.” The accused had been paid and kept as a housekeeper since Mrs Morrison’s death. “ Her behaviour has been just that of a housekeeper.” witness said. “ She had a quiet disposition, and I saw no signs of abnormality. There was nothing to suggest that she was jealous of other women visiting me.”, Miss Pearce a Cousin Witness said he knew Miss Ina May Pearce, who was his cousin. He had corresponded with her at times, and letters were exchanged while the accused was living with him. The accused made no trouble about this. “ Miss Pearce first visited my home in August, 1945, for a few days,” witness went on. “ The accused was also there. There were no signs of animosity by the accused towards Miss Pearce.”

Until the police began inquiries in this matter, witness had no knowledge of a piece of cake being sent to Miss Pearce. The accused used to send cakes to friends in Japan. Miss Pearce went to the North Island in March of this year and she wrote to him while she was there. “ I do not remember saying anything about Miss Pearce's movements, although I may have said she would be staying in Auckland,” witness said. He went to Oamaru with the accused on April 3, 1947, but. he was not with her all the time. She did not tell him she had been to the police station or anything about sending a wireless message. “ When Miss Pearce arrived in Oamaru I met her. and the accused was with me later in the day.” witness went on. “ Miss Pearce came to stay with me on May 22. On that day I was in Oamaru with the accused who I knew had bought some lollies, although I did not know where. Witness first saw the sweets on the way home. They ate some then and some more after tea. Witness did not notice anything peculiar about the taste of any "of the lollies. They had no ill effect on himself, the accused or Miss Pea>-oe that day. ‘When I went out to work next morning. Miss Pearce was still in bed, but I did not see her before I left.” Morrison went on. “ I was working about half a mile from the house. The accused and Miss Pearce had slept in the same bed the previous night. The accused brought • his