RUSDEN MURDER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26628, 26 November 1947, Page 6

RUSDEN MURDER

CROWN CASE ENDED

ADDRESSES BY COUNSEL TO-DAY

NO EVIDENCE FOR DEFENCE P.A. AUCKLAND, Nov. 25. The Crown Prosecutor, Mr V. R. Meredith, and the senior counsel for the defence, Mr M. Robinson, will de-liver-their addresses to the jury when the trial of Pansy Louise Frances Haskell, aged 49, a domestic, is continued in the Supreme Court to-morrow. She is charged with the murder of Mrs Gladys Ruth Rusden at her home in Horotutu road, One Tree Hill, on June 5. Two police witnesses closed the case for the Crown to-day. Detective T. W. Irving gave details of the recovery of ashes from the accused’s garden, and lengthy statements which she made before her arrest were read by De-tective-sergeant W. R. Fell. The latter was in the witness-box for about three hours, and when the cross-examination was concluded, Mr Robinson said he did not propose to call evidence. The case is being heard before Mr Justice Callan. Mr Meredith and Mr G. D. Speight are appearing for the Crown, and the accused is represente'd by Mr Robinson and Mr N. J. Shieff. Detective-sergeant W. R. Fell testified that he visited the accused’s home ■in Newton road on June 8. The accused said-the murder was “a dreadful thing,” adding that she first knew about it when she read of it in the paper in her solicitor’s office on the afternoon of June 6. The accused said she had nothing to do with it. She admitted certain relations with Rusden, and said she had been out to see Mrs Rusden about a divorce. Association with Rusden

Witness added that the accused said she had been madly in love with Rusden till about six months ago, but it had cooled. The accused said Rusden would not stay away from her. The accused had denied that she had spoken of getting rid of Mrs Rusden, and said it was not true that she had offered Rix £2OO to murder Mrs Rusden. The accused denied telling Mrs Aitken of her associations with Rusden. She said it was not true that she asked Mrs Aitken about a shotgun, a razor, or a motor spanner. The accused said, continued witness, that she was at home at 8. a.m. op the day of the murder. . ~ , Detective Sergeant Fell added that he found a cobbler’s hammer in a wardrobe in the accused’s, bedroom. She said she had found it on the footpath two months before. When the police went to search the . accused s dressing table , she became visibly upset. In the table a key was found which opened the front door of Rusden’s house. The accused said she got the key from Rix. It was the key to room No 1 at Liberty House Questioned by the Grown Prosecutor, witness said it- was'not the key to a room at Liberty House. Witness read a statement which-the accused made on June 8 in which she said she had been living apart from her second husband for about four months when she met Rusden at his sister s house at Howiclc early m 1945 . When he was in the army Rusden became very fond of her, and she was also fond of him. He had said he would marry her if ■he were free. “He said he could get rid of his wife very easily by putting a, pillow over her head after giving her a sleeping draught, and this would not leave a mark,” the statement continued, “ I was horrified at this suggestion, and said it would be far better to get a divorce.” It was through her suggestion that she went with Rusden to sec his wife.

The accused said she knew a man named Rix. He had stayed several times at Liberty House early in 1946. Rix had threatened her on one opcasion x>n the telephone, telling her there were ways and means of • shutting people’s mouths. After that, she had refused to book him in at Liberty House.

Categorical Denials

“I deny that I ever approached Rix at any time and suggested to him that he should murder Mrs Rusden,” the statement added. “ I deny' that I offered him any money to. do so. I say. that I never borrowed a motor car at tiny time from anybody. I never went out with Rix in a motor car to Horotutu road and pointed out Rusden’s house to him. I never had discussions over sums of £2OO and £SOO with Rix.”

The accused denied that she had put an advertisement in a paper asking Rix to meet her at Ferry Building. She also denied that she met Rix at Ferry Building and that she took a parcel containing overalls and a blue hat and a newspaper containing a piece of iron to Rix 015 any other person, that she gave Rix a Stetson hat, a pair of white. overalls, or money to buy the overalls. Referring to the night when Mrs Rusden was assaulted, the accused said she did not make any arrangements for Rix or any other person to go out and assault, Mrs Rusden or to lure her from [her home. She did not know why Mrs Aitken should say that the accused threatened to murder Mrs Rusden or that she had asked Mrs Aitken'for any instruments to do this. Mrs Aitken’s allegations were untrue. After stating that she got up about 8.30 to 8i45 a.m. on the day of the murder, the accused gave a detailed account of her movements for the next two hours. She said that at 10 a.m. she burned an old carpet, a motor tyre, rags, old slippers and other things and dug some of the ashes into the garden. “I was not at Rusden’s house that day,”., the statement went on; “I made no arrangements with any, person, including Rusden, to bring about Mrs Rusden’s death. I have been wanting to break my association with Rusden for some time. I have broken it three or four times over the last year, but he has not kept away.” After reading the statement, Detec-tive-sergeant Fell gave evidence of accused’s attempted suicide on June 9, and then read a message she had written in the lodger’s book found that day at her premises at Newton road. In this she said she thought Rix had committed the assault on Mrs Rusden the previous year and that “Dick and Rix arfe. in league over this latter tragedy." In answer to questions by Mr Robinson and Mr Meredith, witness said he was certain, the accused’s husband, Haskell, was in no way involved. He added that in the course of their inquiries the police had canvassed 600 houses in the neighbourhood of Horotutu road on five occasions.