A FURTHER STAGE

Southland Times, Issue 21091, 24 May 1930, Page 7

A FURTHER STAGE

MUNN MURDER TRIAL ACCUSED CONCLUDES EVIDENCE A NEW THEORY (Per United Press Association.) Auckland, May 23. The Nortficote murder trial has reached the eleventh day, Munn’s cross-examination being continued. silo denied that when he found the poison was not in the pantry after his wife’s death he immediately led the detectives into the bedroom. He added that he had told the detectives that his children being girls he would have to have a housekeeper. When arrested he did not say “What is the evidence like?” but “What is the evidence.” He also said: “I bet this is the work of my son and those scandalmongers of women. Anyway I have a clear conscience.” The detectives had left out a lot of what he said when he kissed Mrs Stuck good night. It was “serious to some extent.” The goodnight kisses continued until his arrest. The proposal of marriage came out of a general discussion and he started it as a matter of form. • < Accused, re-examined by Mr Northcroft, said his friendship with Mrs Stuck made no difference between him and his wife and during his wife’s illness he never left her except when she was sitting up in bed and said it was all right for him to go. Answering the Judge, accused said he was not quite clear now why his wife should have taken poison. Accused left the witness-box shortly be fore noon. Medical Evidence. After Munn left the witness box, Mr Northcroft proceeded to call, his other witnesses tor the defence. Several of these were people who knew the Munns and they gave evidence that as far as they knew, Munns got on well together. F. P. Worley, Professor ot Chemistry at Auckland University, gave evidence regarding the bitter taste of strychnine. Witness said he had carried out experiments with salts and strychnine and .he could not detect a lessening of the bitterness when a teaspoonful of salts was used in strychnine. There was no comparison between the bitterness of salts and strychnine, as strychnine was intensely bitter. He could not conceive anyone failing to detect strychnine. Kenneth. MacKenzie, surgeoil practising in Auckland for 17 years, said he had heard the evidence of Mrs Gill, Mrs Brown and Dr Dudding. “I have endeavoured from the evidence to reconstruct the medical history of Mrs Munn’s illness,” said witness. Witness said he had never seen the symptoms produced by strychnine and could not therefore give a first-hand opinion. From his study of evidence he had come to the conclusion that strychnine had nothing to do with high blood pressure as described by Dr Dudding. A post mortem revealed no signs of diseases common!- associated with high pressure. There was a third matter which might give rise to heightened blood pressure and this was the change of life. Witness quoted from recent medical works in support of his statement. The change of life brought about many symptoms associated with the nervous system. His Honour: Do I understand from this she had not touched strychnine? Witness: I cannot say that, I can only say the attack was not an attack which could have been caused' by strychnine, but in other parts it was conflicting. The doctor said the symptoms of the attacks mentioned bv Dr Duddimt on different occasions were in keeping with the symptoms produced during a woman’s change of life. Witness was examined with regard to the frequency and persistence with which women would take reckless measures to avoid pregnancy, even when their diagnosis of their condition was mistaken, and he agreed that this was very common. Only .that day he had heard a married woman say she would "take anything to get rid of this.” It was not uncommon for them to take the attitude that they would “stop at nothing.” Witness did not agree that Epsom salts was a favourable medium for concealing the taste of strychnine.. In a mixture of the two, strychnine was the dominant taste. He believed it would be impossible to administer a lethal dose in this way to anyone knowing the taste of salts without their noticing the difference. Under cross-examination by Mr Meredith, witness said he had never seen a strychnine attack and in that respect, he did'hot have the advantage of Dr. Dudding and Dr. Gunson who had. He admitted that many of the symptoms described by Mrs Gill were typical of strychnine. Mr Meredith: Can you indicate one symptom set out in the standard text book that Mrs Gill did not demonstrate? ■—No.

In the face of that, and in face of five medical riien who said it was strychnine poisoning, do you suggest for one moment that there was any other conclusion than strychnine poisoning?—Yes. Because of the interval of time indicated in the cross-examination by Mr North-croft?-—Because of the interval of time I gathered. Mr Meredith: Because of one omission, are you, as a responsible medical man, ready to throw over the whole of Mrs Gill’s evidence although she demonstrated every known symptom ?—-Certainly. Many of the things she demonstrated were most highly suggestive of strychnine poisoning, but she to some extent invalidated that diagnosis by the manner in which she insisted on the continuity of the spasms. At this stage the court adjourned until to-morrow. The case is expected to finish early next week.