PETITIONS ON MAREO CASE

Southland Times, Issue 24828, 21 August 1942, Page 4

PETITIONS ON MAREO CASE

Further Inquiries Urged

(P.A.) WELLINGTON, August 20. Appeals for a further inquiry into the Mareo case are contained in two petitions which were referred direct to the Statutes Revision Committee in the House of Representatives today. Eric Mareo, of Auckland, was twice found guilty of murdering his wife, Thelma Mareo, and at the second trial, in June 1936, was sentenced to death, the sentence subsequently being commuted to one of life imprisonment.

The first petition, presented by Mr F. W. Schramm (Lab., Auckland East), was signed by Mr B. R. Perry, manager of Macduffs, Limited, Professor R. M. Algie and four others. It mentioned that inquiries had been made in England to see if fresh light could be thrown on the evidence at the two trials. A report had been received from Sir William Willcox, a recognized specialist on veronal poisoning, expressing the opinion that Mrs Mareo did not die of veronal poisoning and the petititioners asked that further consideration be given to the case, either by appointing a select committee of medical men to inquire into and report on the whole case or by extending the clemency of the Crown to the imprisoned man. The second petition was presented by Mr W. T. Anderton (Lab., Eden), and was signed by Messrs A. S. Patterson and T. Skinner, of Auckland, president and secretary of the New Zealand Musician’s Union. They expressed the view that there was good reason to believe that the prisoner was innocent, and asked for an inquiry into the whole matter.