Innocent Woman’s Ordeal

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 968, 10 May 1930, Page 18

Innocent Woman’s Ordeal

Another Strange Case of Mistaken Identity

jg?Bgjjfv HE ordeal of a married • ' voma:a who was arrested in a Victoria restaurant, in London, in mistake for another

woman who was known to possess the same sort of cloak, was revealed when she appeared at a London police court and was discharged without the slightest stain on her character. She was Mrs. Agnes Kirkwood, of Claverton Street, Victoria, London, and later she told a Press representa tive how she was arrested on a chargn of theft, placed in a cell for the night remanded to Holloway tor a week taken ill and sent to the prison in firmary, and paraded for identifies tion. At the West London Police- Court counsel for the prosecution admitted that a mistake had been made and asked to withdraw the charge and to apologise. The magistrate said Mrs. Kirkwood would leave the court without any suspicion attaching to her. Shaken and distressed by her expel iences, Mrs. Kirkwood, who is a journalist’s wife, said that the whole affair started at a restaurant room at Victoria. “I Was Dazed” “While I was sitting there with a friend, said Mrs. Kikwood, “two men came in. “One of them come over and said. ‘Hello! Conny.’ I replied, ‘My name is not Conny; what do you mean?’ asked me to come out side and said he would tell me. t hesitated at first, and then went with him. He said he was a detective and that he was going to arrest me for theft.

“I was dazed. He took me to the police station, where I was charge.! with stealing jewellery to the value

of £l2O from Mr. H. Denhab, of Collingham Road, Earl’s Court, At Holloway “I said: ‘You are making a mistake; my name is Kirkwood,’ and I gave my address. But they took no notice and put me in a cell. “The next morning I was brought up at the police court and remanded They took me in a prison van to Holloway, and put me in another hor ribie cell. I felt terribly ill, and in the morning they moved me into the prison infirmary. ; ‘On Saturday afternoon I was re leased on bail. When I came back this morning I was paraded with eight other girls for identification. The only excuse they made was that the woman they wanted was wearing a cloak like mine, a dark cloak trimmed with skunk fur.” Counsel Explains In court Mr. G. B. McClure, who appeared for Mr. Denham, said he had to express regret for the mistake. Last year, lie said, a woman who gave tile name of Constance Collier was engaged as domestic servant by Mr. Denham, and, after she left, property was missing. Mr. Denham went to a pawnbroker’s, where he identified some of the missing articles which had been pledged in the name of “Constance Collier.” Later Mr. Denham went to Victoria Station, and picked out Mrs Kirkwood as the woman “Constance Collier.” Recalling the appearance of the woman as she was leaving the dock. Mr Denham began to feel doubtful He asked the police that she should be put up for identification, and he also made it his business to secure her release on bail. Mr. McClure added that the pawn broker said that she was not the woman, and the landlady fo the house where the woman, Constance Colliei lodged, agreed.