A Woman's Death

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 185, 4 February 1914, Page 7

A Woman's Death

CIIAHttK OF >LANSLAUtiIi'I'ICJI.. A WOMAN'S DEATH. r SENTENCED TO Till! EE VKAllfl' JIAiiD LAIiOU. , AVJTII 'i'ffx Y EARS' KEt'OuMATIVE TREATMENT. A sordid slory of n drunken row tietween a man and a woman, which, if. was alleged, resulted ill tint death uf the -latter, was unfolded to tin' Supremo 'Court at Now Plymouth yesterday, when Daniel Warren, alius Monroe, alias Wilson, pleaded not guilty to charges of killing Hazel Staulov liv causing such ■bodily injuries that she. died; that with intent to do grievous 'bodily harm iic did actual bodily bavin; and also with -assault .so as to cause actual bodily harm.

• Mr. C. 11. Weston prosecuted, and Mr. A. TI. Johnstone, with Mr lluthcrfurd (Stratford) appeared for the accused. ; The following jury was empanelled: A. 0. Case, Chas. R. llroxvn. Samuel Oliver, Henry Linn, Henry ,1. JJlanchard, JLcwid V. Mace, Lewis Sarten, T. li. Salter, Win. John lloiieyfiold, Win. P. Nicoll, Wm. Twecilale. and Alfred .VI lliggs. Mr W. i'. Nicoll was elected foreman.

• On the application of Mr. Johnstone, all witnesses were unit-red out of the Court. Mr. Weston briefly outlined the throe charges against the accused. The woman was travelling with accused on September 20 from Hawera to Stratford. •They bad both been drinking, and drank ■on "the road, and it was alleged that •Warren had knocked her about a good deal. 16 would be skown that, the woman died from heart failure, but that these injuries hastened her death. This amounted to manslaughter.

Till'! muvrars evidence. * George Leonard H. MePhcvson, of Ha•wera., a stable liantl, in the employ of •Xodder I'ros., deposed lluit on Saturday, ■Hazel from llawera to Stratford ■in a gig. They got into the gig at ■the Empire stables at llawera. They seemed soln-r when thev got in, but had liquor with tlmm. Warren had a drink by the llawera racecourse. At the Kormanby Hotel Warren got out and •brought witness and the woman a drink. The woman drank brandy. A WAYSIDE ItOYV.

• On the way they passed a -Maori pa called Kitimaere, and there the woman Stanley argued with accused about her dog, which she said accused had given •away, to which accused said she conhl get the dog 'back. The woman then • swore at Warren. The woman seemed •'very nasty." Warren seemed in about the same condition. Witness thought Warren had had "a few drinks." When ■the woman swore at accused he tokl •witness to pull up, and on his refused tried to take the reins. Witness pull■ed up and accused then told the woman ■to get out and go where she liked. Warren then got out and pulled the woman •out of the gig. 1 He took her by the arm •and waist roughly, and she landed on her feet. {She"walked away and accused followed her and hit her with his .clenched list under the jaw, knocking ■her down. The woman was "knocked •out." Witness turned the horse round -and took hold of Warren, who said to ■the woman: "I've a d -d good mind to kill you." The woman was still knocked out and lay there, whil<? wit■ness prevented Warren from hitting her ■again. Then the woman got up and ■witness and Warren helped Iter into the gig. She had not altogether recovered, iuid was dazed. The party drove 011 towards Kltham, but Warren and the woman argued again. The woman said she -would go back to Stratford, where she had a ''boy" who would take her ■away. Wsirrtn struck her about twelve times about the face just about then •with his list. He threw her hat on to the road. Before they got into £lth»m they had made it up, and Warren got another drink for witness, himself and the woman. Warren said: "Don't you think you are a fool to leave me, as I can always find you?" The woman said, "Yes." When he left them at Stratford they had "a few drinks in." There, were no marks on the woman when she got into the gig at llawera. • To Mr. Johnstone: It was about four miles from llawera. to Xormanby. The woman was sitting between accused and himself in the gig. The accused and •Stanley were qui'tiv friendly at V>r-m-anby. When the woman asked about ihc dog, Warren's answer was civil, and it was 110# until she swore at him that the. quarrel began. Drink was then apparent oil them both. Accused told the woman to go where she liked, but she would not go. She. was not knocked over the back of the trap. Accused did not hick her when she was lying on the road. The argument continued for a mile or so. lie did not think it necessary to inform the police at Eltham lor Stratford. He did not tell accusad to send the woman away.

MAORIS' EVIDENCE. Wal Wni, :i Maori, of Kitimaere, remembered Saturdav. September 20. He saw 011 the road from Ilawera to Strat>ford two men and a woman in a gig. I'risoner was one. of them. Witness saw accused strike tli<; woman while she •was in the gig. lie knocked her out of the gig. Tlu'. woman was tlien just •rising from her seat. As soon as the I woman was on the ground the man alighted and struck ami kicked her below the rihs, as she turned over. ITe kickoil her more than ten time, and witness <wi?nt to seek assistance to prevent accused from ill-treating and when he returned accused was lifting the woman into the gig. He saw the woman about two weeks afterwards <kad in •the lios^iit:il. To Mr. Johnstone: The language used •was verv profane.' The trap was standin"' in the road for over 15 minutes. The driver was in the gig. but witness took •no steps to ucl the driver to help hißi ■■.igainst, Warren. The woman did not •yet »p until the prisoner lifted her up. Witness was then KM) yards away. The •woman fell keaiHirst from the gig. \ Maori bov, H Years old. told a similar Htorv. lie said that the. woman was knocked out of the s i«. lie was crossexamined at length hy Mr. .lohnstone, to whom he said that he never saw the driver out- of the gig. The woman, when slu''rose from the ground, could not walk. Lizzie Wuhlcii. a Maori woman, living at Kitimncrc. said tliat on September she was driving ill a gig along the road from 1 lawera to Stmtford. There was another gig on the road containing •icciiseil a woman and the witness Mcl'herson. Her story of the roadsido vow was similar to that of the other Maori witnesses. She saw the accused strike the woman as she lay on the road. ■The woman was struck on the left freest. She was afraid accused would ■kill the woman. Polly Walden, a Maori girl, 14 years

old, con'oboratal tUe .story wliich li«n* mot-lu*r hml inltl. Slit* could not nisn uri'itsi'd iiii one o) ilk' mioii in liu? ■gig-

Dl-ATII IN Til K IiIISIMTAI.. • Mary Myers, a nurse al. the Stra;.ford nospiia!. slateu lliai .-lie was u,: duty on iM>(i|riulN*r 20, .viii'ii Uie uou.au was ailmiltcit to llie Luspuai. Stic nan a, badly-bruised lace. .•■-u- s.ibsc jiiciiily died in the, lio.-pitnl. Police rgeaut McXcaly, of Stratfuri!, deposed lo t«e arrest in' in:.' .uiusca ei. Septoiiibei liti. Later on in tin; ecus accused asked. "What do you umik. I'll get Jor this?" lie replied Uiat Ino woman «•«- si ill had. lo which witness replied licit'she had neen drinking since June, and lhal the blows lie ga.e li-.' would not put her in the hospital, lie said, "It she recovers J will plea.il gr.il \ to having pmiclicd her. When t snvv her face on Sunday I cried like a cliilii. i am fond of tlic woman, and it I had no;, ■been ill link I would nut have ;lono i.. She ma,de inc mail. Vou don't know what I have dune for her, and this 1:; the iirsi- time I have knocked her about.''

l)avni >le\cn-. mcd.eal superintendent, of the Stratford Hospital, deposed that the woman Stanley while in the hospital sull'ered from delirium tremens, ami was badly bruised all over her face and eyes. • liegave particulars of the injuries, winch showed the. woman to have been also bruised all over the body and arms, ijludieil on Oetolier S, and a post-niortoni was held. The cause of death was heart failure due. to chronic alcotioiie poisoning. The bruises would accelerate death, in that they would cause the delirium tremens. With a hard drinker this was usually the result of such injuries, even if the subject had not been drinking lor a few days. The injuries would be ! caused l y punching and kicking. I To Mr. Johnstone: There was nothing to indicate thai the. woman had fallen ; head first from a trap, unless she landed on tile side of her head. . Women bruised more readily than meji. Delirium tremens was a very dangerous disease. When the woman came to the hospital her heart was beating fast and was weak. Delirium tremens was often brought, on from other causes besides bruising. Her 'condition from alcohol alone was suiiieieiit to have caused death. Iler brui.'.es were superlieial. and formed but a slight part of the cause of her death.

To Mr. Weston: The immediate cause of the. delirium tremens was the battering she had received.

There was no evidence for the de fence.

Mr. Johnstone, in the course of a lengthy address, outlined the facts of the case, which he asked the jury to consider without sentiment. He dealt first with the charge of manslaughter, which he contended was supported iiv but tlinisy evidence. In the lirst place, he admitted llint accused did injure the woman, but nothing more. Traversing the facts, he pointed out that llie woman had first irritated the man. who Ind .hitherto been civil to her. lie pointed out some discrepancies between the evidence'of Hie driver and thai, of the Maoris. The matter had. he said, been cxaggeralcd by them, and colored by after events. lteferring to the medical evidence, lie statejl that the only evidence) the jury had as to the cause of death was' that of the doctor, who said she had died from alcoholic poisoning, merely expressing the opinion that the bruises had acei'lerated the. death of the woman. She had already been stiiTcring from a. dangerous disease. There was, hi) further said, no evidence of intent to do grievous bodily harm. ■1 lis Honor, in summing up the evidence, said I hat the admission of the third eoiinl practically decided the whole ease. There was sullieient doubt as to whether the bruises played any part in the woman's death. That could be said without disrespect to the medical evidence. There was. further, a doubt, as to whether then' had been any intent lo commit grievous bodily harm. The case would be met with b.v a verdict of guilty on the charge of committing grievous bodily harm.

After a short retirement the jury returned with a verdict of guilty on the third count onlv. The ■prisoner had nothing to say.

His Honor remarked that accused had T7 previous convictions, some for offences which showed him a most mischievous criminal. Prisoner was a plague to the community, and the facts of this last crime, were most shocking. He would be sentenced to three years' imprisonment with hard labor, and he detained for reformative treatment for a period not exceeding ten years.

The Court then adjourned until 10 a.m. twda...