MURDER CHARGE.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 August 1920, Page 5

MURDER CHARGE.

GIRL MOTHER'S TROUBLE. INTERESTING MEDICAL EVIDENCE. STATEMENT BY ACCUSED. COMMITTED FOR TRIAL. (From Our Special Reporter.) Hawera, Last Night. Mary Oyston, an attractive-looking girl, eighteen years of age, who has been employed in Hawera as a waitress at the Princes Boarding House, was charged before Mr. T. A. B. Bailey, S.M., at tho Hawera Magistrate's Court to-day, that she did, on or about July 4, 1920, at Hawera, murder her infant female child, born on or about July 4, 1920. Sergeant Henry conducted tho case for the police, and Mr. P. J. O'Dea.appeared for the accused. On the application of Sergeant Henry, the Court was cleared during the hearing of the evidence. 'Dr. W. M. Thomson, duly qualified and registered medical practitioner,- residing at Hawera, stated that on Jury 29, he made a .post mortem elimination of the body of a baby recovered from Goodson's dam. The body had been wrapped in two pieces of sheeting, one of whjch had the name "Ollernshaw" : upon it. There were no marks of violence on the body, The body wrb that of a fulltima female child, and he was quite satisfied that it had breathed. In his opinion the cause of death was ob- ' Btaiotion to respiration. by Mr. O'Dea, witness that as/ a rule a child did not byeathe until it was fully born, but there tyere exceptions to this. It only if qujred one'or two breaths to give apV Warance in the lungs that the child had' Breathed. That was fro say that as far | as the 'ungs were concerned, there was' no distinction between a child who had breathed one or two breaths, and one who had breathed some hours. In ,ot»£r words, those one or two breath* jjM&j pletely transform the cause a difference in the circulation. When making the post mortem examina. tion he did not think he could distinguish between a child who had breathed only two or a dozen times, from one who had breathed over one or two nour?. BREATH BEFORE BIRTH. Witness recognised the book by Taylor on Jurisprudence as a standard medical work. His statement that the child breathed was largely based on the condition of the lungs. The lungs were rather a dark red when he examined them. He did not know what the color would have been before the child breathed. He did not xnow of exceptional cases where the child had not •breathed, and yet there was air in the lungs. Mr. O'Dea: If the child breathed after birth, and was placed face downward on a sheet or blanket, and the mother unattended by anyone, may that not have caused death ? Witness: I think it might. Mr. O'Dea: I believe in your opinion the child was dead before It reached the pond. Witness: There was nothing to show it was alive. My evidence as to the child having lived is based principally on the fact that respiration took place. Mr. O'Dea: Can a child breathe before it is born ? Witness: It can make efforts to breathe. Respiration may be performed before tho child is actually born. The Magistrate: Is it a matter of law, Mr. O'Dea? Mr. O'Dea: Yes, a child can be destroyed before it is born, and it is not murder. It may be some other crime, but it is not murder. Mr. O'Dea: Now, J take jt that although you say this child breathed, you are not prepared to say that it was completely born alive? Witness: No. To Sergt. Henry: Witness wished to withdraw the inference he gave in eiydenee the previous day that the child had struggled after it was born, and was therefore alive. THE ACCUSED ILL. May Ollernshaw, wife of the proprietor of the Princes Boarding House, Hawera, said «he knew the accused, whom slie engaged as a waitress about the end of May last. On July 5, witness had to take the work in the dining-room herself as the accused was unable to work owing to her condition. Accused was ill that day, but, next day she?" was better, and she resumed work on the Tuesday morning at half-past six. During the month of July the accused improved in health, and worked better. At no time while accused was with witness did she ask for assistance. It would have been possible for accused to have given birth to a child in the room without any other occupants of the house knowing., Ellen Ollernshaw, wife of George Frederick Ollernshaw, said she resided with her son at the Princes Boarding House, Hawera. She had attended maternity cases, but was not a registered nurse". When witness first saw accused, about the end of May, she thought accused would be confined in about a month or f.ix weeks. Witness next saw accused about seven o'clock on Tuesday morning, and noticed that accused's condition had changed. Witness thought that accused had been confined, but did not say anything. From that time accused began to improve in health. On July 30, witness visited accused's room and by what she found in the room, she was quite satisfied that there had been a child born. Andrew.Kean, curator of the Hawera. .Acclimatisation Society's hatcheries, gave evidence as to finding the body in a I dam. on Mr. Goodson's property on July * THE GIRL SPEAKS. Constable W. H. Andrews' stated at about 1.4,5 p.m. on July 31. in company with Detective-Sergeant Cameron, he saw the accused at the Princes Boarding House. . The detective cross-examined the accused, who said: "I went to work at tiie Egmont Hotel, ana later came here. I had a baby. It was. dead. I was alone. You know .the rest." At the police station witness told accused that he was charging her with the murder of her baby,, and warned her that anything she said would be used in evidence against her. She said: "1 will tell you all about it." Witness again warned her, and she then made a statement which witness typed down. She read it, initialled the corrections, and then signed the statement, in which she said: "I had a child about a month ago on the Monday of Show Week. I was j in the room by myself when it was born [and no one know that I had it. It was I