THE MAREO CASE

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19902, 3 June 1936, Page 8

THE MAREO CASE

RETRIAL PROCEEDINGS. | | CROWN EVIDENCE STARTS. ALLEGATIONS OF POISONING. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, Tuesday. The retrial of Eric Mareo, musician, on a charge of murdering his wife, Thelma Clarice Mareo, on April 15 j of last year, by administering a hypnotic drug, was continued before Mr Justice Gallan and a jury in the Supreme Court to-day. Messrs V. R. Meredith and F. McCarthy appeared for the Crown and Messrs H. F. O'Lean'. K.C., T. Henry and K. C. Aekins defended the accused. Evidence was given by a grocer, Adam James Copeland, and his assistant, Kenneth James Bark, that the week before her death Mrs Mareo was in her usual health. Replying to Mr Henry, witness, Bark, said he did not remember her in a nervous condition at any time in 1935. A civil servant, Hubert William Edward Smith, a friend of Mareo’s, said he visited the house about twice monthly. He had once seen Mrs Mareo drink half a cup of light wine. The Thursday before her death he saw her standing on a rrfll at the back of the house picking beans. Mareo mentioned to witness after his wife’s death\ that she used to drink. Cross-examined by Mr O’Leary, witness said he did not remember Mrs Mareo visiting the doctor in March 1935. He had ’not seen her in a highly nervous, irritable condition in March nor in a state of nervous exhaustion. He had heard she fainted towards the end of the “ Duchess of Danzig ” operatic performance and knew of Mareo’s project for a film story, “ Plume of the Arawas,” and Mareo had said his wife was to take the leading part. She was an excellent actress and an asset to any company. He had never heard her being laid up in bed for a number oi days. Betty Mareo’s Evidence. Elizabeth Patricia Mareo, aged 21, known as Betty Mareo, said she was born in England and went- to Australia in 1931 with Mareo and her brother Graham. Her mother died in England in 1928. When Mareo went to New Zealand with the revue company witness and her brother remained in Sydney. She learned later that Mareo married Thelma Trott in Wellington. Witness and her brother came to Auckland and lived with Mareo and his wife, first, at Buckland's Beach and later at Tenterden Avenue. A fortnight before Mrs Mareo's death witness left the house. She had not got on very well with Mrs Mareo and took a i position. She paid occasional visits and was there on Friday, April 12, arriving at 5.45. Mareo and Graham were there. Mrs Mareo was in bed but she got up and all gave a. hand to get. the evening meal. Witness went next door after tea and on return “daddy” told her, Mrs Mareo had , washed the dishes. Before witness' left “daddy” gave her a letter and on I the envelope was written: “ Not to be ; opened unless you hear of my death.” i Mareo appeared worried about Thelma, saying he wanted to get her away for a holiday. Removal of Labels. Some people had asked Mrs Mareo away for Easter, Betty continued, and Mareo was trying to persuade her to | go. Mrs Mareo was ill frequently when witness was in the house and always complained of her appendix. After ner death witness started to clean up the house. There were present Mareo, Graham, Eleanor Brownlee and two detectives. Witness removed two labels from bottles, one marked barbitone, and both having chemists's names. Witness destroyed the labels after she had removed them with hot water and threw the bottles in the dustbin. She removed the labels to prevent, the chemists getting into trouble. Vero- j nal was mentioned to witness for the first time when she was being interviewed by the detectives. It was the ; first time she knew veronal and bar- i bilone were the same thing. It had not been discussed by the household. “ Not On Very Good Terms.” ' Cross-examined by Mr O’Leary Betty said on Friday evening Mrs Mareo got up but took no part in preparing the evening meal. She passed ; along /the corridor twice but witness did not meet her. During that visit, she was not on good terms with her stepmother, but not exactly bad terms. It was not a case of never speaking to each other. The contents of the letter given her that evening by Mareo had been investigated by solicitors and found to be true. Witness removed the labels from the bottles entirely on her own initiative and on the spur of the moment. One day while looking in a trunk in the wash-liouse for a box of paints she found a photograph of Freda Stark unclothed. Miss Brownlee was a frequent visitor to the house and she and Mareo were writing a scenario for a film. The production of the film could not have very well gone on without Thelma Mareo. The Court at this stage adjourned for luncheon. Proceeding, the witness Betty Mareo said "Mrs Mareo used to express herself as having a horror of having a child. “She was always talking about it, and it seemed quite an obsession.” said witness. “She said she would rather die than have a child.” Witness said Mrs Mareo took a lot of liquor during “The Duchess of Dantzic” production, and while witness was keeping house for her after Christmas for about 1U days. Witness once took a bottle of liquor away from Freda Stark when she was taking it to Mrs Mareo. She had never seen any signs of improper reI lationship or friendship between Mareo and Eleanor Brownlee. Arrangements | were being made for Mrs Mareo to I go away for a motor trip with a friend at Easter, 1935, and Mareo wanted Evidence of Chemists. Stephen Barclay, chemist, said Marco began to come into his shop about the end of 1934. About the end of March. 1935. Mareo came to I him for veronal, and witness sold him 25 five-grain tablets of barbitonn, I ..tier explaining that veronal and barbitonc were the same. There was no I restriction on Hie sale of these be-

[fore April 1. 1035. The drug was iused as a hypnotic or a sedative. ' His Honour. Did you know the re—striction was pending?—Yes, intimaltion was given in trade papers that ‘there was to be restriction after that date. Cross—examined by Mr Aekins, \\'itness said the piece of charred paper with the latters “Barb" on it. might {have come either from a bottle or ifrom the carton containing the bottle } Sidney Ron'bottom, chemist, said :he first met Maren as a customer iahout 18 months prior to April or liist‘ iyear. On April 6 of last year Marco lcame into his pharmacy and asked for" Iveronal, as he was not sleeping pro—iperly. \\"itness gave him one or twoi lveronai tablets and made up the bal-i ;ance of a dozen with barbitune tablets. i iHe identified his private mark on the“ ihottie produced. Taking veronal int Imiik was contrary to Squires Com-i Ipanion to the British Pharmacopoeia; ;although it was in the directions on‘ ‘lthe manufacturers' label that one ;methud of giving it was in milk. Wit—‘ness instructed Mareo to be careful in linking the tablets. About six (lays iiuter Maren name back for inure lveronal, and said he \\as sleeping ibetter. Further Pu’rchases. To Mr Henry witness ulzrm‘ll that \‘e'mnal was a liuhil»l‘nrmiim .lrilLh !The new poisun l‘l'gulutinm \\'l'l'l‘ nut igazeitml \\hcn hr iuullr tin-w .\s|](‘.\' In .\lareoi } Dgu'iii G. )lOX‘FR’HL I'hrmisl. shill :Ilmul. .jn fortnight. iwt‘ui'v linslmr ul' Ill>l )rrur Marco hurl cumi‘ In his shop :illtl ..Ifikt‘ll for a mixture fur his \\'ii'u \\'iiness made, up a iu'unnish-lilxu'k mixture in which there \\ns nu \‘L'i'nuuli it was a general lnnic. lli‘ also ,me‘ .\[areo some m‘nrium tululols, whit-h ‘\\‘ere a greyish—brmvn. ; To Mr U'Leiu‘) \\’iluuss said that it‘ Marco thought his wife was pregnant he might think he had cumniiliml un uffencc in giving her this mmlil-imu The Court iILUOUI‘HL‘tI until this ‘inorning