WOMAN REMANDED.
ALLEGED ASSAULT ON HUSBAND
MAN’S CONDITION SERIOUS
(Per Press Association.) DUNEDIN, This Day.
Stating that the assaulted man was in a very serious condition and that his life was endangered, Chief Detective Holmes asked for a remand in the case of Eva Dickson, 30, charged in the Police Court with having assaulted her husband, William Dickson, so as to cause actual bodily harm.
The man is alleged to have been struck over the head with an axe, the assault being committed early this morning.
The accused was remanded. Bail was refused. -Ashburton Guardian, 12/12/1938.
ALLEGED ASSAULT
MAN DIES IN HOSPITAL.
WIFE HELD IN CUSTODY.
MORE SERIOUS CHARGE LIKELY.
(Per Press Association.) DUNEDIN, This Day.
The death occurred in hospital, this morning of William Dickson, 30, admitted yesterday morning suffering from head injuries.
Deceased’s wife, Eva Dickson, 30, appeared before the Police Court yesterday, charged with having assaulted her husband so as to cause actual bodily harm.
On the application of the Police she was remanded till Monday. It is probable a more serious charge will now be preferred against accused. -Ashburton Guardian, 13/12/1938.
MURDER CHARGE
MAN’S DEATH IN HOSPITAL.
WIFE BEFORE COURT.
REMANDED TILL JANUARY 12.
(Per Press Association.) DUNEDIN, This Day.
When Jessie Eva Dickson appeared on remand in the Police Court this morning the police withdrew the charge of assault so as to cause bodily harm, and substituted a charge of having murdered William Dickson on December 12.
Accused was remanded till January 12. Dickson died in hospital at Dunedin last Tuesday morning. He was admitted the previous day suffering from head injuries. His wife was arrested on a charge of actual bodily harm. -Ashburton Guardian, 19/12/1938.
A DOMESTIC TRAGEDY
MAN’S DEATH FROM INJURIES
WIFE CHARGED WITH MURDER
PLEA OF NOT GUILTY
A domestic tragedy which occurred in Dunedin on the morning of December 12 and resulted in the death of a man from injuries to the head allegedly caused by a tomahawk wielded by his wife, had its sequel in the City Police Court yesterday, when Jessie Eva Dickson, aged 30 years, appeared before Mr J. R. Bartholomew. S.M., charged with having murdered her husband, William Dickson. Chief Detective Holmes conducted the prosecution, and Mr J. G. Warrington appeared for the accused. The inquest proceedings were taken concurrently with the hearing of the charge.
Discovery of Tragedy
The first witness for the prosecution was Dr E. R. Harty, who said that, on the morning of December 12, a few minutes before 7 o’clock, he went to a house in Albany street in response to a telephone message from a woman that her husband was dying. When he arrived at the house the accused admitted him. and he saw William Dickson lying on a double bed in a front room. As witness was walking towards the bed the accused said: “I do not know why I did it, but he has been going out with other women.” Witness asked what she had done it with the accused replying “An axe.”
Witness found the patient unconscious and restless, his head was bleeding. and from his position it appeared that he had been lying on his right side. When asked for the axe, the accused produced it. and there was hair and blood on it. The tomahawk (produced) was the weapon which had been shown him. Witness summoned an ambulance, and the patient was removed to the Public Hospital.
When witness arrived at the house the patient was in his night apparel. He had the bedclothes up around his chest, and had apparently been struck whilst asleep, or at any rate he did not see the first blow being struck. He had no other injuries apart from those on the left side of the head and cheek, and he was apparently suffering from a fractured skull, a fractured cheekbone, and numerous lacerations in the area between the outer margin of the left eye and the left ear below, and the left side of the skull above. The accused was agitated and weeping, especially when witness left her at a neighbour’s residence. When witness attended the post-mortem examination he saw that the injuries disclosed were consistent with the deceased having received blows from the tomahawk produced in court.
To Mr Warrington: It was not possible to say whether the deceased was asleep or not when the blows were struck. The accused, who seemed thoroughly distraught, was waiting on the doorstep for witness’s arrival, and she seemed very anxious that her husband should live.
Finding of Axe
Constable Squire, of the North Dunedin station, who was summoned by Dr Harty, described the condition of the bed and pillow, which were bloodstained. The bed clothes were thrown back, but there was no sign of any struggle having taken place. A search revealed a short-handled axe in the coal box in the scullery. The accused was crying bitterly and loudly and kept repeating, “Oh, why did I do it? Oh, it’s terrible!” The kitchen table was partly set for two persons, and on a plate was a single slice of bread.
Replying to Mr Warrington, witness stated that, the accused was very upset. There were knives and forks laid on the table for two persons, and also a table napkin where, presumably, the child would sit.
Medical Evidence
Evidence as to the injuries received by the deceased was tendered by Dr K. F. M. Uttley, an acting house surgeon at the Dunedin Public Hospital. He considered that at least three blows had been struck. The patient became quieter as the day went on, but as a result of his condition later in the afternoon Mr Speight performed an operation. The patient was kept under observation, but he did not regain consciousness, and died at 12.15 a.m. on the following morning. In witness’s opinion, the cause of death was fracture of the skull and laceration of the brain, which could have been caused by the carpenter’s tomahawk previously produced.
Photographs Submitted
Detective Brown, police photographer, produced photographs of the bedroom which had been occupied by William Dickson. James Alfred Samuel, a laboratory assistant at the Medical School, also gave evidence; and Frank Rochfort, a draughtsman, submitted a plan of the apartment occupied by the Dicksons. To Mr Warrington, the witness Rochfort said that the distance from the coal box in the scullery to the side of the bed nearest the window was 26 feet 4 inches.
Post-mortem Examination
Dr D. T. Stewart, assistant pathologist, and Dr E. F D’Ath, professor of pathology at the Dunedin Medical School, detailed the result of a postmortem examination of the deceased and of blood stains found on the head of the tomahawk and the accused’s dress. The former witness gave it as his opinion that the injuries were the result of the deceased being struck a number of blows — at least four, and possibly six — with a heavy blunt instrument. The tomahawk shown him could have inflicted the injuries.
Devoted to Husband
Robert Beatson Dickson, a salesman and brother of the deceased, said that the latter was 29 years of age at the time of his death. He was born in Dunedin, and was a carpenter by occupation.
To Mr Warrington: From what witness knew, the accused was very respectable and a good housekeeper. She was absolutely devoted to her husband and to the child.
“A Good Woman"
Reata Hannah Barr, a neighbour of the Dicksons, gave evidence of the accused having come to her a few minutes after 7 o’clock on the morning of December 12, and asking her to mind her child while she telephoned a doctor. When witness inquired if Mr Dickson was ill, the accused replied, ‘‘l think I have killed him.” She also said she had hit him either with an axe or a hammer, witness could not remember which, and added: “He has been carrying on with other women.”
Cross-examined by Mr Warrington, witness said that the accused was a good woman, a good housewife, and a good mother to her child. She seemed devoted to her husband.
Associated With Other Women
William Henry Saunders, petrol station and vulcanising plant proprietor, said that he had known the accused and her husband for some years. On December 10 the accused complained to witness that her husband had been leaving her during week-ends and that she had caught him in Temuka coming out of the pictures with a girl who said that she had no knowledge that Dickson was a married man and expressed regret for having been out with him. The accused told witness that she had a letter which had been written to Dickson and said “I have caught him before and we have talked of a separation, but he wants the custody of the boy.” She intimated to witness that she would take care that no other woman should have Bill, her husband. She showed witness a letter signed "Margaret.” and witness read it. The accused asked him if he would speak to her husband, as she had done all that she could to break him of his association with other women and would do anything in her power to make him faithful to her. She was in a very agitated state.
To Mr Warrington: From his knowledge, the accused was very fond of her husband and her child.
The Accused’s Story
Detective Sergeant Hall said that when he first spoke to the accused and asked her what had happened, she replied. “He has been neglecting me for other women.” Witness found the axe (produced) in the coal-box, and the accused then handed him the letter which had previously been mentioned.
Witness produced a statement made on the morning the accused was arrested which stated that her husband was a carpenter on the railway, working at Temuka and latterly at Waitaki. Her husband had been carrying on with a girl at Temuka, and witness found him coming out of the pictures with this girl. He made all sorts of promises. Latterly he had been going out with a girl named Margaret from Pukeuri. The accused said she knew the girl had gone away with her husband for the week-end. She then admitted having gone to the coal-box for the tomahawk and given her husband a blow on the head with it.
In a further statement made after the accused was informed that she was to be charged with murder, she said that she was married in 1935, and that there was one child. Her husband and she had arranged to go for the holidays at Christmas, with the child, to her parents’ home in Central Otago, On December 9, as her husband had been off work with a heavy cold, she procured the railway tickets, and it was later in the afternoon that she was given a letter sent to her husband by a girl called Margaret, from Pukeuri. Having suspicions as to his conduct, she did not give the letter to her husband, but read it herself. She said nothing until the following Sunday morning in bed, when a quarrel arose because her husband, when the little boy put his arms around his neck pushed him away and made him cry. She said to her husband that it would have been all right if it had been the girl who had her arms around his neck, but he did not want the little boy near him. An argument arose about the girl, and the husband's proposal to go away with her for the holidays, and he suggested that he and the accused should separate and that he would take the child. The accused said that she would fight to keep the child, whereupon the deceased agreed, and said that he would pay her 25s a week.
On the accused’s saying that she could not live on that, he said that he would give her more and he would still be getting off lightly. One minute he wanted a separation and the next he did not, and they seemed to be arguing backwards and forwards all day without getting anywhere, and in between the quarrels the deceased hardly spoke. The accused tried without success to persuade him to go with her to Cromwell. The argument continued until a late hour that night, and she did not sleep at all.
On the Monday morning, she rose about 6.30. lit the kitchen fire, and made preparations to get her washing done so that she could go to town to buy Christmas presents. When she called her husband he said that he did not feel well enough to go to work, and after reminding him that he had been able to go about during the week-end, she again tried to persuade him to go on a holiday with her and the child, and leave the other girl alone. While she was at the coal box in the scullery, her husband called out that he was going to Oamaru, and that “she” would be lonely if he did not go. “I said,” the statement continued, “what about Billy and me being lonely; she’s only known you for a few months, but we’ve known each other for nine years. I have loved you and shielded you and stood by you when you were in trouble — even given you the money I’d worked for and saved — and now this is what you do to me.
“Feelings Boiled Over'’-
“He did not answer, and then I don’t know what came over me, but as I was bending over the coal box with the axe with which I had been breaking up coal in my hand, I seemed to want to hit him or something — just something to give vent to my feelings. I went into the bedroom and round to the side of the bed facing him, and struck him with the axe. I did not want to kill him — I do not think I even wanted to hurt him — in spite of all he had done, I worshipped him. I thought there was no one like Bill. I don’t know what made me do it; my feelings just seemed to boil over,”
The statement went on to say that the accused, as soon as she saw the blood realised what she had done, and dropped the axe, She then took her little boy to a neighbour’s house and telephoned Dr Harty, who summoned an ambulance and sent her husband to hospital. After this, she telephoned her mother and waited in an adjacent shop for the arrival of the police.
Week-end at Christchurch
Replying to Mr Warrington, witness said that the accused had been crying. She was completely frank when making her statements. Inquiries disclosed that the deceased was associating with a girl in Temuka, to whom he posed as a man separated from his wife, and that he had spent a weekend at Christchurch with a girl named Margaret, who came from Richmond, near Pukeuri. From witness’s observations, the accused appeared to be fond of her husband.
Re-examined by Chief Detective Holmes, the girl at Temuka stated that in the earlier stage of her acquaintanceship with the deceased, he had not told her that he was single nor had he said that he was married.
Committed for Trial
On the accused’s behalf. Mr Warrington entered a plea of not guilty, and she was committed to the Supreme Court for trial.
Inquest Proceedings
His Worship intimated that he would postpone recording his verdict until the indictable charge had been disposed of. -Otago Daily Times, 13/1/1939.
Manslaughter Verdict In Dunedin Murder Charge
[Per Press Association. Copyright.] DUNEDIN, This Day.
The whole of the evidence was heard yesterday in the Supreme Court, before the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, and a jury, in the case in which Jessie Eva Dickson, aged 30, is charged with the murder of her husband, William Dickson, at Dunedin on December 12. Accused pleaded not guilty.
Crown’s Contentions.
The Crown Prosecutor said there were three possible verdicts in the case — guilty of murder, guilty of manslaughter, or not guilty. He anticipated that controversy in the case would centre around the question whether the act of the accused should be characterised as murder or manslaughter. For a verdict of manslaughter to be justified, it would be necessary for the act to have been committed in the heat of passion — sudden and provoked passion. In this case, deceased had intimated to his wife that he intended to spend the Christmas holidays, not with her and their infant child, but with another woman.
The question was whether the act was committed in a fit of passion, and whether the circumstances were such as would cause a normal person to lose self-control.
Doctor’s Evidence.
Dr. Harty said that a few minutes before 7 a.m. on December 12 he received a telephone call. The voice at the other end said: “Come quickly. My husband is dying.” He went to the house, the door being opened by the accused, who said: “I do not know why I did it, but he has been going out with another woman.” In a room, witness saw deceased lying on the bed. He was then still alive, but showed signs of severe injuries on the left side of his face and skull. As witness was walking to a neighbour’s, the accused picked up an axe and said: “This is the axe.” Accused was upset and crying.
Gruesome Photographs.
James Alfred Samuel, laboratory assistant at the Medical School, gave evidence of having taken photographs of the body of the deceased in the hospital morgue. The photographs were put in as evidence.
“Why put in these photographs?” asked His Honour. “They are gruesome details. The jury has been given the facts by two doctors about blows on the face. How can the photographs carry the matter any further?
“Well, gentlemen,” His Honour added, addressing the jury, “the photographs are in, and if you wish to see them you may. They are no doubt gruesome, and I do not intend to look at them myself, as I do not think it is necessary.”
The Crown Prosecutor: My object in putting the photographs in was to enable the jury to see them if it wished.
“I had the same thing in Wellington some time ago,” the Chief Justice added. “Photographs should be taken, as they may be necessary, but, as it happens, in this case they are not. I thought in that case that the accused might be prejudiced by the effects of the photographs on the jury.”
Robert Beatson Dickson, brother of deceased, said the couple had been married about four years. Accused was, to his knowledge, a good woman and housewife, devoted to her husband and boy,
'‘Going With Other Women.”
Reata Hanna Barr, who lived on the floor above the Dicksons, said that on the morning of December 12 accused came upstairs, to her apartment between 6.45 a.m. and 7 a.m. She said she had hit her husband, and that he had been going about with other women.
William Henry Saunders, petrol station proprietor, said that on the Saturday before Dickson was killed, accused came to his premises with a letter. It was addressed to her husband, and accused talked also about her husband’s “carryings on” with other women.
Accused’s Statement.
Detective-Sergeant Hall said that, on the morning of December 12, he visited the house and took a statement from accused, in which she made reference to her husband’s misdemeanours, and said that, after an argument, she had hit him on the head with a carpenter’s axe. Later, at the police station, she made another statement, in which she said the argument which provoked the blow arose when her husband said he was going to spend the holidays with another woman. She wept when informed of her husband’s death, being very much grieved.
Witness said that police inquiries confirmed that a little more than a week before the tragedy deceased and a girl stayed in a room together in an hotel in Christchurch.
The court adjourned until to-day.
Judge’s Direction.
Counsel invited the jury to bring in a verdict of manslaughter, as the act did not constitute premeditated homicide.
The Chief Justice, summing-up, said he did not draw from the accused’s first statement the inference that the Grown invited the jury to draw. “I hope I show no injustice to the Crown Prosecutor when I say his address showed some lack of appreciation of the ordinary impulses of human nature.”
The question was whether what was said and done before the offence was sufficient to try the patience of the accused.
If the jury accepted the accused’s statement as substantially correct, he thought they should find a verdict of manslaughter.
Manslaughter Verdict,
The jury retired at 12.12 p.m., returning at 12.55 with a verdict of manslaughter and a recommendation to mercy. The Chief Justice approved the recommendation, and sentenced the accused to 18 months’ reformative detention. -Northern Advocate, 2/2/1939.
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