- 7 months ago
Joan Hickson plays eccentric Mary Freebody, who is in the dock accused of attempted murder!
Watch out for appearances by Daphne Heard and Jonathan Elsom, both who had roles in To The Manor Born. William Mervyn, who plays the judge, also appeared in the 1964 Miss Marple film Murder Ahoy. Liz Dawn (Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street) is an extra as a policewoman.
Watch out for appearances by Daphne Heard and Jonathan Elsom, both who had roles in To The Manor Born. William Mervyn, who plays the judge, also appeared in the 1964 Miss Marple film Murder Ahoy. Liz Dawn (Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street) is an extra as a policewoman.
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TVTranscript
00:00:00You
00:00:30The case you're about to see is fictional
00:00:35But the jury is made up of members of the public who will assess the evidence and deliver their own verdict at the end
00:00:41of the program
00:01:00On March the 28th of this year, Miss Mary Freebody's cat was savaged and killed by Bang, an Alsatian dog belonging to her next-door neighbor, Major Basil Eccleston.
00:01:15A week later, on the 4th of April, meat ordered by the Ecclestons was delivered to the outside safe of their house.
00:01:22That evening, Major Eccleston took from the safe some liver for his dog.
00:01:26The dog ate a portion of the liver, was instantly thrown into violent convulsions, and died.
00:01:32The contents of its stomach were analyzed and found to contain a massive amount of cyanide of potassium.
00:01:38A tin of wasp exterminator containing a high proportion of cyanide was found in Miss Freebody's shrubbery, half empty.
00:01:45The Major made to the police an accusation of attempted murder against Miss Freebody, maintaining that she had had the intention of killing not only his dog, but himself.
00:01:54A police investigation has led to her being charged, and now she stands trial at the Crown Court in Fulchester.
00:02:01During the afternoon of April the 4th.
00:02:03Club. Bridge. Every Friday. As was well known to my neighbor.
00:02:09Quite so. Your wife was at home, I think.
00:02:12Migraine in her room.
00:02:14Yes. And you returned when?
00:02:166.30.
00:02:18May we have the order of events from then on, Major?
00:02:20I, uh, I had a drink.
00:02:23Listened to the wireless.
00:02:25At 7 o'clock I went to the safe to get the dog's food.
00:02:28Yes, the safe. Where is it?
00:02:30In the outside wall by the back door.
00:02:32It's a two-door safe. You can open it inside from the pantry.
00:02:36The butcher uses the outside door, as could anyone else.
00:02:41It's opposite her bathroom window and her side door, and her gate into the right-of-way, and my gate into the right-of-way.
00:02:47She could have got to it in a matter of seconds.
00:02:49Quite so, Major. We shall come to that presently.
00:02:51Now, did you use the inside door of the safe to the pantry when you got the dog's liver?
00:02:56Yes, I did.
00:02:57Major, can you describe the wrapping at all? Did you happen to notice it?
00:03:01As a matter of fact, I did. It was two or three layers of the daily telegraph.
00:03:05Good. So, you removed the liver from the safe, and then?
00:03:09I unwrapped the liver, put it in the dog's dish, and took it down to the kennel.
00:03:14The dog being tied up?
00:03:15Certainly.
00:03:16And then?
00:03:19Put it down in front of him.
00:03:22How many pieces?
00:03:23Two, all there was. Only gave him liver on Fridays. Other nights, doggy bits and yaps. Sundays, a bone.
00:03:31What are doggy bits and yaps?
00:03:34I understand they are proprietary canine foods, my lord.
00:03:40Yes, Major. So, you put the dish before the dog, and?
00:03:44He swallowed part of one piece.
00:03:48Yes.
00:03:50Well, it happened at once. Terrible contortions, convulsions, agony.
00:03:59My God, I've seen some terrible things in my time, but nothing like that.
00:04:04It was my dog, sir. It was bang, my dog, my faithful old bang.
00:04:12Yes, a most painful experience, Major, and one is sorry to revive it. Mercifully, it was soon over, wasn't it?
00:04:20Nothing merciful about it, sir. A spiteful, deliberate murder brought about by a filthy-minded, vindictive old cat.
00:04:28Cat, cat, you dirt, what are the words?
00:04:30I do so advise it, madam. Cat, cat is what I said, and cat is what I meant.
00:04:34Silence.
00:04:35Silence.
00:04:36If there is any repetition of this grossly improper behavior, I shall treat it as contempt of court. Do you understand?
00:04:42A great provocation, Mary.
00:04:44What is that? Speak up.
00:04:46I apologize, my lord.
00:04:48So I should hope.
00:04:50My lord, Major Eccleston, I want you to tell his lordship and the jury what happened after the death of the dog.
00:04:57My wife came down. At my suggestion, she telephoned for Dr. Swale.
00:05:03Why not a veterinary surgeon?
00:05:05I have no opinion of the local vet, my lord.
00:05:09I see.
00:05:10Besides, there was my wife.
00:05:12Your wife, Major Eccleston?
00:05:14She was upset. He gave her a pill. I had a drink.
00:05:19I see.
00:05:21Go on, please, Major.
00:05:23Dr. Swale took away the remaining portion of the liver to be analyzed.
00:05:28And he will...
00:05:30We...
00:05:32He also removed the body.
00:05:36Was there any other event before or at about this time which may have any bearing on the matter?
00:05:40Certainly.
00:05:41Well, please tell the court what it was, Major.
00:05:43That woman...
00:05:46The accused...
00:05:48Bathroom window overlooks my premises.
00:05:51It has a Venetian blind.
00:05:53She's in the habit of spying on us through the slats.
00:05:56I distinctly saw them. The slats, I mean.
00:05:59Open in one place.
00:06:00And when did you see this?
00:06:02Immediately after Dr. Swale left.
00:06:04She had watched the whole performance and gloated over it.
00:06:07You are here to relate what you have observed, Major, not what you conjecture.
00:06:13Now, had anything occurred in the past to make bad blood between you and the defendant?
00:06:17Yes.
00:06:18What was it?
00:06:19A cat.
00:06:20A what?
00:06:22She had a cat, my lord.
00:06:24A mangy brute of a thing.
00:06:27Lies! Lies! My cat was an animal...
00:06:29Yes, well, never mind what sort of cat it was.
00:06:32Yes, Major?
00:06:33About a week earlier, it strayed into my garden at night.
00:06:37Not for the first time.
00:06:39Always doing it.
00:06:40Yowling and digging.
00:06:42Drove my dog frantic.
00:06:45Naturally, he broke his tether.
00:06:46Tore it away with part of the kennel.
00:06:48And then?
00:06:49Ask yourself.
00:06:51But I'm asking you, you know.
00:06:53Made short work of poor pussy!
00:06:57Miss Freebody! Miss Freebody!
00:07:00You must be silent.
00:07:01Don't you dare...
00:07:02Mr. O'Connor, would you speak to your client, please, and explain.
00:07:06Certainly, my lord.
00:07:07Now, what were the results of the cat's demise?
00:07:11She kicked up a dust.
00:07:13In what way?
00:07:14Waylaid my wife.
00:07:16Went to the police.
00:07:17Wrote letters.
00:07:18Threatened to do me in.
00:07:20And did you keep any of these letters?
00:07:22The last one.
00:07:23Burnt the rest.
00:07:24About five altogether.
00:07:26My lord, may the Major be shown Exhibit 2, please.
00:07:31Now, is that the letter which you retain, Major?
00:07:34Yes, it is.
00:07:36It reads, members of the jury,
00:07:38This is my final warning.
00:07:40Unless your brute is destroyed within the next three days,
00:07:44I shall take steps to ensure that justice is done
00:07:47not only upon it, but upon yourself.
00:07:50Neither you nor it is fit to live.
00:07:53Take warning, M. E. Freebody.
00:07:56Now, you received this letter when, Major?
00:07:58First of April.
00:08:00Silence in court.
00:08:01Can you describe the nature of the letters you'd received before this one, Major?
00:08:05Same thing.
00:08:06Threats.
00:08:07To you personally?
00:08:09Saying that my dog ought to die
00:08:11and that if I didn't act smartly, we both would.
00:08:14Yes, and it was after the death of the dog
00:08:16and in consideration of these circumstances
00:08:18that you decided to go to the police.
00:08:20Certainly.
00:08:21Decided that she meant business and that I was at risk personally.
00:08:25My wife persuaded me to act.
00:08:27Thank you, Major Eccleston.
00:08:32Major Eccleston,
00:08:34would you describe yourself as a hot-tempered man?
00:08:38I would not.
00:08:39I would not.
00:08:40Major Eccleston,
00:08:41during the five years that you've lived in Peascale,
00:08:44you've quarrelled violently with your landlord,
00:08:46your late doctor,
00:08:47the secretary of your club,
00:08:49your postman, and your butcher, have you not?
00:08:51I have not quarrelled violently with anyone, sir.
00:08:55When I encounter stupidity,
00:08:57impertinence,
00:08:58and downright inefficiency,
00:09:00I make known my objections, that is all.
00:09:03As to the tune of threatening the postman with a horse whip
00:09:06and your butcher's boy with an Alsatian dog?
00:09:08I refuse to stand here.
00:09:13Listen to this kind of nonsense.
00:09:18What is all this, Major?
00:09:20Are you eating something?
00:09:22I suffer from duodenal ulcers, my lord.
00:09:25I've taken a capsule.
00:09:27Very well.
00:09:30Major Eccleston,
00:09:31was the liver the only thing in the safe that evening?
00:09:33No, it wasn't.
00:09:34Stuff for a mixed grill on Fridays.
00:09:37Chops, kidneys, sausages, that sort of thing.
00:09:40Yes, and these have been delivered with the dog's meat that afternoon?
00:09:43Yes, they have.
00:09:44Did you have your mixed grill?
00:09:46Good God, no.
00:09:47No fear.
00:09:48Chucked it out, destroyed it.
00:09:50Great mistake, as I now realise.
00:09:53Poisoned like the other, not a doubt of it.
00:09:55The whole lot intended for me.
00:09:58And what about Mrs. Eccleston?
00:10:01Vegetarian.
00:10:03I see.
00:10:04Can I have the list of complaints, please?
00:10:10Major Eccleston, is it true, apart from my client,
00:10:13there have been five other complaints about the character and behaviour of your dog?
00:10:18The dog was...
00:10:20was perfectly docile and less provoked.
00:10:23They baited him.
00:10:25And is it not the case that you've received two warnings from the police
00:10:28to keep your dog under proper control?
00:10:32I beg your pardon?
00:10:34Balderdash!
00:10:36Yes, you are under oath, Major.
00:10:39Have you received two such warnings from the police?
00:10:47Yes, I have.
00:10:49Thank you, Major.
00:10:54Dr. Swale, you were called into the elms on the evening of the 4th of April, were you not?
00:10:59Ah, yes.
00:11:00Mrs. Eccleston rang me up and she sounded so upset that I went round.
00:11:04And what did you find when you got there, Doctor?
00:11:06Major Eccleston was in the yard, near the dog kennel,
00:11:09with the Alsatian's body at his feet.
00:11:11And Mrs. Eccleston?
00:11:12She was standing nearby.
00:11:14She suffers from migraine and this business with the dog hadn't done anything to help her.
00:11:17I took her back up to her room, had a look at her,
00:11:20and gave her one of the stem cell tablets I'd prescribed.
00:11:22And then?
00:11:23I rejoined the Major downstairs.
00:11:26Yes.
00:11:27Yes, he of course realised the dog had been poisoned
00:11:29and he asked me as a personal favour
00:11:31to get an analysis of what was left of the liver the dog had been eating
00:11:34and of the contents of the dog's stomach.
00:11:36I arranged this with the pathology department of the General Hospital.
00:11:38Ah, yes, we've heard evidence of that.
00:11:40Massive quantities of potassium cyanide were found.
00:11:43Yes.
00:11:44And did you subsequently discuss with Major Eccleston the possible source of this cyanide?
00:11:48Ah, yes.
00:11:50Now, Dr. Swale, were you shown any letters by Major Eccleston?
00:11:54Yes, from the defendant.
00:11:56I remember in particular the one that said that his dog ought to die
00:11:59and if he didn't act smartly, they both would.
00:12:01And what view did you take of these letters, Doctor?
00:12:03Oh, a very serious one.
00:12:05They threatened his life.
00:12:07Yes, indeed.
00:12:08Thank you, Dr. Swale.
00:12:11Dr. Swale, you've known the Ecclestons for some time, haven't you?
00:12:15Ah, yes.
00:12:17In fact, you were close friends.
00:12:19I've known them for some years.
00:12:21Would you consider Major Eccleston a reliable sort of person
00:12:25where personal judgements are concerned?
00:12:28I don't follow you.
00:12:30Really?
00:12:31Well, let me put it another way.
00:12:33If antagonism had developed between Major Eccleston and another person,
00:12:38would you consider his attitude towards them to be a sober, fair and balanced one?
00:12:44Well, under such circumstances, there are very few people, I think, of whom that could be said.
00:12:49Yes, well, I'm suggesting that at the time we are speaking of,
00:12:52a feud developed between Major Eccleston and Miss Freebody
00:12:56and his attitude towards her was intemperate and wholly biased.
00:13:03Well, Doctor?
00:13:04I think that's putting it rather strongly.
00:13:08Do you?
00:13:09Indeed.
00:13:11Thank you, Doctor.
00:13:13Well, you may leave the witness box, Dr. Swale.
00:13:17You are Thomas Tidwell, butcher's assistant of the West End Butchery,
00:13:218 Park Street, Peascale, near Fulchester.
00:13:24Yes.
00:13:25On Friday, the 4th of April, did you deliver two packets of meat at the Elms No. 1, Sherwood Grove?
00:13:31Yes.
00:13:32Describe them, if you please.
00:13:34Yes.
00:13:35How were they wrapped?
00:13:36In paper.
00:13:38Yes, of course. But what sort of paper?
00:13:40Yes.
00:13:42Were they wrapped in brown paper or were they wrapped in newspaper?
00:13:46One of each.
00:13:48Now, did you know, for instance, the contents of the newspaper parcel?
00:13:52What was in it?
00:13:54Liver.
00:13:55And how did you know that?
00:13:56It was bloody, wasn't it? Liver is bloody. Bleed through anything. I've seen it, don't I? Bled through the comics.
00:14:02Are you chewing something, Tidwell?
00:14:04Yes.
00:14:05Remove it.
00:14:13You're sure of this, are you? The wrapping was a page from a comic publication, was it?
00:14:18That's what I said, don't I? I've seen it, don't I?
00:14:21Yes, and if I tell you that Major Eccleston says that the liver was wrapped in sheets from the Daily Telegraph, what would you say?
00:14:26Once his head read, or else he was pit-squiffy.
00:14:29Yes, yes, yes. Very good, very good.
00:14:32Now, will you tell the court how you put the parcels away?
00:14:35Well, like I've always done. I opened the safe door, banged them in, don't I?
00:14:39Anything at all unusual happen during this visit?
00:14:42No.
00:14:44You were left by the side gate into the right-of-way, didn't you?
00:14:48That's right.
00:14:49Well, this would bring you face-to-face with the side wall of Miss Freebody's house.
00:14:53Now, did you notice anything unusual about it?
00:14:56Oh, nothing unusual.
00:14:58What you might call a regular occurrence. She was snooping through the blind.
00:15:01Through the slats, know what I mean? Nosey, she's always at it.
00:15:04And did you do anything about it?
00:15:06Oh, just for giggles.
00:15:09Yes. Did Miss Freebody react in any way?
00:15:13We scarpered.
00:15:15And why should she spy on you, do you think?
00:15:17Me? Oh, not me.
00:15:20I reckon she was waiting for her boyfriend.
00:15:22What do you mean, her boyfriend?
00:15:23That's right.
00:15:24How dare you say such a thing?
00:15:25Her boyfriend? What is he saying?
00:15:27Yes, well, I don't think we need concern ourselves with any visitor.
00:15:31The accused male may not have been expected.
00:15:34Er, not er, er.
00:15:37What is all this about, Mr. Goldie?
00:15:41I'm afraid it's beyond me, my lord. Some sort of bucolic joke, I imagine.
00:15:45That is all I have to ask this witness, my lord.
00:15:49Stay where you are, if you please.
00:15:52Mr. Tidwell, when a moment ago you said, not her, but her, to whom did you refer?
00:16:00He's well known, isn't he? He's Mrs.
00:16:03Mrs. Ecclestone.
00:16:05That's right.
00:16:06What do you mean, regular as clockwork?
00:16:07What is as regular as clockwork?
00:16:09He is dropping in on her.
00:16:12Who is?
00:16:14He is well known, a doctor.
00:16:16I demand an explanation, not a damnation.
00:16:18What do you mean?
00:16:19Sit down.
00:16:21For the last time, Major Ecclestone, I warn you that unless you behave with propriety,
00:16:26I shall hold you to be in contempt of court and put you into custody.
00:16:30Now, Mr. Goldie.
00:16:31My lord, I can only apologise.
00:16:32My lord.
00:16:33Major Ecclestone, I want you to make a formal apology to his lordship.
00:16:36Now, I want you to.
00:16:37Must I do that?
00:16:38Yes, now. Go on.
00:16:40Being under orders to do so,
00:16:42I apologise for any misconduct of which I may have been unwittingly guilty.
00:16:46Very well.
00:16:47Now, sit down.
00:16:52Now, Mr. Tidwell, you've just said that you know positively
00:16:56that Dr. Swale visited Major Ecclestone's house after you left.
00:17:01Of course I do.
00:17:02How do you know?
00:17:03I seen him, didn't I?
00:17:04What time was this?
00:17:063.30.
00:17:08Could you describe where you were and precisely how you saw Dr. Swale, please?
00:17:14Well, I'm on me bike in the lane, aren't I?
00:17:16And I bark past his car just as he's getting out of it, isn't he?
00:17:19So I rounds the corner, park me bike,
00:17:21and go back and look through the back window of the car
00:17:23just as he's turning into the right-of-way.
00:17:27Well, go on.
00:17:28Well, it's like I seen him other Fridays.
00:17:30Hello, hello, hello, I says.
00:17:32At it again.
00:17:34So I nips up to the turning into the right-of-way,
00:17:36strolls up very natural and easy,
00:17:39just as he's going in by the garden gate
00:17:41and letting himself in by the back door,
00:17:43carrying his little black bag very much at home.
00:17:46No excuse mes, oh dear.
00:17:48And then?
00:17:49I returns to business, don't I?
00:17:51Back to the shop and first word of news.
00:17:54Thank you, Mr. Tidwell.
00:17:58Did you notice the accused bathroom window
00:18:00whilst you were engaged on this highly distasteful piece of espionage?
00:18:04How does the chorus go?
00:18:06I beg your pardon?
00:18:07I don't get you.
00:18:09While you were spying on Dr. Swale,
00:18:12could you and did you notice Miss Freebody's bathroom window?
00:18:17Oh, now, get this quite.
00:18:19Yeah, well, I seen it and her snooping as per through the blind.
00:18:23Now, Dr. Swale carried his professional bag, I think you said?
00:18:27That's right.
00:18:28That's right.
00:18:29Yes, and he went straight into the house?
00:18:31Without pausing, for instance, by the safe?
00:18:33I couldn't see the safe from where I was, could I?
00:18:36But he went in.
00:18:37Quite so.
00:18:38To his patient who is ill upstairs?
00:18:40Oh, yeah.
00:18:42I have one more question, Mr. Tidwell.
00:18:44Do you deliver meat at the accused's house?
00:18:47Yeah.
00:18:48Yes, and when was your last call there previous to the 4th of April?
00:18:52Well, two days before.
00:18:53She gets her order regular on Wednesdays.
00:18:55And do you remember what that order was?
00:18:56Oh, it's easy.
00:18:57Chops, bangers, and wait for it, wait for it.
00:19:02Please answer directly.
00:19:03What else?
00:19:05Liver.
00:19:22I call Mrs. Eccleston.
00:19:24Barbara Eccleston, please.
00:19:26This way.
00:19:39What is your religion?
00:19:41Church of England.
00:19:42Take the testament in your right hand and read aloud the words on this card.
00:19:47I swear by almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth,
00:19:51the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
00:19:54You are Mrs. Eccleston?
00:19:56Yes.
00:19:57What are your first names, please?
00:19:59Barbara Helen.
00:20:00Yes, and you live at the Elms, Number One, Sherwood Grove, Peascale, near Fulchester.
00:20:04Yes.
00:20:06Now, Mrs. Eccleston, I want you to tell His Lordship and the jury
00:20:09something of the relationship between you and the accused,
00:20:12going back, if you will, to the time when you first came to live in your present house.
00:20:16We used to see her in her garden and...
00:20:18Yes.
00:20:20And in her house.
00:20:22You visited her there?
00:20:23We could see her at the windows, looking out.
00:20:26Ah.
00:20:27Did you exchange visits?
00:20:29Not social visits.
00:20:30She came in, not long after we arrived, to...
00:20:34Yes.
00:20:35Well, to complain about Bang.
00:20:37The Alsatian?
00:20:38Yes, he'd found some way of getting into her garden.
00:20:41Was that the only time she complained?
00:20:43No, it wasn't.
00:20:44She...
00:20:45Well, really, she was always doing it.
00:20:47I mean, well, hardly a week went past.
00:20:50It was about then, I think, that she first complained to the police.
00:20:54They came to see us.
00:20:55After that, we took every possible care.
00:20:58We put a muzzle on Bang when he wasn't tied up
00:21:01and made sure he never went near Miss Freebody's place.
00:21:04It made no difference to her behaviour.
00:21:07Yes.
00:21:08And would you say the complaints remained at much the same level
00:21:10or did they increase in intensity?
00:21:11Oh, they became much more frequent.
00:21:14And vindictive.
00:21:15And threatening.
00:21:16In what way threatening?
00:21:18Oh, notes in our letterbox,
00:21:21waylaying us in the street,
00:21:22saying she would go to the police, that sort of thing.
00:21:25And when we were in the garden,
00:21:27she would go close to her hedge and say things we could hear,
00:21:31meaning us to hear them.
00:21:33Threats and abuse.
00:21:35What sort of threats, Mrs Eccleston?
00:21:37Well, actually, to do my husband an injury.
00:21:41She said he wasn't fit to live and she said in so many words
00:21:44that she'd see to it that he didn't.
00:21:47It was very frightening.
00:21:48We thought she must be, well, not quite right in the head.
00:21:53Now, coming to Friday, the 28th of March,
00:21:57was there any further incident?
00:21:59Oh, you mean the cat.
00:22:02I didn't remember the exact date.
00:22:04Yes, but you remember the event.
00:22:06Oh, yes, I do.
00:22:08Oh, it was dreadful.
00:22:10I was horrified.
00:22:14I was so deeply sorry.
00:22:16And now, Mrs Eccleston, we come to the 4th of April,
00:22:20the day when the dog was poisoned.
00:22:25I heard it happening.
00:22:28I was in my bedroom.
00:22:30And I got up and looked through the window and saw.
00:22:36My husband shouted for me to come down and I went down
00:22:40and by then Bang was dead.
00:22:43My husband told me to ring up Jim Swale, Dr Swale,
00:22:47and ask him to come at once and he did.
00:22:49And what happened then?
00:22:50They looked in the safe and Dr Swale said we should destroy
00:22:54the rest of the meat there in case it was contaminated.
00:22:57So we did, in the incinerator.
00:23:00Yes, how was the other meat wrapped?
00:23:02In what sort of paper?
00:23:03Like the other, in newspaper.
00:23:05You're sure of that, not brown paper?
00:23:07Yes, I remember noticing when we burnt it.
00:23:10It was the front page of the Telegraph.
00:23:12Thank you. And then?
00:23:14Dr Swale suggested getting the vet,
00:23:17but my husband wanted him to cope
00:23:19and he very kindly said he would.
00:23:24I was feeling pretty ghastly by then,
00:23:26so he asked me to go back to my room and I did
00:23:29and he had a look at me before he left
00:23:32and gave me one of my pills.
00:23:34I didn't go downstairs again that evening.
00:23:38I think perhaps I ought to say
00:23:41that there was never any doubt in our minds,
00:23:44any of us, about who had put the poisoned meat in the safe.
00:23:48My Lord, I must object.
00:23:50It was what had been threatened, wasn't it?
00:23:53Yes, indeed, Mr O'Connor.
00:23:54You may not talk about what you think
00:23:57was in other people's minds, madam.
00:24:00I'm sorry.
00:24:03When do you think the meat was poisoned, Mrs Eccleston?
00:24:07It must have been after the butcher delivered the order, of course.
00:24:10Yes. Have you any idea of the time of the delivery?
00:24:12As it happens, I have.
00:24:14The church clock struck three just as he left.
00:24:17And did you hear any sounds of later arrivals?
00:24:19No. No, I didn't.
00:24:21But, of course, it would be perfectly easy
00:24:23for somebody to watch their chance
00:24:25and slip across the right-of-way.
00:24:27Nobody would see.
00:24:28My bedroom curtains were closed
00:24:30because I darken my room when I have a migraine.
00:24:33Yes. Had you seen anything of the accused during that day?
00:24:36Oh, yes. Indeed, I had.
00:24:40That morning, the paperboy delivered her telegraph with our times.
00:24:44I didn't want to see her,
00:24:46so I slipped out by our front gate and up to her front door.
00:24:49I was going to put her telegraph through the flap
00:24:51when the door opened, and there she stood,
00:24:54stock still and sort of glaring over my head.
00:24:58That must have been disconcerting.
00:25:00It was awful. It seemed to last for ages.
00:25:03And then I held out her paper and she snatched it.
00:25:06Did she speak?
00:25:08She whispered.
00:25:09What did she whisper?
00:25:10That I needn't imagine this would stop justice from taking its course.
00:25:15And then the door was slammed in my face.
00:25:18And then?
00:25:19I went back.
00:25:21And my migraine started.
00:25:23Yes. Now, Mrs Eccleston,
00:25:25do you know what happened to the wrapping paper around the dog's liver?
00:25:29Yes.
00:25:30My husband had dropped it on the ground,
00:25:32and Jim, Dr Swale, said it shouldn't be left lying about,
00:25:37so he put it in the incinerator.
00:25:39And did you notice what paper that was?
00:25:41Yes. It was the same as the other parcel.
00:25:44The Daily Telegraph.
00:25:49Mrs Eccleston, anybody could have come and gone from the right of way
00:25:53and through the garden gate and replaced one parcel of liver with another,
00:25:56could they not?
00:25:57I suppose they could have.
00:25:59Your husband has a lot of enemies in the neighbourhood,
00:26:02apart from Miss Freebody, hasn't he?
00:26:04Oh, enemies!
00:26:07Let me put it another way.
00:26:09There have been a number of complaints about the behaviour of your dog,
00:26:13had there not?
00:26:14None of them threatened to kill my husband,
00:26:17hers did.
00:26:18Did other people, apart from Miss Freebody,
00:26:20write letters and complain to the police?
00:26:23There were some, I think.
00:26:26How many?
00:26:27How many?
00:26:28I don't know.
00:26:29Two?
00:26:30Three?
00:26:31Four?
00:26:34Half a dozen?
00:26:35More?
00:26:37No, no, I don't know. I don't remember.
00:26:39Very odd.
00:26:42Now, had the dog ever attacked any of your friends?
00:26:45Dr Swale, for instance.
00:26:47Bang was rather jealous.
00:26:49Alsatians can be.
00:26:51Jealous, Mrs Eccleston?
00:26:53Jealous?
00:26:54Do you mean jealous of you?
00:26:57I mean, are you saying that Bang resented
00:27:01anyone paying you particular attention, for example?
00:27:05He was rather a one...
00:27:08I mean, a two-person dog.
00:27:12Had Bang ever attacked Dr Swale?
00:27:18I think once,
00:27:21before he got to know him.
00:27:23Because Dr Swale was paying you particular attention,
00:27:26Mrs Eccleston?
00:27:27No.
00:27:28No, I don't remember about it. It was nothing.
00:27:31The dog did get to know Dr Swale, didn't it?
00:27:33Well, yes, naturally.
00:27:35Naturally, Mrs Eccleston?
00:27:37Dr Swale is in our circle of friends.
00:27:40Apart from being your doctor, you mean?
00:27:42Yes.
00:27:44On that Friday afternoon, Mrs Eccleston,
00:27:48earlier in the afternoon,
00:27:50whilst you were lying in your bed in your darkened room,
00:27:55did Dr Swale come and see you?
00:27:59I don't know why you...
00:28:04Yes, why, yes, I...
00:28:07I'd quite forgotten he did.
00:28:12Thank you, Mrs Eccleston.
00:28:15As this earlier visit of Dr Swale's
00:28:17has been introduced by my learned friend, Mrs Eccleston,
00:28:19I think perhaps don't you way better dispose of it.
00:28:22Now, Dr Swale, you've told the court,
00:28:25is an old friend and a member of your social circle.
00:28:28Is that right?
00:28:29Yes.
00:28:30Now, was there anything at all out of the way about his dropping in?
00:28:34No, of course not. He often looks in.
00:28:36He and my husband...
00:28:38He and my husband do crosswords and swap them over.
00:28:41I'd quite forgotten, but I think that's what he'd come for.
00:28:45To collect the times crossword and leave the telegraph one.
00:28:49Did you see him?
00:28:52I think I...
00:28:55Yes, I remember I heard someone come in
00:28:58and I thought it was my husband home early
00:29:02and I called out and Dr Swale came upstairs and knocked
00:29:07and said who it was.
00:29:09Exactly. Thank you so much, Mrs Eccleston.
00:29:11Well, you may go and sit down, Mrs Eccleston.
00:29:15Thank you, my lord.
00:29:17That concludes the case of prosecution, my lord.
00:29:20Mr O'Connor.
00:29:22I call the defendant, Miss Mary Freebody.
00:29:40Would you please remove your gloves?
00:29:44What is your religion?
00:29:46Anglo-Catholic.
00:29:48Take the testament in your right hand and read aloud the words on this card.
00:29:51I swear by almighty God that the evidence I shall give
00:29:54shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
00:29:59You are Mary Emmeline Freebody of 2 Sherwood Grove, Peascale, near Fulchester.
00:30:04I am.
00:30:06Miss Freebody, did you attempt to poison Major Eccleston?
00:30:09I did not.
00:30:11You are a practicing Christian, are you not?
00:30:13Certainly.
00:30:15And you swear that you had no such intention?
00:30:17I do.
00:30:19Miss Freebody, I'm sorry to recall an extremely painful memory for you.
00:30:23Will you tell His Lordship and the jury
00:30:25how you first learnt of the death of your cat?
00:30:29Learnt of it? Learnt of it?
00:30:31I heard the screams, the screams!
00:30:34I can still hear them, still.
00:30:36All the time. Awake and asleep.
00:30:39I'm haunted by them.
00:30:40Where were you at the time of the cat's death?
00:30:42Indoors, in my house.
00:30:44What did you do when you heard the screams?
00:30:46Well, I rushed out, of course.
00:30:48I thought it must be in my garden.
00:30:50I hunted everywhere.
00:30:52Then the screams stopped, but I hunted.
00:30:54And then I heard that man, that monster, that fiend.
00:30:57Major Eccleston?
00:30:58He was laughing, laughing, devil!
00:31:01I heard him talking to it, to that brute.
00:31:02And do you know what he said?
00:31:03My Lord, I really mustn't have...
00:31:04He said, good dog! That's what he said, good dog!
00:31:07If you would like to sit down, you may.
00:31:10I don't want to sit down.
00:31:12Go away.
00:31:15Miss Freebody, what happened after that?
00:31:17Now, please remember, you may tell the court if you heard people talking.
00:31:21You may say who they were and what you did.
00:31:24But not what they said.
00:31:26Unless, of course, they're going to give evidence or have already done so.
00:31:31It is a legal humbug, Balderdash.
00:31:34That will do.
00:31:35No, it will not do.
00:31:36I will not be put down. I will not be told.
00:31:38Madam, be silent.
00:31:39I am here to give my evidence.
00:31:40Be silent.
00:31:43Now, Mr. O'Connor,
00:31:44I'm afraid I'm bound to agree with Miss Freebody.
00:31:46Your exposition of the hearsay rules was so inaccurate as to amount to legal humbug.
00:31:52If you must tell the witnesses what the law is,
00:31:55do please at least try to get it right.
00:31:58I'm sorry, my Lord.
00:31:59Now, Miss Freebody, you will answer counsel's question.
00:32:03What happened after that?
00:32:06What happened after that?
00:32:07You ask me what happened after that, I'll tell you what happened after that.
00:32:10I'll tell you what happened after that.
00:32:11She talked and he talked and he talked and she talked and then...
00:32:16No!
00:32:17I can't do this.
00:32:20Now, Miss Freebody,
00:32:22however painful it is,
00:32:24please go on and try to speak calmly.
00:32:29Out of the air,
00:32:30at my feet,
00:32:32wet,
00:32:33bleeding,
00:32:35torn to pieces, dead.
00:32:38Yes, now, you are telling the court, aren't you, Miss Freebody,
00:32:40that Major Eccleston had thrown the body of your cat into your garden.
00:32:45Cruel!
00:32:46Cruel! Horribly wicked and cruel!
00:32:48Yes, now, please try to keep calm.
00:32:52Now, after that,
00:32:54immediately after that and subsequently,
00:32:56what did you do?
00:32:58Well, I...
00:33:00I couldn't at first and then I did.
00:33:03I buried him.
00:33:05Then I went into my house.
00:33:07I felt desperately ill.
00:33:09I was ill and then I lay down on my bed.
00:33:12Yes.
00:33:13You went to bed.
00:33:14No!
00:33:15I lay there, just as I was, all night.
00:33:18Sometimes I dozed off and then I had nightmares.
00:33:21I thought that brute was attacking me as it had my little cat.
00:33:25I thought it was coming at me.
00:33:26Here!
00:33:28So night after night it was the same.
00:33:30No, I was afraid to go out.
00:33:31I stayed indoors day after day.
00:33:33You sent letters, didn't you?
00:33:35To Major Eccleston.
00:33:36Well, I gave them to my daily help to post.
00:33:38I didn't go out. I was terrified.
00:33:41Now, it has been suggested here in court
00:33:43that you were spying on Dr. Swales
00:33:46on his visits to the elms.
00:33:48Oh, those two.
00:33:49I didn't care about them.
00:33:51I used to think they were wicked.
00:33:53But they were against him, weren't they?
00:33:55They were making a fool of him.
00:33:56They wanted to be rid of him.
00:33:57Miss Freebody, you must confine yourself to the fact.
00:34:01You must not put forward your notions
00:34:03as to anybody else's wishes and intentions.
00:34:08Very well.
00:34:10Now, on the morning of the dog's death,
00:34:13Mrs. Eccleston called to give you your paper, didn't she?
00:34:18I stood inside the door.
00:34:20I thought it was him with the dog.
00:34:23Then I heard her tear her throat
00:34:25and I made myself open the door
00:34:27and there she was, the adulteress!
00:34:29Oh, yes, she came.
00:34:30Yes. Now, later in the day,
00:34:31did you see Dr. Swale go into the elms?
00:34:34Oh, yes, I saw him.
00:34:35In at the side gate, as usual.
00:34:37He always does.
00:34:38And upstairs in the bedroom,
00:34:39she had the curtains drawn already,
00:34:41waiting for him.
00:34:42She always does on Fridays.
00:34:44Oh, yes.
00:34:45I saw him.
00:34:46And he was out at his club,
00:34:48playing bridge, poor fool.
00:34:50Did you see Dr. Swale enter the house?
00:34:53I can't see the side door.
00:34:55There's a tree in shrubs.
00:34:56The outside safe, can you see that?
00:34:58No, I can't see that either, no.
00:35:01So you wouldn't know if Dr. Swale,
00:35:04for whatever purpose,
00:35:05paused by the safe before entering the house?
00:35:10Paused?
00:35:12By the safe?
00:35:14For whatever purpose?
00:35:16But you're right!
00:35:17You're perfectly right!
00:35:19Fool that I am! Fool!
00:35:20Of course, that's how it was.
00:35:21It was the doctor.
00:35:22My Lord, I pretend this is outrageous!
00:35:24You cannot address the court, sir.
00:35:26But this is a mass hysteria!
00:35:27Be quiet, Dr. Swale.
00:35:29You know perfectly well
00:35:30that such interruptions are impermissible.
00:35:32Now sit down.
00:35:36Very well, Mr. O'Connor.
00:35:38Yes, now, Miss Freebody,
00:35:40please answer the question simply and without comment.
00:35:45I bring you now to the death of the dog.
00:35:49Did you see anything or hear anything of that event?
00:35:52I was upstairs.
00:35:53I heard a commotion.
00:35:54I heard a howl and then his voice shouting,
00:35:57so I went to the bathroom to look.
00:35:59I saw the dog thrashing about
00:36:01and then I saw it was dead.
00:36:03I didn't know why it was dead.
00:36:05I was glad, glad.
00:36:07I thought the owner had destroyed it himself at last.
00:36:11But I saw it was dead
00:36:12and I exulted and gave thanks and was joyful.
00:36:16Did you see the arrival of Dr. Swale?
00:36:20Miss Freebody?
00:36:22Miss Freebody, may I have your attention, please?
00:36:26Miss Freebody,
00:36:28did you see the arrival of Dr. Swale?
00:36:32Oh, yes, I watched that.
00:36:33I saw him, the doctor.
00:36:34I saw how surprised and put out he was
00:36:37when he saw the body of the dog.
00:36:39Oh, yes, I saw him just like he is now
00:36:43and I saw them look at each other.
00:36:45Yes, what happened next?
00:36:47Well, she went indoors and he followed
00:36:50and then after a time they came out and took away the carcass.
00:36:54Yes, the two men did.
00:36:56Hmm.
00:36:57Now, afterwards, when you heard about the poisoned meat,
00:37:00what then?
00:37:01Ah, then I didn't realise,
00:37:03but now, now,
00:37:08it could have been an accident, couldn't it?
00:37:10The dog, I mean.
00:37:12An accident, Miss Freebody?
00:37:14He always has liver on Fridays.
00:37:17She is a vegetarian.
00:37:19They did it between them.
00:37:20They wanted to be rid of him.
00:37:21Oh, this is outrageous, my Lord.
00:37:23This must stop.
00:37:24I demand that she be stopped.
00:37:25May God she be.
00:37:27Silence.
00:37:29Now then, this is insupportable.
00:37:32If there is any more of it, I shall clear the court.
00:37:35Yes, Mr. Golding.
00:37:37Indeed, my Lord, how much more of this are we to have?
00:37:39I do protest most strongly, my Lord.
00:37:41Yes, Mr. Golding, you may very well do so.
00:37:43Mr. O'Connor.
00:37:45My Lord, I quite agree.
00:37:46It is not for the witness to advance theories,
00:37:49but the point is apparently not without substance.
00:37:52I have no further questions for the defendant.
00:37:55Very well.
00:37:56In that case, Mr. Golding.
00:37:58Thank you, my Lord.
00:38:01Now, Miss Freebody,
00:38:02we've heard a great deal about emotions and all the rest of it.
00:38:05Suppose for a change we look at a few hard facts.
00:38:09Now, you admit to writing a number of threatening letters to Major Eccleston,
00:38:13the last of which contains the phrase,
00:38:15Neither you nor it is fit to live.
00:38:18Take warning.
00:38:20Do you agree?
00:38:22Do you agree?
00:38:24Yes.
00:38:25Yes.
00:38:26And you've heard the police evidence.
00:38:27A container half full of cyanide of potassium
00:38:29has been found by the police in your shrubbery.
00:38:32You've heard the chemist oppose that he sold cyanide of potassium
00:38:35to the previous tenant of your house,
00:38:37who used it to exterminate wasps.
00:38:40Now, the container, Exhibit 1,
00:38:42is very clearly and even dramatically marked.
00:38:46There it is.
00:38:47You see it there, don't you?
00:38:49On the clerk's desk.
00:38:50For the first time.
00:38:51What?
00:38:52You have never seen it before?
00:38:54Oh, be careful, Miss Freebody.
00:38:56The chemist has identified that container
00:38:58and has told the court that he advised the purchaser
00:39:01to keep it in a conspicuous place.
00:39:03Now, have you never seen it in your garden shed?
00:39:05My gardener saw that one.
00:39:07Oh, the gardener saw it, did he?
00:39:09And reported it to you?
00:39:10Yes.
00:39:11I told him to get rid of it, and so he did.
00:39:13And when was this?
00:39:14Oh, soon after I came here.
00:39:16Five years.
00:39:18Indeed.
00:39:19And how did the gardener, in fact, get rid of it, as you claim?
00:39:22I've no idea.
00:39:23You have no idea.
00:39:25Is the gardener going to give evidence on your behalf, Miss Freebody?
00:39:28Can't. He's dead.
00:39:30Silence in court.
00:39:33And how do you account for it being discovered
00:39:35in your shrubbery in a perfectly clean condition
00:39:37three days after the dog was poisoned?
00:39:39I repeat, the one in the shed was destroyed.
00:39:41This is another one, thrown over the hedge, of course, in my garden.
00:39:44Oh, we are to suppose, are we, that an unknown poisoner
00:39:48brought a second jar of cyanide with him or her,
00:39:51although he or she had already prepared the liver
00:39:53and had wrapped it up.
00:39:54Now, why on earth should anyone do that?
00:39:56To incriminate me, obviously.
00:39:59Once more into the realms of fantasy, Miss Freebody.
00:40:02I put it to you that no shadow of a motive,
00:40:04no jot of evidence can be found to support such a theory.
00:40:07Oh, yes, it can, it can.
00:40:08Yes, it can.
00:40:09Well, perhaps you will be good enough to tell the jury...
00:40:11Mr. Golding, you have very properly attempted
00:40:13to confine this witness to statement of facts.
00:40:16Are you now inviting her to expound a theory?
00:40:19My lord, the accused, so far as one can follow her,
00:40:22appears to be advancing, in her own defence, a counter-accusation.
00:40:26Quite right.
00:40:27Mr. O'Connor, have you anything to say on this point?
00:40:30Yes, my lord, I have.
00:40:32I must say I have received no instructions
00:40:34as to the positive identity of the person my client
00:40:38apparently believes, most ardently believes,
00:40:41to have, well, may I say, planted the half-empty container
00:40:46of cyanide or potassium in her garden.
00:40:49My instructions were that she herself is innocent
00:40:53and therefore the container must have been planted.
00:40:56My lord, in view of the way the evidence has developed,
00:41:00I should ask for a brief adjournment
00:41:03that I may see if there are any more inquiries that should be made.
00:41:07My lord, I submit that the antics, if I may so call them,
00:41:10of the accused in the witness box are completely irrelevant.
00:41:13If there were one jot of relevance or substance in this rigmarole,
00:41:17why on earth did she not advance it in the first instance?
00:41:20I can tell you that, because I didn't realise,
00:41:22but here and now in this court it's been boring on me
00:41:25seeing those two together, seeing them, watching them,
00:41:27hearing them, knowing, remembering.
00:41:30There would be murder, and that's what they...
00:41:32Be quiet, madam.
00:41:34Now I warn you that you do your own cause
00:41:37a very great deal of harm by your extravagant and improper behaviour,
00:41:41and I now order that you answer directly
00:41:44questions put to you by learned counsel.
00:41:47You may not, as you have constantly done, interrupt the proceedings.
00:41:51You may not, without permission, address the court.
00:41:54And if you so persist, then I shall hold you to be in contempt of court.
00:41:59Now, do you understand?
00:42:02Very well.
00:42:04Now, Mr O'Connor, in view of the way this case has developed
00:42:07and the introduction of elements unanticipated,
00:42:11as you assure us in your instructions that you wish me to adjourn...
00:42:15If your lordship will.
00:42:17Mr Golding?
00:42:19I have no objection, my lord.
00:42:21Yes. Would an adjournment till 10 o'clock tomorrow morning be appropriate?
00:42:24Yes, indeed, my lord.
00:42:26Very well, then the court will adjourn until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.
00:42:29All stand.
00:42:36Don't touch me.
00:42:38Don't touch me.
00:42:48Now, members of the jury, I'm sure you apprehend the reasons for the adjournment
00:42:52in this, in some ways, most eccentric case,
00:42:55and I do hope that it hasn't caused you too much inconvenience.
00:42:58Now, before we go on, I want to remind you that you are where you are
00:43:02for one purpose only,
00:43:04and that is to decide whether the accused Mary Emmeline Freebody
00:43:09is guilty or not guilty of attempting to murder Major Eccleston.
00:43:13You are not concerned with anything that may have emerged
00:43:16outside the provenance of this charge
00:43:18unless it bears, on this single question,
00:43:22the guilt or innocence of the accused.
00:43:25Mr Golding, you may now, if you wish, continue your cross-examination.
00:43:29I have no further questions, my lord.
00:43:31Well, then, Mr O'Connor, do you wish to re-examine the defendant?
00:43:35And may I say, Mr O'Connor, I hope we have no repetition of yesterday's irregularities.
00:43:41My lord, I sincerely hope not.
00:43:43I've no further questions to put to the defendant.
00:43:46Well, you may go back to the dock, Miss Freebody.
00:43:52My lord, I must inform your lordship that Major Eccleston has waited upon me
00:43:56and has expressed a desire to mend some of his former evidence,
00:44:00and has asked me to put his request before your lordship.
00:44:03Did you anticipate anything of this sort, Mr Golding?
00:44:06Not I, my lord.
00:44:08Hmm, very well.
00:44:10My lord, I recall Major Basil Eccleston.
00:44:24I would remind you that you're still under oath, Major.
00:44:27Yes, my lord.
00:44:28Major Eccleston, is it true that because of certain developments
00:44:31you now wish to amend certain of the former evidence which you gave earlier in these proceedings?
00:44:35Yes, I do.
00:44:37And that evidence concerns the identity of the person you believe to have been responsible for poisoning the meat.
00:44:42Yes, it does.
00:44:44And will you tell the court who, in your opinion, sir...
00:44:46Ed! Ed! Ed!
00:44:50Ed!
00:44:51Yes, Doctor.
00:44:58My lord, he's... he's dead.
00:45:02Silence, my lord! Silence!
00:45:04Clear the court, Tasha. Clear the court.
00:45:07Ed! Ed! Smitten down in his sins!
00:45:10Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord!
00:45:13Justice is mine!
00:45:28And I would submit, my lord, with respect, that the evidence is admissible.
00:45:34My lord, may I review the somewhat macabre sequence of events?
00:45:38Briefly, Mr. O'Connor. Very briefly.
00:45:42I much oblige, my lord.
00:45:44Very briefly, then.
00:45:46My client is accused of putting cyanide or potassium into Major Eccleston's meat.
00:45:53Major Eccleston, who laid the case against her, has since died.
00:45:57And cyanide or potassium was found in his body.
00:46:00Now, there is a strong possibility, indeed an overwhelming probability,
00:46:04that the cyanide was introduced into capsules that the Major was in the habit of taking for a digestive disorder.
00:46:11Indeed, he was seen to take one in this court immediately prior to his death.
00:46:15Now, my lord, I shall, if permitted, call expert witness to show that
00:46:21a capsule containing cyanide would only remain intact for a period of one hour.
00:46:27After that, the poison will begin to seep through the container.
00:46:32Now, my lord, Miss Freebody has not been left alone since the commencement of this trial.
00:46:38It is obvious, therefore, that she cannot be held responsible for Major Eccleston's murder.
00:46:43Whoever murdered Major Eccleston, it was certainly not my client.
00:46:49Now, if, as of course we most strenuously deny, she caused the death of the dog,
00:46:56we have to accept the grotesque coincidence of two persons, independently, attempting to kill Major Eccleston.
00:47:06Thus, my lord, I submit with respect that the circumstances surrounding Major Eccleston's death are admissible evidence.
00:47:15Yes. Thank you.
00:47:19Mr. Golding?
00:47:21My lord, I shall oppose the introduction of any reference whatsoever to the death of Major Eccleston.
00:47:26I submit it would be grossly improper to confuse, in the minds of the jury, two entirely separate issues.
00:47:32Now, the inquiry into Major Eccleston's death is in the hands of the police,
00:47:36and if an arrest is made, there will be another trial, in another court, under another jury.
00:47:44What will transpire, or what accusations will be made, is, I submit, utterly irrelevant to these proceedings.
00:47:51I submit it would be irregular in the highest degree to anticipate them.
00:47:56As far as this court is concerned, my lord, may I venture to remind my learned friend that the dog it was that died, and not its master.
00:48:05What do you say to that, Mr. O'Connor?
00:48:08Touché, I suppose, my lord.
00:48:12This is a most unusual case in many ways.
00:48:15The death in the witness box of the leading witness for the prosecution,
00:48:19the man who brought this accusation against the defendant,
00:48:22and the finding of cyanide in his body is the most extraordinary circumstance.
00:48:27Now, I may order the jury, indeed I will order the jury, to put all this from their minds,
00:48:32but gentlemen, I may do so till my wig rots and falls off my head.
00:48:36They will not be able to do so.
00:48:38But, to get back to the argument,
00:48:40it would be remarkable if two people independently had desired to bring about the mage's death.
00:48:47Thus, if the second successful attempt could not have been made by the accused,
00:48:52it seems to me to be relevant to the allegation that she made the first attempt.
00:48:58I therefore rule that evidence regarding the nature and characteristics of the poison capsule is admissible.
00:49:05I'm obliged, your lordship.
00:49:07Well, here we go again, gentlemen.
00:49:12Let the jury be brought back.
00:49:29Members of the jury, your attendance in this case was interrupted
00:49:33by an extraordinary and very distressing event,
00:49:35which in the interval has attracted a great deal of publicity
00:49:38and acquired a certain amount of notoriety.
00:49:41Now, you are, of course, not here to try anyone for causing Major Eccleston's death.
00:49:48You are here for the sole purpose of deciding whether or not
00:49:52the accused is guilty of attempting to murder Major Eccleston.
00:49:57Now, having said that, I want to add one important qualification.
00:50:01If, during the continuation of the hearing,
00:50:03evidence is tendered that arises out of the circumstances attending upon the mage's death,
00:50:08and that evidence has a bearing on the question of the accused's guilt or innocence,
00:50:14then, of course, I will admit it for your consideration.
00:50:18Very well, Mr. O'Connor.
00:50:21You are Dr. Ernest Smithson of 24 Central Square, Fulchester.
00:50:25Yes.
00:50:26You are a consultant and pathologist to Fulchester Constabulary.
00:50:29I am.
00:50:30Did you carry out a post-mortem on Major Eccleston?
00:50:33Yes. I found he died of cyanide poisoning.
00:50:36May the witness be shown Exhibit 6, please.
00:50:43Is that the bottle taken from the mage's body?
00:50:46Yes. I found it myself in his pocket.
00:50:49It contained capsules of duogasterone and potassium cyanide.
00:50:54Yes, which suggests that the cyanide had been introduced into a bottle
00:50:58containing tablets of duogasterone.
00:51:01Yes.
00:51:02Now, will you please tell the court whether it would be possible to fill capsules
00:51:05of the sort normally used in pharmaceutical dispensaries with cyanide of potassium?
00:51:11It would be possible, yes.
00:51:12In what form would the cyanide be?
00:51:14In the form of a powder.
00:51:16And would the capsules be indistinguishable from those filled with the doctor's prescription?
00:51:20If the prescribed powder was the same colour, which it probably would be, yes.
00:51:25To begin with, that is.
00:51:26To begin with, Dr. Smithson, could you explain that further?
00:51:30After about an hour, my lord, the cyanide would begin to seep through the capsules
00:51:34and that would become increasingly noticeable.
00:51:37Now, let me get this quite clear.
00:51:39The whole operation, that is, filling the capsules with the lethal poison,
00:51:44conveying them to the intended victim,
00:51:47would all have to be executed within a period of one hour
00:51:50before one of the capsules was taken.
00:51:53Before they had begun to disintegrate, I would prefer to say.
00:51:57Dr. Smithson, are you aware that from the day before Major Eccleston died,
00:52:03my client was under constant supervision?
00:52:05I have been so informed, yes.
00:52:07And therefore could not possibly, for instance, have concocted capsules
00:52:11of the sort that we've been talking about,
00:52:13conveyed them to a person or places outside her own premises?
00:52:18Obviously not, if she was under constant supervision.
00:52:21Thank you, doctor.
00:52:23Yes, Mr. Golding?
00:52:25Well, yes, indeed, my lord.
00:52:27I merely beg to remind the jury what your lordship has already laid down.
00:52:31The defendant is not on trial for concocting lethal capsules,
00:52:35and I submit that the evidence we've just heard is irrelevant.
00:52:38I have no questions to put to, Dr. Smithson.
00:52:41Thank you, Dr. Smithson. You may go, if you wish.
00:52:44Thank you, my lord.
00:52:45My lord, in view of the development of this trial since Dr. Swale gave evidence
00:52:50and in view of subsequent evidence,
00:52:52I ask for leave to reopen my cross-examination of him.
00:52:55I ask for his recall.
00:52:57What do you say to this, Mr. Golding? Do you object?
00:53:00My lord, I can find no conceivable reason for this procedure,
00:53:03but I do not object.
00:53:06Very well, Mr. O'Connor.
00:53:08Dr. Swale, will you go back to the witness box, please?
00:53:12Dr. Swale, you realize that you are still on oath, do you not?
00:53:16I do.
00:53:17You've heard the evidence given by the previous witness?
00:53:20Yes.
00:53:21Do you agree with it?
00:53:22I'm not a pathologist, but I would expect it to be correct.
00:53:25With respect to the deterioration within one hour of a capsule containing cyanide.
00:53:30I have no experience with potassium cyanide,
00:53:32but, yes, I would, of course, expect Dr. Smithson to be right.
00:53:35Yes.
00:53:36Now, Dr. Swale, I'm going to take my leave.
00:53:39Yes.
00:53:40Now, Dr. Swale, I'm going to take you back, if you please, to April the 4th,
00:53:43the evening when you were called to the Ecclestons and you found the dead Alsatian.
00:53:48Now, you'll remember that you removed what was left of the liver
00:53:51that had been fed to the dog and subsequently had it analyzed.
00:53:55Yes.
00:53:56There were massive quantities of cyanide of potassium therein.
00:54:00Now, there was also in the same safe the material for a mixed grill
00:54:05which had been intended for the Major's dinner that night.
00:54:08So, I understand.
00:54:09Did you do anything about this meat?
00:54:11I've already deposed it. I said it should be destroyed.
00:54:14And was it destroyed?
00:54:15It was. I've already said so.
00:54:17By who?
00:54:18By Mrs. Eccleston and myself, in their incinerator.
00:54:22Has she subsequently deposed after you've given your evidence?
00:54:26Quite.
00:54:28Now, Dr. Swale, did it occur to you that this meat,
00:54:30which had been intended for the Major's dinner, should also be analyzed?
00:54:35No, I was simply concerned to get rid of it.
00:54:37Upon further consideration,
00:54:39would you now say it would have been better to have sent it,
00:54:41or at least a portion of it, for analysis?
00:54:44Well, perhaps it might have been better,
00:54:45but the circumstances of the dog's death
00:54:47and their description of its symptoms and its appearance
00:54:49so strongly suggested a convulsive poison such as cyanide.
00:54:52I didn't really think...
00:54:53I'm sorry, Doctor, but you told us just now you had no experience with cyanide.
00:54:56I had no experience in practice.
00:54:58But naturally, in the course of my training, I did my poisons.
00:55:02Was Mrs. Eccleston a vegetarian?
00:55:05I believe so.
00:55:07You believe so, Dr. Swale?
00:55:10But Mrs. Eccleston told us that you were one of her intimate circle.
00:55:15You are also her doctor, are you not?
00:55:17Yes, of course I am.
00:55:19Then surely you know whether or not she is a vegetarian.
00:55:24Yes, all right, I simply said I believe so,
00:55:26as one does in voicing an ordinary agreement.
00:55:28I know so, if you prefer it.
00:55:30She is a vegetarian.
00:55:32Are you in the habit of visiting her on Friday afternoons?
00:55:35Not in the habit of doing so.
00:55:37I dropped in on Fridays to swap crosswords with the Major.
00:55:40But Major Eccleston was always at his club on Fridays.
00:55:44He used to leave the crossword out for me.
00:55:46I visit the Hermitage, a private hospital, on Fridays, and that's close by.
00:55:50I did sometimes, well, quite often drop in at the Elms.
00:55:53A cup of tea, perhaps?
00:55:56Certainly, for a cup of tea.
00:56:00You heard the evidence of Thomas Tidwell, didn't you?
00:56:05If you can call it that.
00:56:07Well, what would you call it, then?
00:56:09An example of small-town lying gossip dished out by a small-town oaf.
00:56:13As to what part of his evidence do you refer?
00:56:16Well, clearly, since it concerns me,
00:56:18it is the suggestion that I went to the house for any purpose other than the one I have given.
00:56:21What do you say to Miss Freebody's views on this subject?
00:56:24Well, I'd have thought it was obvious that they're those
00:56:26of a mentally disturbed spinster of uncertain age.
00:56:28Cad! Liable! Murderer!
00:56:30Would you please sit down?
00:56:31That's what you are. You're a murderer.
00:56:33You're not Miss Freebody's doctor, are you?
00:56:36No, thank God.
00:56:38Silence in court. Silence.
00:56:40Now, when you paid your earlier visit to the Elms in the afternoon in question,
00:56:45did you carry your professional bag with you?
00:56:48I expect so.
00:56:50Why? It wasn't a professional core, was it?
00:56:54I'm not in the habit of leaving it in my car.
00:56:57What's in it?
00:56:59Oh, what, an inventory, do you?
00:57:01The bag contains the normal impedimenta of a doctor in general practice.
00:57:04Nothing else?
00:57:06I'm not in the habit of using my case as a shopping bag.
00:57:09Not for butcher's meat, for instance?
00:57:11My Lord, I do most strenuously object.
00:57:13My Lord, this is intolerable. Do I have no protection against this sort of treatment?
00:57:16No. Please answer.
00:57:20No, I do not and never have carried butcher's meat in my bag.
00:57:26Mr. Golding, do you wish to re-examine?
00:57:28No, my Lord.
00:57:30Thank you, Dr. Swale.
00:57:32My Lord, may I speak?
00:57:33No, Dr. Swale.
00:57:34I demand to be heard.
00:57:35You may do no such thing.
00:57:36It is perfectly obvious that the counsel for the defense
00:57:38declined to protect his client by throwing up a series of slanderous suggestions
00:57:41intended to implicate a lady and myself in his miserable business.
00:57:43Be quiet, sir, and leave the witness.
00:57:45I refuse, I insist. We're not legally represented.
00:57:47I am a professional man who must be very gravely damaged by these baseless innuendos.
00:57:50For the last time...
00:57:51I had nothing, I repeat, nothing whatever to do with the death of the Eccleston's dog
00:57:54nor did I tamper with any of the meat in the safe.
00:57:56I protest, my Lord. I protest.
00:57:58Now, come along, sir.
00:58:03Your name is Sarah Gwendolyn Miggs?
00:58:05Yes.
00:58:06And where do you live, Miss Miggs?
00:58:08Flat 3, Flask Walk, Fulchester.
00:58:11You are a qualified medical nurse, now retired.
00:58:14I am.
00:58:15Will you give us a brief account of your professional experience, please?
00:58:18Well, I've had 15 years in general hospitals
00:58:21and 20 years in 10 hospitals for the mentally disturbed.
00:58:25The last one being at Fulchester Grange Hospital
00:58:27where you nursed for some two years before retiring.
00:58:30That's correct.
00:58:31And have you, since the sitting of this court,
00:58:33been looking after the defendant, Miss Mary Emmeline Freebody?
00:58:36That's right.
00:58:37Now, Miss Miggs, will you tell His Lordship and the jury
00:58:40just how your days have been spent since you took this job?
00:58:44Well, I relieve the night nurse at 8am
00:58:47and I stay with the case all day until the evening
00:58:51when I'm relieved in the evening.
00:58:53With the case?
00:58:54Miss Freebody, my Lord.
00:58:56Why can't we say so, for pity's sake?
00:58:58Oh, very well.
00:59:00Do you remain with Miss Freebody throughout the day?
00:59:04Yes.
00:59:05You never leave her?
00:59:07Well, those are my instructions and I carry them out.
00:59:10Do you find Miss Freebody at all difficult?
00:59:13Oh, not a bit.
00:59:15She doesn't try to shake you off?
00:59:17She doesn't resent your presence?
00:59:19Well, she didn't like it at first.
00:59:21There was a slight resentment, but we soon got over that.
00:59:25We're very good friends now.
00:59:27And you have never left her?
00:59:30Well, I said so, didn't I?
00:59:32Never.
00:59:33Thank you, Miss Miggs.
00:59:37Very good friends, and you never leave her?
00:59:40Never?
00:59:42Surely there must be some occasions,
00:59:44calls of nature, for instance, when you do in fact part company?
00:59:48I always make sure of her whereabouts.
00:59:51She's tricky.
00:59:52Quite.
00:59:53What exactly do you mean by tricky?
00:59:55Well, excitable, unstable.
00:59:58She can be hysterical. You have to watch it.
01:00:01I see.
01:00:02Nurse Miggs, who engaged you to take this case?
01:00:05I was rung up by her solicitor.
01:00:07Yes.
01:00:08Now, Nurse Miggs, you've told the court, have you not,
01:00:11that since you qualified as a mental nurse,
01:00:13you've taken posts in ten hospitals over a period of 20 years?
01:00:17Yes.
01:00:18The last appointment being of two years' duration at Fulchester Grange.
01:00:22That's correct.
01:00:23Yes.
01:00:24Have you, in addition to these engagements, taken private patients?
01:00:29A few.
01:00:30How many?
01:00:32Well, I really couldn't say offhand.
01:00:35Not many.
01:00:36Nurse Miggs, have you ever been dismissed,
01:00:38summarily dismissed from a post?
01:00:40I didn't come here to be insulted.
01:00:43Answer the question, nurse.
01:00:45There's no satisfying some people.
01:00:47Anything goes wrong, blame the nurse.
01:00:49Yes or no, Nurse Miggs.
01:00:54In July 1969, were you dismissed by the doctor in charge of a case
01:00:58under suspicion of illegally obtaining and administering a drug
01:01:01and accepting a bride for so doing?
01:01:03It wasn't true. It was lies.
01:01:05I know where you got that from. You got it from him.
01:01:07He always had it in for me, but he couldn't prove it.
01:01:09He couldn't prove anything.
01:01:11Come, Nurse Miggs, don't you think you'd be well advised to admit it at once?
01:01:13He couldn't prove it.
01:01:15Why did you leave Fulchester Grange?
01:01:17I won't answer. It was all lies.
01:01:20Once something's said about you, you're done for.
01:01:23Were you dismissed?
01:01:25I won't answer.
01:01:26Were you dismissed for illegally obtaining a drug
01:01:29and accepting a bribe for so doing?
01:01:31It wasn't proved.
01:01:33He couldn't prove it. It was all lies.
01:01:35Yes, I have no further questions, my lord.
01:01:37Mr. O'Connor?
01:01:39Thank you, Nurse Miggs.
01:01:42Do you have any further witnesses, Mr. O'Connor?
01:01:45No, my lord.
01:01:57Now, members of the jury,
01:01:59let me tell you something about our functions, yours and mine.
01:02:03I'm here to direct you as to the law
01:02:06and to remind you of the salient features of the evidence.
01:02:10You are here as judges of fact,
01:02:13and you and you alone must decide on the evidence you've heard
01:02:17whether or not the accused is guilty of the charge of attempted murder.
01:02:22Now, you may think it plain
01:02:25that the liver that the dog ate was poisoned,
01:02:29and the prosecution say that whoever poisoned that liver
01:02:32must have known that it might have been eaten by the major
01:02:35and was only given to the dog by accident.
01:02:39Now, the vital question, therefore, you may think is
01:02:41who poisoned the liver?
01:02:43The prosecution think that Miss Freebody did it.
01:02:46They say she had the opportunity to go to the safe,
01:02:49take the liver out, poison it and replace it,
01:02:52having, for some reason or other,
01:02:54changed the paper in which it was wrapped.
01:02:57They say she had a motive.
01:02:59Her antagonism to the major is evidenced by the letters,
01:03:02the threatening letters that she wrote to him.
01:03:05But, say the defence, and you may think this is a point of some weight,
01:03:09the fact that the major actually died before your eyes of cyanide poisoning
01:03:15at a time when it was impossible for the accused to have administered that poisoning
01:03:19is evidence that someone else wanted to and did kill the major.
01:03:26So, if someone other than the accused did kill the major on the second attempt,
01:03:31can you believe that it was the accused
01:03:34and not that someone who was guilty of the first attempt?
01:03:39Now, let me remind you, therefore,
01:03:41that before you can bring in a verdict of guilty,
01:03:43you must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt
01:03:46that the accused did make this attempt on the life of the late major.
01:03:52Now, would you please retire,
01:03:54select a foreman to speak for you when you return,
01:03:56and consider your verdict.
01:03:58All stand.
01:04:06Members of the jury, will your foreman please stand.
01:04:10Just answer this question yes or no.
01:04:13Have you reached a verdict upon which you are all agreed?
01:04:15Yes.
01:04:16Do you find the defendant, Mary Emmeline Freebody,
01:04:19guilty or not guilty of the charge of attempted murder?
01:04:22Not guilty.
01:04:23Mary Emmeline Freebody, you are free to go.
01:04:26Court will rise.
01:04:49Court is adjourned.
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