A charge of attempting to murder his wife on April 22nd 1941 was preferred against Ernest Charles Pinn, of 6, Morrab-place, Penzance, at Penzance Police Court Friday morning.
The magistrates were:
The Mayor (Alderman Robert Thomas and Mr. A. T. Opie, with the clerk (Mr. R. B. G. Birtill) and the assistant clerk (Mr. S. O. Watkins).
Prosecuting on behalf of the Chief Constable of Penzance, Mr. R. L. Frank (Truro) said:
''On February 12th, 1940, the accused went to live at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas, at 6, Morrab Place, Penzance. So far as is known to Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas, he came from another boarding house, and was not then married. In April, 1940, he married Muriel Ethel Pinn. The accused is, some 20 years older than his wife. When the accused married Mrs. Pinn, he left Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas's house and did not Return to it until June 19th, 1940.
“On that date, he and his wife came back to stay there, and there they stayed until the matter which formed the basis of this charge arose”. There was one period when the accused was away, having joined the Army in June, 1940, but was discharged after two or three months on physical grounds as being unfit. During that time his wife went out to work, but continued to sleep at Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas's house. The accused and his wife had an attic bedroom at those premises, and the use of certain other rooms. They had their meals alone or with Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas, as they preferred, and they had the use of the basement kitchen where Mrs. Pinn did her washing and cooking.
Apparently, the parties were happy together. Mr. Pinn from time to time was moody, but there was no reason to suppose that anything serious was going to happen on that account.
In April 1941, Mrs. Pinn was expecting a baby in a "month or a couple of months' time. Tuesday, April 22nd, which was the date of the charge, everything was normal and happy at 6, Morrab-place, Penzance in the morning. The accused asked Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas if the postman had been; and seemed anxious about what the post was going to bring, but there was nothing to give cause for any kind of alarm. In the morning, Mr. and Mrs Pinn went shopping, came back, had dinner together, and after dinner Mrs. Pinn read the newspaper to her husband in the basement kitchen. A kitchen used by Mrs. Nicholas adjoined the other, and after dinner on this day Mrs. Nicholas heard Mrs. Pinn pouring some water into a bowl. That fact had impressed itself on Mrs. Nicholas's mind because, immediately after, she heard Mrs Pinn say: "Don't it, darling; leave me alone. Immediately afterwards she heard a terrible shrink, and with her husband she rushed into the room.
Mrs. Pinn was standing facing the Window with a kettle of water in her hand and the same time she was backing away from her husband, who was between her and the window, facing her and circling around in front of her.
The accused was looking very strange, with left arm held up by his chest and right- arm down by his side. When Mrs Nicholas went into the kitchen, Mrs Pinn said to her; Look to my husband, quick. Get him out of that; throw water over him. He will do again.' Mrs. Nicholas asked, what has he done: has he scalded you?' Mrs. Nicholas having in mind that Mrs. Pinn Was holding a kettle of boiling water. Mrs. Pinn said, ' See what he has done,' indicating her neck, and Mrs. Nicholas saw that her neck was bleeding. There were some spots of blood in the room, and Mrs Pinn had been standing where those spots were subsequently found. Mrs. Pinn then went upstairs to her own room and Mrs. Nicholas followed her. Meanwhile, Mr. Nicholas, who had come into the room, caught hold of Mr. Pinn and threw his, arms around him. The accused started struggling, but Mr. Nicholas managed to quieten him. The accused, who looked wild, got as far as the kitchen door, and there sat on the floor. It was not until Mrs. Pinn came downstairs in a minute or two later, and Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas had tried to pick him up, that the accused said he would go upstairs by himself. He went upstairs with Mr. Nicholas behind him, and he stayed in a front room until Dr Scott arrived. There were two young men lodging in the house, and they stayed with the accused, who was quite quiet by then.
ACCUSED QUESTIONED.
"As the result of a communication which was made to the police, between 2:30 and 3 o’clock that afternoon, P.C. Chegwidden went to the premises.
The accused was then sitting with his head resting in his hands, and the officer said to him, "You have to accompany me to the police station." To this he made no reply. He was taken to the Police station at Penzance.
"Meanwhile, Chief Constable R. C.M Jenkins and Det. Con. L. Symons had gone to the house. Outside the door of the kitchen they found an open pocket knife, the blade of which had been sharpened to a very sharp edge.
'The detective officer, in the presence of the Chief Constable, saw the accused and cautioned him at the police station. The Chief Constable said: 'You are going to be questioned on the serious injuries your sustained this afternoon. She has a serious throat wound; who did it?
The accused said, 'I did it.'
The Chief Constable asked, 'What with?' and Pinn replied I did it with a pocket knife.'
Why did you do it ? asked the Chief Constable, the accused said, 'I don’t know; something came over me all black. I have been suffering from bad nights and I can't sleep. The Chief Constable asked him how long he had the knife, and the accused replied, 'I Have had it sometime; about twelve months.' The Chief Constable asked, why did you sharpen it?" and he replied, I have always had it sharpened like that. I have another one here,' and produced another. When cautioned and charged with the offence, the accused said, I don't think I had better say anything; the charge is wrong.'
Whether the accused at the time of this offence was sane or insane; and whether capable mentally of pleading are not matters we can deal with in this court," concluded Mr. Frank. ' 'It is right I should say that there is certain Information in the hands of the police that at a previous time the accused had had mental trouble of one kind or another."
Eliza Ann Nicholas, of 6 Morrab Place Penzance, said during the time Mr. and Mrs. Pinn had been with her they seemed to be happy together, Pinn had said he was troubled about his financial position; he had been expecting some money and it had not come. When she went in after the alleged incident, the accused wife said: 'Pour water on him; get him out of that. He is either mad; or ln fit. He will do it again.'
Witness said, "Has he scalded you ?" and Mrs Pinn turned her neck and said, "look see what he has done."
Evidence was also given by James Hawken Nicholas, the' husband of the previous witness.
Dr W.J Sheehan. House surgeon at the West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance, said Mrs Pinn gave her age as 29, but she appeared to be about 25. She was suffering form in incised wound between 6 and 7 inches in length on the left hand side of her neck, extending from the hair margin at the back of the neck to almost the mid-line of the neck in front. The wound partially followed the curvature of the jaw, and involved the skin and the superficial fascia of the neck. The deep blood vessels were not exposed. Witness said he had inserted sixteen stitches in her neck. The woman was still in the hospital, but she would be fit to be discharged the next day.
Chief Constable R, C. M. Jenkins said the that accused told him that his married life had been happy, and that it had been the happiest year of his life. 'It took the accused a long time to understand that he was being questioned, and some of the questions he had had to repeat as much three times. Other police evidence was given by P.C. Chegwidden and Det.-Constable Symons.
Pinn told the Court when he said that the charge was wrong he did not know what he was saying. During the last month he said he had been ill, suffering from pains in the head, which he attributed to sleeplessness caused through air raids.
" I had no intention whatsoever or injuring my wife,” he said. The Bench committed accused to take his trial at the next Cornwall Assizes.
The magistrates were:
The Mayor (Alderman Robert Thomas and Mr. A. T. Opie, with the clerk (Mr. R. B. G. Birtill) and the assistant clerk (Mr. S. O. Watkins).
Prosecuting on behalf of the Chief Constable of Penzance, Mr. R. L. Frank (Truro) said:
''On February 12th, 1940, the accused went to live at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas, at 6, Morrab Place, Penzance. So far as is known to Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas, he came from another boarding house, and was not then married. In April, 1940, he married Muriel Ethel Pinn. The accused is, some 20 years older than his wife. When the accused married Mrs. Pinn, he left Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas's house and did not Return to it until June 19th, 1940.
“On that date, he and his wife came back to stay there, and there they stayed until the matter which formed the basis of this charge arose”. There was one period when the accused was away, having joined the Army in June, 1940, but was discharged after two or three months on physical grounds as being unfit. During that time his wife went out to work, but continued to sleep at Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas's house. The accused and his wife had an attic bedroom at those premises, and the use of certain other rooms. They had their meals alone or with Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas, as they preferred, and they had the use of the basement kitchen where Mrs. Pinn did her washing and cooking.
Apparently, the parties were happy together. Mr. Pinn from time to time was moody, but there was no reason to suppose that anything serious was going to happen on that account.
In April 1941, Mrs. Pinn was expecting a baby in a "month or a couple of months' time. Tuesday, April 22nd, which was the date of the charge, everything was normal and happy at 6, Morrab-place, Penzance in the morning. The accused asked Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas if the postman had been; and seemed anxious about what the post was going to bring, but there was nothing to give cause for any kind of alarm. In the morning, Mr. and Mrs Pinn went shopping, came back, had dinner together, and after dinner Mrs. Pinn read the newspaper to her husband in the basement kitchen. A kitchen used by Mrs. Nicholas adjoined the other, and after dinner on this day Mrs. Nicholas heard Mrs. Pinn pouring some water into a bowl. That fact had impressed itself on Mrs. Nicholas's mind because, immediately after, she heard Mrs Pinn say: "Don't it, darling; leave me alone. Immediately afterwards she heard a terrible shrink, and with her husband she rushed into the room.
Mrs. Pinn was standing facing the Window with a kettle of water in her hand and the same time she was backing away from her husband, who was between her and the window, facing her and circling around in front of her.
The accused was looking very strange, with left arm held up by his chest and right- arm down by his side. When Mrs Nicholas went into the kitchen, Mrs Pinn said to her; Look to my husband, quick. Get him out of that; throw water over him. He will do again.' Mrs. Nicholas asked, what has he done: has he scalded you?' Mrs. Nicholas having in mind that Mrs. Pinn Was holding a kettle of boiling water. Mrs. Pinn said, ' See what he has done,' indicating her neck, and Mrs. Nicholas saw that her neck was bleeding. There were some spots of blood in the room, and Mrs Pinn had been standing where those spots were subsequently found. Mrs. Pinn then went upstairs to her own room and Mrs. Nicholas followed her. Meanwhile, Mr. Nicholas, who had come into the room, caught hold of Mr. Pinn and threw his, arms around him. The accused started struggling, but Mr. Nicholas managed to quieten him. The accused, who looked wild, got as far as the kitchen door, and there sat on the floor. It was not until Mrs. Pinn came downstairs in a minute or two later, and Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas had tried to pick him up, that the accused said he would go upstairs by himself. He went upstairs with Mr. Nicholas behind him, and he stayed in a front room until Dr Scott arrived. There were two young men lodging in the house, and they stayed with the accused, who was quite quiet by then.
ACCUSED QUESTIONED.
"As the result of a communication which was made to the police, between 2:30 and 3 o’clock that afternoon, P.C. Chegwidden went to the premises.
The accused was then sitting with his head resting in his hands, and the officer said to him, "You have to accompany me to the police station." To this he made no reply. He was taken to the Police station at Penzance.
"Meanwhile, Chief Constable R. C.M Jenkins and Det. Con. L. Symons had gone to the house. Outside the door of the kitchen they found an open pocket knife, the blade of which had been sharpened to a very sharp edge.
'The detective officer, in the presence of the Chief Constable, saw the accused and cautioned him at the police station. The Chief Constable said: 'You are going to be questioned on the serious injuries your sustained this afternoon. She has a serious throat wound; who did it?
The accused said, 'I did it.'
The Chief Constable asked, 'What with?' and Pinn replied I did it with a pocket knife.'
Why did you do it ? asked the Chief Constable, the accused said, 'I don’t know; something came over me all black. I have been suffering from bad nights and I can't sleep. The Chief Constable asked him how long he had the knife, and the accused replied, 'I Have had it sometime; about twelve months.' The Chief Constable asked, why did you sharpen it?" and he replied, I have always had it sharpened like that. I have another one here,' and produced another. When cautioned and charged with the offence, the accused said, I don't think I had better say anything; the charge is wrong.'
Whether the accused at the time of this offence was sane or insane; and whether capable mentally of pleading are not matters we can deal with in this court," concluded Mr. Frank. ' 'It is right I should say that there is certain Information in the hands of the police that at a previous time the accused had had mental trouble of one kind or another."
Eliza Ann Nicholas, of 6 Morrab Place Penzance, said during the time Mr. and Mrs. Pinn had been with her they seemed to be happy together, Pinn had said he was troubled about his financial position; he had been expecting some money and it had not come. When she went in after the alleged incident, the accused wife said: 'Pour water on him; get him out of that. He is either mad; or ln fit. He will do it again.'
Witness said, "Has he scalded you ?" and Mrs Pinn turned her neck and said, "look see what he has done."
Evidence was also given by James Hawken Nicholas, the' husband of the previous witness.
Dr W.J Sheehan. House surgeon at the West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance, said Mrs Pinn gave her age as 29, but she appeared to be about 25. She was suffering form in incised wound between 6 and 7 inches in length on the left hand side of her neck, extending from the hair margin at the back of the neck to almost the mid-line of the neck in front. The wound partially followed the curvature of the jaw, and involved the skin and the superficial fascia of the neck. The deep blood vessels were not exposed. Witness said he had inserted sixteen stitches in her neck. The woman was still in the hospital, but she would be fit to be discharged the next day.
Chief Constable R, C. M. Jenkins said the that accused told him that his married life had been happy, and that it had been the happiest year of his life. 'It took the accused a long time to understand that he was being questioned, and some of the questions he had had to repeat as much three times. Other police evidence was given by P.C. Chegwidden and Det.-Constable Symons.
Pinn told the Court when he said that the charge was wrong he did not know what he was saying. During the last month he said he had been ill, suffering from pains in the head, which he attributed to sleeplessness caused through air raids.
" I had no intention whatsoever or injuring my wife,” he said. The Bench committed accused to take his trial at the next Cornwall Assizes.
