Phoebe Veitch (nee Harper) (c.1860–1891) was a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
murderer
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
. She drowned her daughter Phoebe in the
Wanganui River
The Wanganui River is in the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It flows northwest for from its headwaters in the Southern Alps, entering the Tasman Sea near Lake Ianthe, southwest of Hokitika
Hokitika is a town in the Wes ...
in 1883 and was tried and subsequently convicted of murder. Whilst she was originally
sentenced to death
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, her sentence was later commuted to
life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
.
Early life
Phoebe was born and raised in
Feilding
Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council.
Feilding has w ...
in the
North Island, New Zealand
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
around 1860. In 1874 she went to work at her uncle's hotel in
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
in the
South Island, New Zealand
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
. Although only 14 years old she became pregnant and the following year gave birth to a son, Herbert Bertrand Harper.
In 1876 she met Robert Veitch who had come to work as a barman in the hotel. Phoebe became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter and in 1879 married Veitch. Shortly after the marriage, Phoebe was born. However, Phoebe was clearly not Robert's child, as she was half-Asian. This became common knowledge in the community. In 1882 he wandered off and never returned. Phoebe turned to
prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
to survive.
She contracted
lupus
Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Comm ...
and moved home.
Drowning of daughter and conviction
On Monday 26 February 1883, Veitch drowned her four-year-old daughter (also named Phoebe Veitch) in the
Wanganui River
The Wanganui River is in the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It flows northwest for from its headwaters in the Southern Alps, entering the Tasman Sea near Lake Ianthe, southwest of Hokitika
Hokitika is a town in the Wes ...
. According to a contemporary newspaper account, the body of the younger Phoebe Veitch was found on the Wanganui River beach on the morning of 27 February by Arthur Fitchett, a telegraph linesperson. Giving medical testimony, Dr Earle noted that the drowned child was the product of a cross-cultural relationship between persons of Chinese and European descent.
According to Mrs Eliza Blight, a second witness, Mrs Phoebe Veitch had three children- Herbert (7), a daughter, and "Flossie" (Phoebe) (4). Mrs Blight noted that Mrs Veitch was having difficulty bringing up her children and had intended to send her daughter to
Feilding
Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council.
Feilding has w ...
, a northern settlement in the
Manawatu district in the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
of New Zealand. Mrs Blight noted that Mrs Veitch had tried to make her friend believe that the daughter was in danger from her aunt and might drown her.
Wanganui Police Inspector James was the next witness. At first, Mrs Veitch said she did not know where her daughter was, but under further investigation from the inspector and two police officers, she then claimed that her daughter had fallen accidentally from the Wanganui River wharf and drowned. Subsequently, after being taken to view her child's body, Mrs. Veitch changed her story once more and then stated that it was the child's putative father who killed her. She said his name was "Sam Timaru" and gave contradictory descriptions of his ethnicity as either from
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
or
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
. Further evidence revealed that Mrs. Veitch was a single parent and had been abandoned by her children's father to bring them up alone. Her husband or lover did not appear during the trial to substantiate these claims.
The jury retired and found Phoebe Veitch guilty of murder, but with a recommendation of mercy. Mrs. Veitch was pregnant with another child at the time, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court then sentenced her to death, although it remained to be disclosed whether the pregnancy could be substantiated by local
midwives
A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; con ...
. This was then proven and her death sentence was deferred until after the birth. She named her fourth child Robert who was taken away to a "baby farm" shortly after birth.
Reprieve and death
On 25 May it was reported that Ministers of the Crown had intervened in the case and commuted Mrs. Veitch's sentence to life imprisonment. She was imprisoned in
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
at the Terrace Gaol and gave birth to a fourth child, Robert, before dying there on 2 September 1891
Comparing the Veitch case with those of
Caroline Whitting
Caroline Whitting (c. 1834 – ?) was a nineteenth-century New Zealand murderer, who was found guilty of killing three of her children through drowning in 1872 and sentenced to death. However, as with Phoebe Veitch in 1883, her sentence was commute ...
,
Sarah-Jane and Anna Flannagan
Sarah-Jane (born 1841) and Anna Flannagan (born 1866) were 19th-century New Zealand murderers. Like Caroline Whitting (1872) and Phoebe Veitch (1883) before them, but unlike Minnie Dean subsequently (1895), the two women were initially sentenced to ...
and
Minnie Dean
As a first name, Minnie is a feminine given name. It can be a diminutive (hypocorism) of Minerva, Winifred, Wilhelmina, Hermione, Mary, Miriam, Maria, Marie, Naomi, Miranda, Clementine or Amelia. It may refer to:
People with the given name
* ...
, Bronwyn Dalley has suggested that the courts were willing to recognise that arduous social and family circumstances could lead to maternal 'madness' and may have prompted commuted sentences, while Dean's death sentence was related to an element of deliberation absent in the Veitch, Whitting and other cases of parental child murder.
[Bronwyn Dalley: "Criminal Conversations: Gender and narratives of child murder in nineteenth century New Zealand" in Caroline Dalley and Julie Montgomerie (eds) ''The Gendered Kiwi'': Auckland: Auckland University Press: 1999]
See also
*
Minnie Dean
As a first name, Minnie is a feminine given name. It can be a diminutive (hypocorism) of Minerva, Winifred, Wilhelmina, Hermione, Mary, Miriam, Maria, Marie, Naomi, Miranda, Clementine or Amelia. It may refer to:
People with the given name
* ...
, the only woman executed in New Zealand history.
*
Caroline Whitting
Caroline Whitting (c. 1834 – ?) was a nineteenth-century New Zealand murderer, who was found guilty of killing three of her children through drowning in 1872 and sentenced to death. However, as with Phoebe Veitch in 1883, her sentence was commute ...
, also sentenced to death in 1872, after the murder of three of her own children, but also reprieved.
*
Lillian Fanny Jane Hobbs, acquitted of negligence and infant death after childbirth in 1907.
*
Infanticide in 19th-century New Zealand
Infanticide in 19th-century New Zealand was difficult to assess, especially for newborn indigenous Maori infants. Resultantly, many New Zealand women who might otherwise have been sentenced to penal servitude or capital punishment in New Zealand ...
References
Further reading
*Bronwyn Daley: "Criminal Conversations: Gender and narratives of child murder in nineteenth century New Zealand" in Caroline Dalley and Julie Montgomerie (eds) ''The Gendered Kiwi'': Auckland: Auckland University Press: 1999.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veitch, Phoebe
1883 murders in New Zealand
1891 deaths
Filicides
Incidents of violence against girls
New Zealand female murderers
New Zealand murderers of children
New Zealand people convicted of murder
People convicted of murder by New Zealand
Year of birth uncertain