Winifred Carrick (23 April 1892 – 1938?) was a New Zealand woman who was acquitted of child murder in February 1918, after the death of her three-year-old son Donald in December 1917. She was born (1892) and married (1919) as Mary Winifred Carrick.
Circumstances of case (December 1917)
In May 1915, Carrick tried to abandon her infant son Donald Lewis Carrick by leaving him in a hollow tree on the banks of the
Avon River in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, New Zealand. She was located and bail was set at two hundred pounds. She was unable to pay and served a two-year prison sentence. In the interim period, her son had been fostered out to the Burns family in
Addington Addington may refer to:
Places
In Australia:
* Addington, Victoria
In Canada:
* Addington, Ontario
* Addington County, Ontario (now Lennox and Addington County, Ontario)
* Addington Highlands, Ontario
* Addington Parish, New Brunswick
* Adding ...
, a suburb of Christchurch. Upon her release, Carrick contacted the Burns and spent time with her three-year-old son, although she had stated that she was experiencing financial hardship and could not pay maintenance for her child. On the night of 10 December 1917, Donald went missing. On 11 December, he was found amidst potatoes in the Burns family garden at 31 Clifton Street with his head battered in. Carrick could not account for her whereabouts and moreover, her skirt, stockings and handbag had dirt particles adhering to them
Consequently, Carrick was charged with 'wilful murder' of her child and there was a resultant trial in Christchurch between December 1917 and February 1918. However, Justice Chapman noted that the prosecution had provided circumstantial evidence alone for the case in question and advised the jury that if it had any doubt about Carrick's culpability for the death of her son, they should return a 'not guilty' verdict. As it happened, the
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
indeed had doubts about the evidence offered and returned a not guilty verdict, and so Carrick was acquitted of 'wilful murder' of her child.
[Stephen Eldred-Grigg: "An 'Ordinary' Infanticide" ''Christchurch Press'': 6 May 2006]
Carrick married Charles Riley on 2 May 1919 and appears to have died in 1938.
See also
*
Lillian Fanny Jane Hobbs
Lillian Fanny Jane Hobbs (1882–1952) was a New Zealand woman who was acquitted of killing her newborn infant through neglect and therefore was not found guilty of infanticide.
Circumstances of case (1907)
On 7 October 1907 in Christchurch, N ...
, also charged with wilful murder of her child but also acquitted (1907)
*
Infanticide in Nineteenth 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 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.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrick, Winifred
1892 births
1930s deaths
Year of death uncertain
People acquitted of murder
20th-century New Zealand women
20th-century New Zealand people