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POISON PEN CASETHREE TRIALS HELD—- •Girl AcquittedVO evidence wa* offered by the prosecution against Miss Dorothy Myrtle Thurburn when she was put in the dock at lhe .\slsc Court at Norwich to stand her trial for the thud time un the alleged author of Uic fiihertngh*m poi-bon-peu letters.On the dlrec-.on of the judge the juryeturned a verdict of not guilty on all t 'e counts on the indictment, and Miss Thurburn left the court a free woman.For nearly a yesr this pretty to year-old country girl Las had these grave charge h- aging over her. mention 1-uvliifx been previously made of this remarkable ca*e in The World ■ News.’*After having be-.u accused of being the anonymous letter writer whose ven«*-moua pen ius for three years directed a campaign of hate »nd malice against the leading rcsideniB of Sheringham. she has borne her long ordeal with remarkable fortitude, aud she kept her self-possession to the end.Not s sign of emotion did she betray when she surrendered to her bail and look her place in the high wooden doc* by the side of a wordless.Mr. Gerald Dodsou. for the prosecution. at once got up and announced that he did not propose to offer any evidence against her.Mr. Justice Rigby Swift told the Jury, quite shortly, that accused persons could bo convicted only on evidence, jud that II wa« therefore their duty to return * verdict of not guilty.Each of the nine charges on the indictment were read over, and on ea-h charge the Jury returned a verdict of not guilty.Mr. J. D. Camels, K.C., who had In-tcmipted his election campaign at Leyton to appear on behalf of the accused girL then formally applied for her tobe discharged. -'Yes. Mr. Caaaeis. let her be discharged.” said the Judge, end Miss Thurburn went quietly away with her mother.Not a soul was waiting outside the shire b»ll. but later, in a Norwich hotel. Miss Thurburn was congratulated on her acquittal by a number of friends, with whom she shook hands and chatted gaily.So ended the prosecution In which la rrobably the most remarkable anonymous letter case England has ever known, for It is now possible to aay that upwards of 2.000 libel letter* have been sent out since the campaign began, and about SO persons have been persecuted.Not all these Uhd letters were posted in Sheringham. Some were sent front Norwich, an-i others from Eastbourne. Bournemouth. North Berwick, York, Pinner, and other places.Ddfencd Costs £4,000It is understood that the abortive prosecution has cost the county £J,U00, and Slim Thurburn said that the expenses of her dcfenoc amounted to not leas than £4JH0.But in spite of all the publicity and the police activity, the anoynmous letter writer has not yet been adcnoed. Fresh libel letter* have been circulating in Shringbam since Miss Thurban's second trial.These letters have been typewritten, and have been worded in much fouler and moro abusive terms than any that have gone before. They arc said to touch the lowest depths of obscenity.Nothing seems to be able to quench the torrent of malicious slander. The letters went on after Miss Thurburnsrreet in November of last year. They were irwewed after her inconclusive triak-before wfr. Justice Horrid ge. in January, and ngaJn after her second trial, also inconclusive, before Mr. Justice Sankey, in June.Wild accusations of immorality and hypocrisy have been broadcast indiscriminately, and the ceaseless campaign bos so preyed upon the minds of someof the residents that they have had toleave Sheringham for long periods.Airs. Thurburn. the mother of the ac-cU'*eJ girl, sold her house a month ago. ami went to Eastbourne with her daughter.••Norfolk is tho worst county for scaiut.il mat I have ever known, and nothing •vould ever Induce me to 11 vt ih.ro again. she said.Mrs. and Mina Thurburn say that they ha%e sutiered more than anyone else at the ha.ub of the anonymous writer, and .bat they have received uo fewer than JC0 letter* in all.Mias Dorothy Thurburn spoke very feelingly about her ‘•nightmare’' exle-.ce since tho poison pen campaign bo 4«n—how she dreaded to hear the post-nan's knock, and how almost every day brought its new terror.She also told an amaaing story of how she hnd been relentlessly pursued by the unseen hand” and how threats jf every kind had been made against her. even threats to take her l.I cannot say how relieved I am that th* case is over.” she said, after her acquittal. “The pnat year has been tenrble, and I am going away to try to forget it all.After my second trial I heard that the prosecution wasted to ester a nolle prosequi, but I would not agree to that. I insisted that there should be a verdict of not guilty, so that my character should be cleared.I would rather have undergone athird trial than allow the charges to be dropped quietly.Still Being PesteredWe have been driven away from Shcringlutra by the scandal of lying tongues, but I ahull never forget the kindness of the poorer people there. They never would believe that I could have been guilty of the awful things that have been *uid against me.My character has been cleared, but the mystery of the anonymous letters remains unsolved. I feel sure there is a gang at work. There have been so many letters that they cannot all have been written by one person.I am sure, aim, that a man is at the back of it alL No woman would use such word* I think the police ought to go on with the coon until the guilty person 1a found.My mother and I are still being pestered with postcards and letters and package* Some are sent through the poet, and others dropped into the letterbox, thrown through the windows, orslipped under doors. It is unnerving.' When we were staying at Eastbourne. before my second trial, a letter came to me, signed The Cneeen Hand/ which asked me to be at a certain Eastbourne Hotel at 11.M that evening. Of course I did not go, and next day another letter came, which said, ‘As you were not at the hotel, I will give you the fright of your life.*A day or two afterwards my mother and 1 came.home, and found that the dining room door was locked from the inside. The key was mitring- Evidently someone had jumped in through the window.We called the police in, and had the house searched, but no one could be found. MNot long afterward a letter came enclosing the miming key. The letter ran, ‘I am sending back to you the key of your heart.*When we went back to Sheringham to arrange for the sale of our house, it had more tseuble. We wm always hearing mysterious footstep* at night.One letter came which said, ‘You ■hall not escape u*. If yon try to leave Sheringham we will kill you/“Now that my trial is over. I hope and pray that the anonymous writer will at last leave us in peace.
Newspaper Details
Adelaide Mail
Adelaide, South Australia, AU
Sat, Jan 03, 1925
Page 24
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 12 May 2023
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