by Pip Smith
If his client had gone into the police court a nervous wreck, now she was almost catatonic with worry. As she rose from her seat, she left the colour from her cheeks behind. Cohen had hoped word would reach his client’s wife that the hearing was finally on (how could she miss it, when it was shouted by every newsboy at every tram stop in the city?), but she had not shown, and Cohen suspected the worst. Even the daughter—who had known his client’s secret from the beginning—had not made any effort to support her mother. He—a lawyer—was the closest thing to a friend she had.
On Wednesday morning, the case was called on in No. 3 Court. There was not a dock there, and in order that she should not be exposed to uncomfortable scrutiny a green folding screen was provided by the police authorities. This was placed round a chair just behind the solicitors’ table, so that the accused woman could be seen only by the magistrate, the witnesses, the members of the legal profession, and the court officials. Dressed in man’s clothes, as before, Falleni was brought into court before the public was admitted.15
DR ARTHUR AUBREY PALMER, Government Medical Officer, said that he held a post-mortem examination upon a charred body on October 3, 1917. The upper portion was badly burnt, and the junction between the charred portions and the other was red and blistered.
Dr Palmer: This led me to believe that the burning took place before death.16
Mr Kidston: Can you say whether she was conscious or unconscious?
Dr Palmer: No.
The doctor then described his second examination at the Morgue, on July 22, after the body had been exhumed.17 Several X-ray photographs were taken. These were produced.18
Dr Palmer: We found in the skull a number of fissures extending for the most part through the whole thickness of the bone. With one possible exception, these were all due to the influence of severe heat and the subsequent dissolving of the charred tissue.19 That possible exception was a crack in the right side at the back of the head, which measured on the outer surface between two and three inches. This was in a situation, and had an appearance, which might have been caused by violence, such as a fall or a blow.
Mr Kidston: During life?
Dr Palmer: There was nothing to show if it was caused during life or death. It could have been caused during life.
[ … ]
Mr Kidston: Supposing the woman was injured, reduced to unconsciousness, and then burnt, would that be a possible theory of what happened?
Mr Cohen: I object to that.
Mr Kidston: I am only asking his opinion.
Dr Palmer: Presuming it was due to violence she would probably have been unconscious at the time. An injury which would produce that fissure would, in many cases, produce unconsciousness.20
Mr Cohen: Did you see any trace of bullet wounds?
Dr Palmer: No.
Mr Cohen: There were no marks of violence?
Dr Palmer: Only with one possible exception.
Mr Cohen: How long were you at the locality on October 2?
Dr Palmer: About a quarter of an hour. Superintendent Tait was there with four or five other police.
Mr Cohen: Were the police searching the locality?
Dr Palmer: I think they were.
Mr Cohen: Did you see a whisky bottle?
Dr Palmer: Yes. It had a faint smell of spirits of some kind—probably kerosene or methylated spirits; but I would not be sure of that.
Mr Cohen: Would it have been possible for the woman to have fallen asleep and caught fire?
Dr Palmer: I think it would have been.
Mr Cohen: Did you notice any signs of a struggle?
Dr Palmer: I was not so much interested in that aspect.
Mr Cohen: Is it a fact women burn more quickly than men?
Dr Palmer: Yes; but that is on account of the nature of their clothing.
Mr Cohen: Would you say it would not be possible for the crack on the right side of the head to be caused by heat?
Dr Palmer: I would not say that.21 Before I had studied the particular crack, I would have said it was caused by violence, but now I am not sure, it might be either.22
DR STRATFORD SHELDON corroborated Dr Palmer’s evidence, but he still had the impression that the crack on the right side of the head was due to violence, but whether ante or post mortem he could not say.23
The doctors were retired, and Kidston turned to see the gallery—his dress rehearsal jury—nod to each other, impressed by the gravitas of the doctors. Then, HARRY BIRKETT, the son of the dead woman, was recalled, and produced a copy of the ‘Evening News’ of October 16, 1917, containing a reproduction of a photograph of his mother’s boots. The accused, he said, got him to read a copy of the ‘Evening News’ in which was a photograph of the shoes, but he could not remember the date. The photograph was similar.
Mr Kidston (reading from the paper): It was on page three of the issue of—
Mr Cohen (shouting): I object!
He snatched the paper from Mr Kidston’s hand.
Mr Cohen: He was going to read the date out. I have strong reasons for objecting to it.
Mr Kidston: You’ve got strong hands. I don’t know what your reasons are, but there’s no reason to resort to violence.
Mr Gale admitted the newspaper.24
HENRIETTA SCHIEBLICH was the next witness, for whom an interpreter in German was sworn. The witness was ill, and after being sworn, sat beside the witness-box, with a lady friend who held smelling-salts. She gave her evidence mainly in broken English, but at times, when she could not express herself clearly, the services of the interpreter were necessary.25 She said that accused came with his step-son to her place in Cathedral Street.26 He took a room, and told her he had sold his own furniture the previous day.27
Mrs Schieblich: Accused’s behaviour was as if he had been extremely excited or half-mad. He told me that if two big fellows, looking like policemen, came there and asked if he lived there, we must say he did not.
[ … ]
Mrs Schieblich continued her story in broken English, dispensing with the interpreter.28
Mr Kidston: How did Crawford speak to the boy?
Mrs Schieblich: He always spoke very sharply to him. Not cruelly; he spoke the same way to us all.29
Mr Cohen: This man became so confidential with you that he told you that he gave his wife a crack on the head?
Mrs Schieblich: Yes.
Mr Cohen: What did you say? Did you not say, ‘Oh, you bad man’?
Mrs Schieblich: No, I said, ‘You should not have hit her so hard.’
[ … ]
Mr Cohen: Is it not an invention on your part about Falleni saying he was haunted?
Mrs Schieblich: No, it is not.30
Accused left, but came back later, and said that he had been living with his wife at North Shore, but they had had another terrible row and parted again. Witness said, ‘Bring her to me, and I’ll bring you together again.’31
LYDIA PARNELL … was greatly agitated, and her body shook with sobs as she entered the witness box. She was sworn and was then given a chair on the floor of the Court. She took frequent drinks from a glass of water while giving evidence.
[ … ]
Mr Kidston: You know this person as Crawford; is that the person present in the Court?
The witness looked towards Falleni, and almost inaudibly murmured, ‘Yes.’ She broke down again, and had another glass of water and removed her hat.
Regaining her composure, Mrs Parnell said she asked the boy if he knew where his mother was, and he said he did not. About an hour later Crawford told her he had sold all the furniture. The next morning, Crawford told her that the boy was comfortable with some relatives.32
Mrs Parnell: In December of 1917 he told me that he had met his wife in George Street, and that she had asked him for money. He said that he told her he had none, and jumped on a tram-car. (To Mr Cohen): Falleni was always a very welcome friend at our house. I only saw him under the influence of liquor twice. That was at parties. He was practica
lly one of our own.33
GEORGE WILLIAM PARNELL, son of the last witness, said on one occasion Falleni asked him to read the paper, and see if anyone had been found dead or murdered. He read an account of a body being found in the bush at Chatswood, and Falleni exclaimed, ‘That’s the —! That’s her!’ For about a week witness was requested by accused to read the paper, and ‘see if there was any more bodies found’.34
The hearing was adjourned until the following morning.35
From an early hour on the Thursday a crowd waited to gain admittance to the court, and about 10 minutes after the doors opened the public enclosure and the precincts of the court were crammed.
[ … ]
ERNEST BONE, husband of a previous witness, said he was in business at Drummoyne. The accused left The Avenue, Drummoyne, on the Wednesday after September 29, 1917.
[ … ]
Mr Kidston: Did you come into touch with the deceased?
Mr Bone: Yes. She was a very nice woman.
[ … ]
Mr Kidston: Did you ever hear the accused use an offensive name about his wife?
Mr Bone: Oh, yes. One day when we were all down at the beach at Five Dock, prawning, I heard him say, ‘Come here, you long, skinny—’36
FALLENI’S DAUGHTER … was dressed in neat navy serge costume, blue silk stockings, and black shoes. Her blue hat was trimmed with imitation fruits, and she wore37 a grey motor veil. This she carefully kept down over her face all the time, so that not a glimpse of her features could be obtained.38 She wept bitterly as she was escorted to a seat near the witness-box by a friend, and continued weeping while giving her evidence.39 She became quieter for a time, but when asked if she was the daughter of the accused, she burst into tears again, crying loudly.40 She sobbed all the time she was giving her answers, and her replies were difficult to understand.41
Falleni eyed the girl very closely. She kept tapping her left foot continually on the floor.42
She gave her name as JOSEPHINE CRAWFORD FALLENI and said she lived in Harris Street, Pyrmont. The first she remembered was that her mother used to visit the house where she was brought up.43
Mr Kidston: Where did you first come into contact with Mrs Birkett, afterwards known to you as Mrs Crawford?
Miss Falleni: I can’t remember the year.
Mr Kidston: Do you remember how many years it was before 1917?
Miss Falleni: I can’t remember at all.
Mr Kidston: How old was Harry Birkett when you first knew him?
Miss Falleni: I don’t know. I had very little to do with Harry.44
Mr Kidston: You always knew your mother was a woman?
Miss Falleni: Yes.
Mr Kidston: She went about in man’s clothes?
Miss Falleni: Yes.
Mr Kidston: When did Mrs Birkett find the accused was a woman?
Miss Falleni: I don’t know. She never told me anything about her business.
Mr Kidston: Did your mother ever say anything about the police?
Miss Falleni: No.45
Mr Kidston: Did she tell you whether Mrs Birkett knew she was a woman?
Miss Falleni: No. She told me nothing at all.
Mr Kidston: Do you remember when it was that Mrs Birkett came to live with your mother as her wife?
Miss Falleni: She was in the shop at Balmain.
Mr Kidston: Were you at the marriage?
Miss Falleni: No.46
Mr Kidston: What did you call your mother?
Miss Falleni: I never used to call her anything at all.
Mr Kidston: Did she tell you what to call her in Mrs Birkett’s presence?
Miss Falleni: No.
Mr Kidston: Did you see if they occupied the same bedroom?
Miss Falleni: Yes. The same room and the same bed.
Mr Kidston: What terms were they on? Did they have rows?
Miss Falleni: They used to have rows over me.
Mr Kidston: What terms were you on with your mother?
Miss Falleni: Not very good terms.
Mr Kidston: Did you go to your mother’s place at Drummoyne?
Miss Falleni: Yes, Mrs Crawford was there.
Mr Kidston: Did your mother ever tell you about Mrs Crawford finding out she was a woman?
Miss Falleni: She never told me.
Mr Kidston: Did you ever tell anybody in your mother’s presence, at a table, that your mother was a woman, or that Mrs Crawford would find it out?
Mr Gale: Her mother would naturally be a woman.
Mr Kidston: But dressed in men’s clothes. (To witness): Did you ever tell anybody in your mother’s presence that your mother was a woman, dressed in men’s clothes?
Miss Falleni: I don’t remember.
Mr Kidston: Did you ever ask your mother about Mrs Crawford’s jewellery?
Miss Falleni: No.
Mr Kidston: Do you remember the last time you saw Mrs Crawford?
Miss Falleni: No, I don’t remember.
Mr Kidston: Did your mother ever tell you Mrs Crawford had disappeared?
Miss Falleni: No.
Mr Kidston: Do you remember reading in the paper about a body being found in the bush at Chatswood?
Miss Falleni: Yes.
Mr Kidston: Do you remember your mother telling you anything about it?
Miss Falleni: I forget now.
Mr Kidston: Did you ever remember?
Miss Falleni: I don’t remember at all.
Mr Kidston: Did you ever remember?
Miss Falleni: No, I did not.
Mr Kidston: Do you think you will ever remember?—
Mr Cohen: I object.
Mr Gale: We can’t have that, Mr Kidston.
[ … ]
Mr Kidston: Did your mother ever drink?
Miss Falleni: Not in my company. I never saw her under the influence of drink.
Mr Kidston: Did you ever make a statement to the police?
Miss Falleni: Yes.
Mr Cohen: I object.
Mr Gale (to Mr Kidston): You can only have that fact.
Mr Kidston (showing witness a document): Will you look at that signature? Is that yours?
Miss Falleni: Yes; I did sign that.
Mr Kidston: That is your signature to the statement you made to the police?
Miss Falleni: Yes.
Mr Kidston: Before you signed it, it was read over to you?
Miss Falleni: Yes, by Detective Robson.
Mr Kidston: Were you satisfied it was correct?
Mr Cohen: I object.
The objection was upheld.
Mr Cohen: In what condition of mind were you when you signed that statement?
Miss Falleni: I was too upset.
Mr Cohen: Did you understand what Detective Robson was reading at the time?
Miss Falleni: I was too upset and sick of it all.47
Mr Cohen: Some time ago you received a letter from me, asking you to call at my office?
Miss Falleni: Yes.
Mr Cohen: And I believe you took it to the Police Department, and they advised you?
Miss Falleni: Not to go to your office.
Mr Cohen: What were the rows about between the accused and Mrs Crawford?
Miss Falleni: Mrs Crawford said she didn’t get enough board money out of me.
Mr Cohen: Did you ever see Mrs Crawford drink?
Miss Falleni: Yes, beer.
Mr Cohen: Did she take whisky?
Miss Falleni: I never saw her take it, but she smelt of it.48 She used to smash up things when she was like that.
Mr Cohen: You remember on one occasion—
Mr Kidston objected to Mr Cohen breaking new ground in his cross-examination.
Mr Gale: It is quite evident that she is giving evidence willingly now where she was unwilling before, but the poor girl is in a trying position, and I’m sorry for her.
[ … ]
Mr Kidston: Your mother has been dressed as a man ever since you can remember?
Miss Falleni: Ye
s.
Mr Gale: I think we will adjourn for lunch now, and that will give the witness a chance to pull herself together.
Mr Kidston: She’s been crying for three days, and I don’t think it will be any better.
After the adjournment, Miss Falleni was asked further questions. She was still sobbing.
Mr Kidston: In view of the attitude taken by the present witness towards Mr Cohen and the answers she gave to him, I ask permission to treat the witness as a hostile witness.
Mr Cohen: I object for this reason: The unfortunate girl is very upset, and she has answered Mr Kidston to the best of her ability.
[ … ]
Mr Gale (to the witness): I’m very sorry for the position in which you are placed, but in fairness to your unfortunate mother and everybody else we want the whole truth, you understand, and any information you can give. We want to know all about it.
Mr Cohen: She’s perfectly justified in saying she cannot remember if she can’t.
Mr Gale: No, but if she can she must tell us.49
Mr Kidston: You said that your mother never drank in your company.
Miss Falleni: Yes, it is right.
Mr Kidston: You remember making a statement to the police?
Miss Falleni: Yes.
A statement was shown to the witness, but she said she did not want to read it. [ … ] Mr Kidston then read the statement, as follows:
Mr Kidston: ‘My mother often used to smoke a lot, and drink a lot of whisky, and she smelt of whisky a lot …’
Mr Kidston then asked that the young woman be treated as a hostile witness.
Mr Gale: I allow it.
Mr Cohen: I formally object to your ruling.
Mr Kidston: Did Detective Robson, in the taking of this statement, treat you with harshness or kindness?
Miss Falleni: With kindness.50
Mr Kidston then asked the witness a few more questions, and tendered the statement made by her to detective Robson.51
Mr Gale pronounced that the accused would stand trial at the Central Criminal Court, and bail would be refused.
Leaving court, the young Kidston smiled at Cohen. Nice try, the smile said, but we got around your tricks in the end.