- 19/06/2025
Seventeen year old Arthur Holland is charged with the murder of his twenty six year old step-mother. Mrs. Holland died after consuming poisonous mushrooms which had been offered to her by him.
Jeremy Child (A Fish Called Wanda, Sapphire & Steel) plays the prosecuting counsel. TP McKenna plays the defence counsel. John Ringham plays the defendant's father. Both McKenna and Ringham played roles in Doctor Who as well as numerous other TV shows. Watch out also for Hugh Fraser, here playing Dr Reeve, but perhaps better known for playing Hastings to David Suchet's Poirot.
Jeremy Child (A Fish Called Wanda, Sapphire & Steel) plays the prosecuting counsel. TP McKenna plays the defence counsel. John Ringham plays the defendant's father. Both McKenna and Ringham played roles in Doctor Who as well as numerous other TV shows. Watch out also for Hugh Fraser, here playing Dr Reeve, but perhaps better known for playing Hastings to David Suchet's Poirot.
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TVTranscript
00:00:00The
00:00:19case you're about to see is fictional, but the procedure is authentic.
00:00:23The characters are played by actors, but the jury is selected from members of the public.
00:00:28Members of the jury, the charge, as you have heard, is murder.
00:00:32Let me add that it is a particularly cowardly form of murder,
00:00:36because the weapon used was poison.
00:00:39The prosecution case will be that on the 25th of September last year,
00:00:43Arthur Holland, who is only 17 years old, but nevertheless criminally responsible,
00:00:48did murder his stepmother, Mrs Marjorie Holland,
00:00:51by feeding her a number of mushrooms which he knew to be of a poisonous species.
00:00:57Are you Dr Philip Belmore, and you live at 5 Birdbrook Avenue, Fulton?
00:01:03Yes.
00:01:04How many years have you been the family doctor attending the Holland family?
00:01:08Eleven years.
00:01:09Could you tell the court, please, what happened, if you can cast your mind back,
00:01:13to the early hours of September the 26th last year?
00:01:16I remember it clearly.
00:01:18At five minutes to midnight, I was woken by the telephone.
00:01:21It was young Arthur Holland, the defendant.
00:01:24He said that he'd come home, found his stepmother, that she'd fallen down the stairs,
00:01:29and that he believed she'd hit her head.
00:01:32I asked if she was conscious.
00:01:34He said no.
00:01:35I told him not to move her, to call an ambulance, and said that I would be there as quickly as possible.
00:01:40And how long did it take you?
00:01:41Fifteen minutes.
00:01:42I arrived before the ambulance.
00:01:45What did you find when you arrived?
00:01:47Mrs. Holland, Mrs. Marjorie Holland, was lying at the foot of the staircase.
00:01:52She was unconscious and had been secreting saliva.
00:01:55I also noticed that her pupils were constricted and that she was perspiring heavily.
00:02:00There was also lacrimation, a watering of the eyes.
00:02:03And what did you diagnose was wrong with her?
00:02:05The symptoms were very similar to those of cholera, except for the constriction of the pupils.
00:02:10I immediately suspected a form of alkaloid poisoning.
00:02:13Her pulse rate bore this out. It was extremely low.
00:02:17Were there any injuries to her head?
00:02:19None.
00:02:20Let me ask you about her position when you found her. How exactly was she lying?
00:02:26On her right side, her head resting on the lobby carpet, but her buttocks were higher up on the bottom stairs.
00:02:33And how were her legs?
00:02:34They were curled in quite tightly.
00:02:36Did you see any physical injuries on her at all?
00:02:39None.
00:02:40And what did you deduce from that?
00:02:42That she had not fallen down the stairs.
00:02:44Her symptoms were consistent with alkaloid poisoning.
00:02:48Would that alone have caused her to have become unconscious?
00:02:51Yes.
00:02:52Did it surprise you that the defendant had said she's fallen down stairs and he believed she'd hit her head?
00:02:58Yes. I saw nothing whatsoever to support that belief.
00:03:01Could you explain to the court what alkaloid poisoning is?
00:03:05Yes. It's poisoning caused by various organic bases which are found in plants, including fungi.
00:03:11What happened after you found Mrs. Holland?
00:03:14I asked Arthur, the defendant, if she'd eaten anything within the last few hours.
00:03:19He said that he'd picked her some mushrooms, but that he'd gone out and didn't know at what time she'd eaten them.
00:03:25Did he say how many he'd picked for her?
00:03:27Nine or ten. He couldn't be precise.
00:03:29I asked if he'd eaten any. He said no. I asked if he had a specimen. He said yes and went upstairs to his bedroom to fetch it.
00:03:37And what did you do?
00:03:38I telephoned Fulchester General Hospital and spoke to Dr. Anderson of the poisoning unit.
00:03:43While I was giving him details, the ambulance arrived.
00:03:46And did the defendant bring the mushroom to you?
00:03:49Yes. It was in a waxed paper bag, the kind that breakfast cereals are enclosed in.
00:03:55And what did this mushroom look like?
00:03:57It was small and ivory-coloured and heavily stained with red.
00:04:01Dr. Belmore, what do you mean, stained?
00:04:04I mean it was a biological characteristic.
00:04:07I see. Thank you, Mr. Markson.
00:04:09My lord. Then what did you do?
00:04:11I travelled in the ambulance, with the mushroom, to the hospital.
00:04:15Arthur came with me, of course.
00:04:17Couldn't you have treated Mrs. Holland yourself?
00:04:19No. No, I couldn't. The only drug that has any effect is atropin and I don't keep it.
00:04:25Is that normal?
00:04:26Perfectly, my lord. Because alkaloid poisoning is caused by plants,
00:04:30which include fungi, one hardly ever comes across it in towns.
00:04:34Yes, I see, my lord.
00:04:37Did Mrs. Holland regain consciousness at all in the ambulance?
00:04:40She did not.
00:04:42How would you describe the defendant's state? Was he anxious?
00:04:46He appeared very calm.
00:04:48Did he say anything to you in the ambulance about the mushrooms his stepmother had eaten?
00:04:52Yes. He said, I thought they were edible.
00:04:55I identified them as St. George's mushrooms.
00:04:58Did that remark surprise you?
00:05:00No, because I knew that mushrooms were his hobby.
00:05:02What happened when you got to the hospital?
00:05:05Mrs. Holland's pulse was extremely low.
00:05:08I stayed with her while Dr. Anderson gave a venous injection of two milligrams of atropin.
00:05:14Only shortly afterwards, however, she died.
00:05:17And what did you do with the mushroom?
00:05:19I gave it to Sister Crippin.
00:05:21An unfortunate name but a sister in the poisoning unit.
00:05:24One more question, Dr. Belmore.
00:05:27How soon after consumption of those poisonous mushrooms would these symptoms have occurred?
00:05:32Very rapidly. Within minutes to a maximum of two hours.
00:05:36Thank you, Dr. Belmore.
00:05:38Dr. Belmore, you say you saw nothing whatsoever to support the belief that she had fallen down stairs.
00:05:49That's correct.
00:05:50Yet she was lying at the foot of the stairs.
00:05:52Yes.
00:05:53To a layman, might it not look as though she had fallen down them?
00:05:57Her symptoms were not consistent with any fall.
00:06:00With respect, that is a doctor's opinion.
00:06:03I suggest these symptoms might not appear significant to a layman.
00:06:07Salivation, perspiration, constricted pupils.
00:06:11They're hardly as dramatic as a body lying at the bottom of a staircase.
00:06:16There were no injuries, and certainly there wasn't one to her head.
00:06:19The defendant did only say he believed she'd hit her head.
00:06:23Yes.
00:06:24Well, given the fact that she was unconscious, wasn't this a natural assumption?
00:06:28For a layman, perhaps.
00:06:31The defendant is only seventeen, Dr. Belmore.
00:06:35When he brought the mushroom to you, and you saw the red stains on the flesh, did he say anything?
00:06:39No.
00:06:40I put it to you, he said, it wasn't that colour earlier on this evening.
00:06:44He made no comment like that at all.
00:06:46I see he just gave it to you mutely.
00:06:48He may have said something.
00:06:50But you can't remember.
00:06:51He did not say what you suggested.
00:06:53Did his calmness help you?
00:06:55It certainly didn't hinder me.
00:06:57But did it help you?
00:06:58Yes.
00:06:59In what way?
00:07:00He told me about the mushrooms, directly I asked.
00:07:04Fetched the specimen.
00:07:05Told me all I needed to know.
00:07:07Are you saying that he didn't panic, and therefore helped you to deal with the emergency?
00:07:11It was no more than I expected.
00:07:13I suggest there wasn't any more you could have expected.
00:07:17I'd have welcomed being told earlier about the possibility of poisoning.
00:07:22In such cases, time is crucial.
00:07:24You might have welcomed it.
00:07:25I suggest that it's already been established you had no reason to expect it.
00:07:30I can only repeat, she did not give me the impression that she'd fallen down stairs.
00:07:34That is hardly surprising, Doctor.
00:07:35The lady was unconscious.
00:07:37Was Mrs. Holland in good health up until this incident?
00:07:43Apart from a weight problem, yes.
00:07:46She was very obese.
00:07:48I had urged her to eat less.
00:07:50And might this obesity have caused some heart disease or strain?
00:07:54She'd never complained to me of any.
00:07:56Had she ever approached you with stomach ache, feverishness, or any symptoms you might associate with poisoning?
00:08:03No.
00:08:05Thank you, Dr. Belmore.
00:08:07You have been most helpful.
00:08:12Are you Dr. Edwin Harper from the Police Forensic Science Laboratory at Manchester?
00:08:17I am.
00:08:18And on the 26th of September last year, did you perform a post-mortem examination on Mrs. Marjorie Holland at Fulchester Hospital?
00:08:25I did.
00:08:26The reason being that the local pathologist was not experienced in mushroom poisoning.
00:08:30It is a specialised field.
00:08:33And could you tell the court the results of that examination?
00:08:36Yes.
00:08:37Mrs. Holland had died from cardiovascular collapse,
00:08:40the collapse of the blood vessels around the heart,
00:08:42due to the presence in the system of muscarine, a toxic alkaloid.
00:08:46In her stomach, I found a quantity of partially digested mushrooms.
00:08:50Chemical analysis showed that these were the source of the muscarine.
00:08:53Were you able to identify the species?
00:08:55Yes.
00:08:56From microscopic examination of the stomach contents,
00:08:58and also from an uneaten specimen of the mushroom,
00:09:01it was possible to identify it as Inocybe patwiardii,
00:09:05or the red-staining Inocybe.
00:09:07It is deadly poisonous.
00:09:09Were you able to determine how many of these species had been eaten altogether?
00:09:13It would have to be an estimate.
00:09:15There was evidence that she'd vomited some of the contents.
00:09:18However, from putting together pieces of partially digested mushroom, I would say 25.
00:09:2325?
00:09:25Yes.
00:09:26Inocybe patwiardii is a very small mushroom, and the muscarine content is very low.
00:09:30It would have needed at least half a pound of mushrooms to produce a fatality.
00:09:34Could eight or nine of these mushrooms produce a fatality?
00:09:38Not in a healthy adult.
00:09:39The victim would have to be a child or already affected by heart or lung disease.
00:09:43And in your examination of Mrs. Holland, did you find any evidence of such disease?
00:09:47No, I did not.
00:09:51Thank you, Dr. Harper.
00:09:53That's all.
00:09:55Dr. Harper, when you say 25 mushrooms would have to be eaten,
00:09:59are you basing that on the average size of a fruit body?
00:10:03More on the average wet weight, which would be about ten grams.
00:10:06The cap diameter would be a prox three centimeters.
00:10:10Do mushrooms vary very much in size within a species?
00:10:14Not greatly.
00:10:15It depends on their stage of growth and the circumstances in which they're growing.
00:10:19So, if all the mushrooms the defendant had picked were twice that size,
00:10:24might not the figure of 25 be reduced to nearer 12?
00:10:28The uneaten specimen I examined was of average size and weight.
00:10:32I made tests on it and discovered it contained approximately four milligrams of muscarine.
00:10:37It would take 100 milligrams of muscarine to produce the fatal results.
00:10:41Four milligrams of muscarine into 100 milligrams is 25.
00:10:46Quite.
00:10:48But could you tell the size and weight of the mushrooms eaten?
00:10:51Yes, from putting together pieces of stem and cap, which are distinguishable, I would say, all about the same size and weight.
00:10:57How much is known about the quantity of muscarine in one fruit body of this species?
00:11:02Or very little.
00:11:03It really depends on geographic variables.
00:11:05One Swiss paper quotes a fresh specimen concentration of 0.04%.
00:11:10But there's no such figure for this country.
00:11:12But could it also vary geographically within the British Isles?
00:11:15Yes, it is quite possible.
00:11:17Well, I suggest that your estimates are wild guesses.
00:11:21I'd say I am correct within one milligram of muscarine per fruit body.
00:11:25Is it a difficult test?
00:11:28Yes, there are four or five different configurations of the same poison.
00:11:31Did you work on it alone?
00:11:33I came to those estimates on my own, yes.
00:11:36You said there was evidence of vomiting.
00:11:38This would surely have disposed of a lot of the stomach contents.
00:11:41Yes, but I was able to piece together ten fruit bodies.
00:11:45Mushrooms are very slow to be digested.
00:11:48So apart from a rather maverick test in what is the little known field,
00:11:51there's really no sure way of knowing how many mushrooms were in the victim's stomach to start with.
00:11:56With respect, sir, I would not call it a maverick test.
00:11:59One final question, Dr. Harper.
00:12:02Supposing just one mushroom of another species with a higher concentration of muscarine
00:12:08was ingested with the others, accidentally that is,
00:12:13would this not increase the likelihood of a fatality?
00:12:16Yes.
00:12:18But in Mrs. Holland's case, no other species was ingested.
00:12:22I carried out a full microscopic examination of the stomach contents.
00:12:26All of the mushrooms were of the same type.
00:12:28Inus ivy patwiardii.
00:12:30Assuming no other species had been ejected from the stomach.
00:12:34Yes, assuming that.
00:12:36Are you Professor Maud Binney, and you live at Three the Willows, Fulchester?
00:12:50Yes.
00:12:51Could you tell the court your occupation, please?
00:12:53I'm head of the botany department at Meadow Park College, where I lecture chiefly in mycology.
00:12:59That is fungi.
00:13:01Would you cast your mind back, please, to the early hours of the 26th of September last year?
00:13:06Happily.
00:13:07I was called to Fulchester Hospital to help in an emergency.
00:13:11They wished me to identify a species of mushroom.
00:13:15The unfortunate woman had died by the time I got there, regrettably.
00:13:19But I took the specimen back to my laboratory at Meadow Park College,
00:13:23where I identified it as Inocybe petwiardii, that is, the red staining Inocybe.
00:13:29And did you consort with Dr. Harper from the Forensic Science Laboratory later that day?
00:13:34I did.
00:13:35I gave him back the mushroom to help him with his experiments.
00:13:38Are you also acquainted, Professor Binney, with a species of fungi known as the St. George's mushroom?
00:13:44Yes.
00:13:45It's a perfectly delicious edible species.
00:13:47And in your expert opinion, are these two species, the red staining Inocybe,
00:13:52and the St. George's mushroom easily confused?
00:13:56Only in the young fruit-body stage.
00:13:58This is the stage when the cap has just opened like an umbrella.
00:14:02And then only by a very careless collector.
00:14:04Well, we do have photographs of these species.
00:14:07May Professor Binney also see them?
00:14:09We also have copies for the court.
00:14:13I should point out that these are not photographs of the actual mushrooms pertaining to the case,
00:14:17but are intended only as a guide to their usual appearance,
00:14:20whole and in cross-section of both mushrooms at this stage of growth.
00:14:24Uneaten specimens of the red staining Inocybe will not appear as an exhibit,
00:14:28as it has had to be dried out in order to be preserved.
00:14:31And this greatly alters its appearance.
00:14:33What are the differences at this stage?
00:14:37Well, first of all, the smell.
00:14:39The red staining Inocybe has the most unpleasant smell, like a musty cellar, damp.
00:14:45The St. George's mushroom has a nice smell, like baking flour.
00:14:50You can also tell the difference by looking at the gills.
00:14:54They are the radiating scales beneath the cap.
00:14:57They join the stem in quite different ways.
00:15:00The red staining Inocybe has adenate gills.
00:15:04They join the stem quite horizontally.
00:15:08But the St. George's mushroom has sinuate gills.
00:15:11They curve down and away from the stem.
00:15:14And are those distinctions visible to the naked eye?
00:15:17Perfectly visible.
00:15:18But there are other more important differences.
00:15:21For instance, habitat.
00:15:23The St. George's mushroom goes on chalky grasslands.
00:15:27The red staining Inocybe grows along the edge of paths in beech woods.
00:15:32Then there is the season.
00:15:34The St. George's mushroom does not grow in the autumn.
00:15:38It is a spring mushroom.
00:15:40The red staining Inocybe grows from May right through to November.
00:15:45And would you go out in the last week of September
00:15:47and expect to find a St. George's mushroom?
00:15:49Certainly not.
00:15:50It is a spring species.
00:15:52Well, that's why it's called St. George's mushroom.
00:15:55Traditionally, it pops up on St. George's day.
00:15:58And would an experienced mycologist know this?
00:16:00If he gathers them for food, he bally well ought to.
00:16:03What other differences are there?
00:16:05The red staining Inocybe stains red the moment it is touched or bruised.
00:16:10That's why it's called the red staining Inocybe.
00:16:13The St. George's mushroom does not.
00:16:15And do these stains develop immediately?
00:16:17Oh, within seconds.
00:16:19The test is infallible.
00:16:20Professor Binney, would the red staining Inocybe stain merely after being picked?
00:16:26Certainly.
00:16:27You can't pick a mushroom without touching it.
00:16:29And that touch alone would be enough.
00:16:31I see. Thank you, Mr. Markson.
00:16:32My Lord.
00:16:33What other tests should one make?
00:16:35Well, there is one test that no serious mycologist would omit to make.
00:16:39That is the taking of a spore print.
00:16:42Could you explain that to the court, please?
00:16:45If you cut the cap off a mushroom and place it gills downward on a sheet of white paper, the spores drop out.
00:16:52They are the equivalent of pollen in green plants.
00:16:55If you perform this test with the red staining Inocybe, you would see quite clearly that the spores are brown.
00:17:01Those of the St. George's mushroom are white.
00:17:04And would an experienced mycologist be aware of this test?
00:17:07My dear man, it's the first test in identification any mycologist learns.
00:17:11May Professor Binney be shown Exhibit 2, please?
00:17:15Now, you were asked to study a field book belonging to the defendant. Is that the field book?
00:17:20It is indeed.
00:17:21And have you studied it thoroughly?
00:17:23I have.
00:17:24Could you tell the jury what it contains?
00:17:27Excellent drawings of over 200 species of fungi, comprehensive notes on their structure, spore prints, and in most cases, a successful attempt at naming the species.
00:17:38And in your opinion, from reading his field book and studying his method of work, what kind of mycologist is the defendant?
00:17:46A very dedicated one.
00:17:48Is that someone who would take great care in identifying a species?
00:17:52It is, yes.
00:17:53And could such a mycologist possibly confuse the red staining Inocybe and the St. George's mushroom?
00:18:00It would be highly unlikely.
00:18:01Could such a mycologist make that mistake with 10 separate mushrooms?
00:18:07No.
00:18:08That would be impossible.
00:18:09Finally, Professor Binney, would you expect to find a group of 10 red staining Inocybes growing together?
00:18:16It is a relatively rare species. I would not expect to find more than two or three together.
00:18:22If you wanted to pick 10, what would you have to do?
00:18:26Search for them. If I could find that many.
00:18:29Thank you, Professor Binney.
00:18:31Thank you, Professor Binney.
00:18:34Professor Binney, I wonder if you could make it clear for the jury just exactly what a field book is.
00:18:41Mycologist keeps a field book so that he can record his finds.
00:18:44And in that field book, has the defendant recorded either of the two species which are under discussion?
00:18:50No.
00:18:51And what would you conclude from that?
00:18:53That he had not come across them yet.
00:18:55And are mistakes more likely to be made with unfamiliar species?
00:18:59Not if one is familiar with the means of identification.
00:19:02Well, can we explore these points of difference, the difference in smell?
00:19:07In a young fruit body, would that be fully developed?
00:19:10Not as fully developed as in a mature specimen, but still noticeable.
00:19:14Provided one had a good sense of smell.
00:19:16Of course.
00:19:17Now, let's come to the gills. How would one normally look at them?
00:19:22The usual method is to make a cross section by cutting it down the middle.
00:19:26Would you use a knife to do that?
00:19:28Yes, or a razor blade.
00:19:29Now, if you used a blunt knife, isn't it possible that one might damage the gills?
00:19:35It's possible, but it would be very careless.
00:19:38And isn't it possible that they might tear instead of being adnate or horizontal, look torn or curved?
00:19:46It could happen.
00:19:49Can we turn to the habitat, Professor Binney?
00:19:51You said that St. George's mushroom grew on chalky grassland, while the Ina Cybe grows along paths in beech woods.
00:19:58That's right.
00:19:59Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't beech woods grow on chalky soil?
00:20:04Quite right.
00:20:05Would it not be possible to find an overlap site, say on the very edge of a beech wood, where trees and grassland meet?
00:20:14I have never found a red staining Ina Cybe along the edge of a wood. But yes, it's possible.
00:20:22Thank you. The court will hear in due course that the name of the wood is Downswood. Have you ever searched for fungi yourself in that locality?
00:20:29No, I'm afraid I haven't.
00:20:31I will come to the season in a moment. Is it not possible that the red staining Ina Cybe might not develop red stains until sometime after picking?
00:20:40No, that is impossible. And if you cut one down with a blunt knife, the red staining would be very heavy indeed.
00:20:48But if one was in the shade of a wood or the light was poor, might that redness be missed?
00:20:53One would have to be blind.
00:20:55But isn't it nevertheless possible for a mycologist to miss something that is very obvious, simply because he's looking for so many things?
00:21:03I have never known anyone miss red stains on white mushroom flesh.
00:21:08Very well. Can we come to the season? You say the St. George's mushroom is not found in the autumn.
00:21:13Yes.
00:21:14How would a mycologist know this?
00:21:17A mycologist has field guides to refer to.
00:21:20May Professor Billy be shown Exhibit 3, please?
00:21:29This is the Greenway guide to mushrooms and other fungi, is it not?
00:21:33That's what it says.
00:21:34Would you please turn to page 36 for me? It is marked.
00:21:37And read aloud what it says about the growing season of St. George's mushroom.
00:21:42April to June may also be found in autumn.
00:21:46So going by that guide, one would expect to find it in the autumn. Now, does that surprise you?
00:21:52No, because this is a Czechoslovakian translation. It's written in English, but the information pertains to mushrooms that grow in Czechoslovakia.
00:22:01And yet it is published in this country.
00:22:04Yes, it ought not to be. There are many regional variations.
00:22:08Mr. Canty, is this book generally on sale?
00:22:12Yes, my lord. I have seen it in three shops in Fulchester.
00:22:16I see. Thank you, Mr. Canty.
00:22:18Thank you, my lord.
00:22:19Professor Binney, do you consider that a reliable field guide is essential when it comes to a correct identification?
00:22:26Yes, but not this one.
00:22:28Would you turn to the next marked page, please? That's page 70.
00:22:32Now, that page shows the red staining ionocybe. Am I right?
00:22:36Yes, quite clearly.
00:22:37Now, what symbol is used throughout that book to denote a poisonous species?
00:22:42A red skull and crossbones.
00:22:46And what symbol is used to denote an edible one?
00:22:49A black knife and fork.
00:22:51What symbol is beside the red staining ionocybe?
00:22:54A black knife and fork. It's a misprint.
00:22:58Now, would you not agree with me that if one did not know this species was poisonous, one would not be alerted to its characteristics?
00:23:06One would notice them.
00:23:07But one would not be alerted.
00:23:10Put that way, no.
00:23:14The jury will hear in duke course that this was the field guide most frequently used by the defendant, Arthur Holland.
00:23:21The case of the Crown versus Holland will continue tomorrow in the Crown Court.
00:23:41.
00:24:01The case you're about to see is fictional, but the procedure is authentic.
00:24:15The characters are played by actors, but the jury is selected from members of the public.
00:24:20Yesterday, the jury heard the first stages of the prosecution case against Arthur Holland,
00:24:25who was accused of the murder of his stepmother, Mrs. Marjorie Holland.
00:24:31Are you Stephen Andrew Holland, and you live at 17 Bridal Way, Fulchester?
00:24:36Yes.
00:24:37What relation are you to the defendant, Arthur Holland?
00:24:39Father.
00:24:40Could you tell the court where you were on the night of your wife's death on the 25th of September last year?
00:24:46In Durham. I had business at the British Computers Fair.
00:24:49I'm a commercial exhibition and trade fair display advisor.
00:24:53And it was while staying in Durham that you received a telephone call from Fulchester Hospital, am I right?
00:24:58Saying that your wife had passed away?
00:25:00That's what they said.
00:25:01Could you make it clear to the court that she was your second wife?
00:25:05Yes. I first died three years ago.
00:25:09Well, I know this will be painful for you, Mr. Holland, but believe me, these questions are necessary.
00:25:15How soon after the death of your first wife did you remarry?
00:25:19Six months.
00:25:20Mr. Holland, Mr. Holland, this is not a court of morals.
00:25:25Counsel is simply trying to establish family background, that's all.
00:25:30Mr. Markson.
00:25:31My Lord.
00:25:32How did you meet her?
00:25:33I had business in Birmingham at the Ideal Homes Exhibition.
00:25:37She was a professional demonstrator.
00:25:39She demonstrated food mixers.
00:25:41And how soon after this did you marry her?
00:25:43Three days after.
00:25:45We got married there, in Birmingham.
00:25:48I didn't want to be a widower for the rest of my life.
00:25:51A lot happened.
00:25:53Did Arthur meet her before the wedding?
00:25:55No.
00:25:56Did you tell him about it before you took her home?
00:25:59No.
00:25:59I wanted it to be a surprise.
00:26:01Well, how did he react when he met her?
00:26:04He sulked a great deal.
00:26:06Wouldn't speak to her.
00:26:07Shut himself in his bedroom.
00:26:09Got hysterical when I tried to reason with him.
00:26:10How old was the new Mrs. Holland?
00:26:14Twenty-six.
00:26:15And how old was Arthur at the time?
00:26:16He was fifteen.
00:26:19Did it surprise you that he resented her presence in the house?
00:26:23No, but I was disappointed.
00:26:25She wasn't a young, attractive girl.
00:26:27I wouldn't have done that.
00:26:30After all, I didn't want to create problems.
00:26:33She was just a loving person.
00:26:35Did you have any cause to think that she disliked your son?
00:26:39No, like I said, she was a loving person.
00:26:40She gave up her work to come and care for the house, to look after us.
00:26:44You can't ask much more than that.
00:26:45So for you, this was a whirlwind romance.
00:26:48But for your son, it was an unacceptable intrusion.
00:26:51My lord, I must object.
00:26:53Yes, yes, quite.
00:26:54You are leading the witness, Mr. Markson.
00:26:57I'm sorry, my lord.
00:26:58I was merely trying to encapsulate the situation.
00:27:01Were you indeed?
00:27:03Pray continue.
00:27:04Thank you, my lord.
00:27:05Now, it's known that your son was a keen mycologist and that he studied mushrooms and other kinds of fungi.
00:27:12When did he take up this hobby?
00:27:14About a month after I brought Marjorie home.
00:27:16And where did he mostly pursue it?
00:27:18In his bedroom, at night.
00:27:20He brought home toadstools and cut them up.
00:27:24Did you encourage him with this hobby?
00:27:25No, I did not.
00:27:26I told him it was an unhealthy hobby for a boy of his age.
00:27:30And did your wife encourage him with this hobby?
00:27:32Not that I ever noticed.
00:27:33Did he ever tell you what he found so fascinating about mushrooms?
00:27:37I asked him once.
00:27:40I said, why do you bring rubbish home?
00:27:43He said, if I could bring Marjorie home, he could bring home bits of rubbish too.
00:27:49That hurt me.
00:27:51Very deeply.
00:27:53Did he ever give you a real explanation?
00:27:55No.
00:27:56Was he in the habit of eating the mushrooms that he brought home?
00:27:58Yes, he tried to get me to eat them.
00:28:00The thought made me feel sick.
00:28:01What about Mrs. Holland?
00:28:03Did she eat them?
00:28:04She did, yes.
00:28:06Raw?
00:28:06Yes.
00:28:07On roughly how many occasions?
00:28:08About a dozen times.
00:28:09I can't say exactly.
00:28:11Well, how did he make her do this when you were so clearly repulsed, Mr. Holland?
00:28:16He just put them in front of her.
00:28:17Said they were an edible species.
00:28:20And she took his word for it.
00:28:22Did she never express a fear that they might be poisonous?
00:28:25She may have done the first time, but Arthur said that he studied them carefully to make
00:28:29sure they weren't.
00:28:31She trusted him.
00:28:33Did you ever watch how he studied them carefully?
00:28:37No.
00:28:37He did it in his bedroom.
00:28:39Did he ever mention the names of those edible species?
00:28:42No, I didn't take any notice of that either, I'm afraid.
00:28:46One final question, Mr. Holland.
00:28:48Were you ever present on an occasion when Arthur gave her mushrooms and yet ate none himself?
00:28:56No.
00:28:57Never.
00:28:59Thank you, Mr. Holland.
00:29:02Mr. Holland, I confess, I am a little baffled.
00:29:07You said that Arthur sulked a lot, wouldn't speak to his stepmother, and yet here he is,
00:29:14sharing mushrooms with her while you do not.
00:29:18I put it to you, the resentment must have been very short-lived.
00:29:22Must it?
00:29:23Mr. Holland, it is counsel who is asking the question.
00:29:29Well, yes, it might appear that way.
00:29:32It does appear that way, Mr. Holland.
00:29:34I don't believe it was short-lived.
00:29:36You believe that he shared his mushroom, finds there, even though he resented her presence
00:29:40in the house?
00:29:40Yes.
00:29:41I suggest it's a very strange way of showing his resentment.
00:29:46You also said that you'd never noticed your wife encourage Arthur with this hubby in any
00:29:50way.
00:29:50That's correct.
00:29:52Yet here she is.
00:29:53Allowing herself to be experimented on in a field about which she knew nothing, in complete
00:29:58faith.
00:30:00Wouldn't you call that a form of encouragement?
00:30:03In a way, I suppose.
00:30:06I put this to you, Mr. Holland.
00:30:07Well, it seems from your evidence that Arthur enjoyed quite a good relationship with his
00:30:12stepmother.
00:30:14Almost cosy.
00:30:15Think that if you like.
00:30:16I'm the one that had to live with him.
00:30:17Mr. Holland, please bear in mind that the jury are not in that privileged position.
00:30:23I'm sorry.
00:30:24Let me ask you in another way.
00:30:26Did you have any reason to think that in a short space of time their relationship hadn't
00:30:29become amicable?
00:30:31None that I can put my finger on.
00:30:33It's just something you feel when you live with a person.
00:30:36I'm afraid your feelings aren't good enough, Mr. Holland.
00:30:40How is the jury to know they aren't imaginary?
00:30:42Do you think I imagined the looks he used to give her?
00:30:44Is that all you can offer?
00:30:46Looks?
00:30:47Standing here?
00:30:48Yes.
00:30:50Were you aware that she ever suffered ill effects after eating the fungi Arthur brought home?
00:30:55No.
00:30:56So, on roughly a dozen occasions, you saw her eat fungi which Arthur gave her, and on none
00:31:01of these occasions did she suffer any illness whatsoever.
00:31:03Is that right?
00:31:04She died of it on the last occasion.
00:31:06What would you call that if it wasn't suffering?
00:31:08I'm talking about previous occasions.
00:31:10He made her trust him, didn't he?
00:31:12Mr. Holland, would you please not make unconfirmed allegations and statements?
00:31:18We are not concerned with what you believe your son to have done, only with what you observed
00:31:23him to have done.
00:31:24I've tried to make that clear before.
00:31:26Yes, Your Honour.
00:31:27I understand that this is an upsetting time for you, but the law cannot allow emotions to
00:31:32override facts.
00:31:34The jury will kindly disregard that last remark.
00:31:38Mr. Canty.
00:31:39Thank you, my lord.
00:31:40What do you want to happen to your son when this trial is over?
00:31:45I want the best for him, of course.
00:31:47What do you call the best for him?
00:31:50I want him put away.
00:31:52Even if the jury decides he is innocent of this charge, he still needs help.
00:31:59You're not a psychiatrist, sir.
00:32:01How do you know he needs help?
00:32:02The boy that studies fungi for a hobby, mushrooms and toadstools, is that natural?
00:32:06You tell me, Mr. Holland.
00:32:07Oh, really, my lord, this evidence is becoming quite whimsical.
00:32:10Yes, yes, Mr. Canty.
00:32:12My lord, in all my years of the bar, this is the first time I've ever come across a father
00:32:17willing to testify against his own son.
00:32:20I'm trying to establish a basic prejudice.
00:32:23I think you have already succeeded in doing that.
00:32:26With your permission, my lord, I'd like to discover the true nature of this prejudice.
00:32:30Oh, really, my lord, the witness is bound to be bitter.
00:32:33He's lost two wives.
00:32:35His son is charged with murder.
00:32:37Well, what man in those circumstances could be expected to be anything else?
00:32:41Yes, but bitterness is not prejudice, Mr. Markson.
00:32:44I don't object to your continuing, Mr. Canty, for the moment.
00:32:48Thank you, my lord.
00:32:49You say you want your son put away, Mr. Holland.
00:32:52Is that the reason for your constant assertion that Arthur resented his stepmother?
00:32:57He's my son.
00:32:58I'm only being truthful.
00:33:00He's your son, yet you want him found guilty.
00:33:04Wouldn't you expect a father to offer at least some defense of his own son?
00:33:09Under normal circumstances.
00:33:12Would I be right in saying that since the charge was brought,
00:33:15the relationship between yourself and your son has completely broken down?
00:33:19Yes.
00:33:19And that, indeed, he has not been living at home, but is in the care of Fulchester Remand Centre?
00:33:24That's right.
00:33:24Have you ever once visited him there?
00:33:27No.
00:33:28Have you been living alone, or have you formed another attachment?
00:33:33Just answer, yes or no.
00:33:34I don't wish to pry.
00:33:36Yes, I have formed another attachment.
00:33:39I don't think I need question you any more on the breakdown of the relationship.
00:33:43One final point, and I don't wish to be disrespectful to your late wife, but she did have a weight problem, didn't she?
00:33:53Yes.
00:33:53And she was a compulsive eater.
00:33:55It was a problem with her, yes.
00:33:57Did she enjoy her food, particularly large meals?
00:34:00Yes, but I don't see what this has to do with...
00:34:01When she got used to the idea of eating the fungi that your son prepared for her, did she eat heartily as she would any other dish?
00:34:11Yes.
00:34:12It was one thing that Marjorie did enjoy her food.
00:34:17Thank you, Mr. Holland.
00:34:19Thank you, Mr. Holland.
00:34:49Finally, Mr. Holland, you said your wife was a professional demonstrator.
00:34:55Now, did she ever dispense free samples of food at exhibitions?
00:34:59Yes, she was once Miss Gowder.
00:35:03Yes, but what were her qualities as a demonstrator?
00:35:06Well, she was jolly.
00:35:07She could make people stay and listen.
00:35:10She always had a smile for people.
00:35:13Well, in spite of her hearty appetite, was she generous and unselfish when it came to food and sharing food?
00:35:21Yes.
00:35:22She was a wonderful person in every way.
00:35:26Thank you, Mr. Holland.
00:35:28I have no further questions, my lord.
00:35:30Thank you, Mr. Martin.
00:35:32Mr. Holland, you may leave the witness box.
00:35:35Is your name Diana Rushton, and do you live at 9 Crane Park Avenue, Folchester?
00:35:53Yes.
00:35:54And are you a pupil at St. John's Road School, Folchester?
00:35:57Yes.
00:35:59Prior to September the 25th last year, what was your relationship with the defendant?
00:36:04I suppose you'd say we were friends.
00:36:07Miss Rushton, what exactly do you mean by that?
00:36:10We were friends, that's all.
00:36:13There was nothing between us.
00:36:14I don't think he was interested in sex.
00:36:16Yes, well, we don't want to know what you thought, only what your relationship was.
00:36:20Mr. Markson, my lord, on that evening last year, when it was now established that Mrs. Holland was at home, dying from having eaten poisonous mushrooms, did you meet the defendant?
00:36:32Yes, we played chess together.
00:36:34Could you tell the court, please, what happened in your own words, starting from the time that you met?
00:36:40We met at half past seven, in the school.
00:36:43This is St. John's Road School, the one you both attended.
00:36:46Yes, it was a school chess club.
00:36:49You see, Arthur was teaching me to play.
00:36:51I see, carry on.
00:36:53Anyway, I was just setting up the board for our first game, when he said that he'd found this new species of mushroom.
00:37:00He told me that he'd tried it on Marge, his stepmother.
00:37:03Then he said, who knows, I might have poisoned her.
00:37:08Are you sure he used those exact words?
00:37:11Absolutely.
00:37:12Well, it's not the sort of thing you say, is it?
00:37:14Are you sure he said, tried it on Marge?
00:37:18Yes.
00:37:19Well, how did you react?
00:37:21I told him not to be so nasty.
00:37:24He was mad on mushrooms.
00:37:25They used to call him fungus head at school.
00:37:27And what did he say in reply?
00:37:29He didn't say anything else.
00:37:31How many games of chess did you play?
00:37:35Four.
00:37:35He won them all.
00:37:37Had you played many games of chess with him?
00:37:39Yes, we often played in class.
00:37:42He was teaching me, like I said.
00:37:43Did he play his usual game this particular evening, or did you notice any lack of concentration?
00:37:48No.
00:37:49No, he didn't play his usual game this particular evening, or no, you didn't notice any lack of concentration?
00:37:56Arthur always thought out about six moves in advance.
00:37:59Please just answer my question, Miss Rushton.
00:38:03He concentrated.
00:38:04After those games of chess, what did you do?
00:38:07We left the school and went home.
00:38:09And this was at what time?
00:38:11Ten o'clock.
00:38:13Are you certain?
00:38:14Yes.
00:38:15Well, we've been told that he didn't ring the doctor until five minutes to midnight.
00:38:20I'm certain.
00:38:22Did you walk any distance together?
00:38:24No, we both live in opposite directions.
00:38:26Did he say anything to you that led you to believe that he might not be going straight home?
00:38:32No.
00:38:33There's nothing to do in Fulchester after ten o'clock.
00:38:36Finally, Miss Rushton, when did you hear about Mrs. Holland's unfortunate death?
00:38:42It was in the newspaper, the next night.
00:38:44And what was your course of action?
00:38:46I mentioned to my mother what he had said to me, and she...
00:38:48Well, don't tell me what she said, but as a consequence of your discussion, did you go to Fulchester Police Station and make a statement containing this information?
00:38:57Yes.
00:38:59Thank you, Miss Rushton.
00:39:00Will you please wait there?
00:39:03Miss Rushton, let me ask you first about this remark.
00:39:07Who knows I might have poisoned her?
00:39:11Did it alarm you?
00:39:12Yes.
00:39:13Yet you played four games of chess afterwards.
00:39:17I didn't take it seriously.
00:39:19It alarmed you, but you didn't take it seriously.
00:39:22I suggest, therefore, that you took it as a joke.
00:39:25At the time?
00:39:26I also suggest that when you read about Mrs. Holland's death the next day, you attached more significance to that remark than it merited.
00:39:34I don't know what you mean.
00:39:36Well, if I say to someone, drop dead, be it in anger or jest, and the very next day the person dies, doesn't my remark take on a more sinister meaning that I intended?
00:39:48He didn't say drop dead, though.
00:39:50Quite, Miss Rushton.
00:39:51Who knows I might have poisoned her?
00:39:54Sounds a much stranger thing just to say on its own.
00:39:57He said, I found this new species of mushroom and tried it on Marge.
00:40:02Who knows I might have poisoned her?
00:40:04Yet you took it as a joke.
00:40:06Yes.
00:40:07So I put it to you that he must have said it in a joking manner.
00:40:10The malevolent-sounding jip rather than the bland statement of fact.
00:40:16I can only repeat what he said.
00:40:18I can't remember in the way he said it.
00:40:21I see.
00:40:22Now you said you left the school at ten o'clock.
00:40:25Could it have been later?
00:40:27There's a clock on the school wall.
00:40:29It said ten.
00:40:30Well, isn't it possible that you stood around for a while chatting?
00:40:34What about?
00:40:35What do you normally chat about?
00:40:38Nothing.
00:40:39All he was ever interested in was mushrooms and chess.
00:40:43He left the school and so did I.
00:40:45What was the weather like?
00:40:47It was fine.
00:40:47Was it a pleasant night?
00:40:50I mean, was it a pleasant night for a walk, say?
00:40:52Yes, I suppose it was.
00:40:54Because I put it to you that he said I don't want to go home yet.
00:40:58Let's go for a walk around town.
00:41:01We were just friends.
00:41:02He had no reason to suggest that.
00:41:04It was because you are friends, I put it to you, that he might have.
00:41:09Thank you, Miss Rushton.
00:41:11My lord, it is my intention to call this defence witness before the defendant.
00:41:25I know it's not normal procedure, my lord, but Dr. Reeve has to fly to America tomorrow to attend a conference.
00:41:30Well, Mr. Markson has no objections?
00:41:33None, my lord.
00:41:34You'd better make a start then, Mr. Canty, haven't you?
00:41:36Thank you, my lord.
00:41:37Thank you, Leonard Fent.
00:41:38Are you Dr. Mark Reeve, and are you the resident psychiatrist at Her Majesty's Remand Centre in Fulchester?
00:41:44I am.
00:41:46How many times have you seen and spoken to the defendant, Arthur Holland, prior to this appearance in court?
00:41:51Three times.
00:41:53Once on the 12th of October, and once on the 5th of December last year, and also once on the 22nd of February of this year.
00:42:00How many hours would that constitute altogether?
00:42:03A total of six and a half hours.
00:42:05Can I ask you what conclusions you drew about him?
00:42:09Well, firstly, that he was a highly intelligent boy, quick to learn, and with a very clear awareness of what he'd done.
00:42:16The first time I interviewed him, I found him sulky and resentful about being locked up, as he put it.
00:42:22After that, however, the relationship improved. He became more cooperative.
00:42:25Except when I asked him about his family, particularly his father, he would then become very withdrawn, almost reluctant to admit what he felt.
00:42:33Did you discover why?
00:42:35Eventually. He had been very attached to his real mother, who died suddenly in March 79, more so than to his father.
00:42:42He deeply resented his father for remarrying some six months later, feeling that it drove an even greater wedge between them.
00:42:49You say he resented his father.
00:42:52Did you gain any impression that he resented his stepmother as well?
00:42:56None. Ironically, he got on much better with her.
00:42:58The fact that she was only 11 years older than him enabled him to build up more of a brother-sister relationship.
00:43:05This, to some degree, compensated for the absence of maternal love and care.
00:43:09From these interviews, did you conclude that he was suffering from anything?
00:43:14Well, there was no evidence of any mental illness, and certainly none of subnormal intelligence.
00:43:18I searched for signs of a personality disorder, the kind of disorder that might have caused him to commit a seriously irresponsible or aggressive act, but I could find no sign of any persistent disorder.
00:43:30What do you mean by persistent?
00:43:32Well, personality traits such as obsessionality, aggressiveness, social conscience, are only of concern when one or more can be measured in the extreme.
00:43:41The defendant showed no extreme traits.
00:43:44Did you find any evidence that he had failed to adjust to his father's remarriage in a responsible way?
00:43:50None.
00:43:52Finally, in your opinion, Dr. Reeve, is it in his personality to commit an aggressive act, one which he knows will result in the death of another person?
00:44:03In my opinion, it is not.
00:44:05Thank you, Dr. Reeve.
00:44:09Dr. Reeve, you say that you spoke to the defendant for a total of six and a half hours.
00:44:13Yes.
00:44:14Is that a long enough time in which to form a judgment?
00:44:17In my opinion, it is.
00:44:18Even though the interviews are conducted with wide intervals in between?
00:44:22Oh, yes. Interviewing at such intervals helps to form a better judgment than if the interviews are squashed together over a short time.
00:44:29Isn't it nevertheless possible for the interviewee to pull the wool down over the psychiatrist's eyes, as it were, to fool him into thinking something that he wants him to think?
00:44:39It has happened, yes.
00:44:41Especially when the interviewee has a considerable degree of intelligence?
00:44:46If Arthur had been fooling me, I would have been aware of it.
00:44:48The kind of intelligence needed to fool an observant psychiatrist is often counterbalanced by a lack of good judgment in giving answers.
00:44:55In other words, the patient gives himself away.
00:45:01What is the psychiatric term for a person who shows those persistent disorders of personality?
00:45:07If those disorders lead to distress in others, he's called a psychopath.
00:45:12Did you not say that obsessionality is one such sign?
00:45:15Yes.
00:45:16How would you describe his rather consuming interest in fungi?
00:45:21Frankly, as a hobby.
00:45:22An obsessive hobby?
00:45:23I wouldn't call an obsessive hobby such a sign.
00:45:26The husband who plays obsessively with his son's train set is not a psychopath.
00:45:29Is not callousness an indicator of a psychopathic personality?
00:45:34Extreme callousness, yes.
00:45:36What about lack of remorse?
00:45:39Lack of shame?
00:45:40Those are signs, yes.
00:45:41Well, I put this to you, Dr. Reeve, but not once have you said that the defendant expressed shame over what he had done.
00:45:50With respect, I was not asked.
00:45:52You were asked for your findings, Dr. Reeve.
00:45:54Do you not consider remorse and shame important enough findings?
00:45:58I found that Arthur was well aware of what he'd done.
00:46:01Aware, yes.
00:46:03But was he sorry?
00:46:05Did he cry?
00:46:06Did he express sorrow for his father?
00:46:08He did not cry, and he did not express sorrow for his father, because he does not like his father.
00:46:14Would you not refer to that as extreme callousness?
00:46:17No, I would refer to it as a breakdown within a family.
00:46:21Are you telling this court that if a boy does not like his father, he feels no guilt whatsoever when he accidentally kills his father's wife?
00:46:30No, I'm saying that he feels sorrier for himself than he does for his father.
00:46:35Oh, he feels sorry for himself, does he?
00:46:38Well, I suppose that is a form of sorrow.
00:46:40The reason Arthur was reluctant to talk to me at first about his relationship with his father was because he felt ashamed of it.
00:46:46That is a form of remorse.
00:46:49Can we talk about badness, then, instead of madness?
00:46:52Yes, if you'd care to define badness for me.
00:46:55Well, I suggest this seriously irresponsible act could have been nothing more than sheer mischief, an act of pure wickedness, a doing of evil.
00:47:03Was that not in his personality?
00:47:06It was not in his personality to be seriously irresponsible.
00:47:10Oh, come along now, Dr. Reeve.
00:47:12Are not all teenagers prone to the odd malicious act without total regard for the consequences?
00:47:18Yes, but your distinction between madness and badness is one I can't bridge.
00:47:23And why is that?
00:47:24Because you're trying to say that he did something evil, and that is something about which I am not qualified to speak.
00:47:30The case of the Crown v. Holland will be concluded tomorrow in the Crown Court.
00:47:50The case you're about to see is fictional,
00:48:19but the procedure is authentic.
00:48:21The characters are played by actors, but the jury is selected from members of the public.
00:48:26During the past two days, the jury has heard evidence concerning the alleged murder of Mrs. Marjorie Holland by her stepson, Arthur.
00:48:33Mrs. Holland died from eating poisonous mushrooms.
00:48:37Today, the jury will return their verdict.
00:48:41Are you Arthur Holland, and do you live at 17 Bridal Way, Fulchester?
00:48:46Yes, sir.
00:48:46On the 25th of September last year, were you attending St. John's Road School in Fulchester?
00:48:52Yes, sir.
00:48:54After school that day, what did you do?
00:48:57I went picking mushrooms in Downs Wood.
00:48:59It's a wood about half a mile from where I live.
00:49:02Is this the wood backing out of the fields at Sandbridge Farm, just north of Fulchester?
00:49:07Yes, sir.
00:49:08May the Defender be sure in Exhibit 4, please.
00:49:12Now, that is a map of Downs Wood.
00:49:19How often did you go there to pick mushrooms?
00:49:22About once a week.
00:49:23Did you consider it a good place for mushroom hunting, or not?
00:49:27It was the best place I knew, near to where I lived.
00:49:29How well acquainted were you with the different species that grow there?
00:49:33Very well acquainted.
00:49:35What happened that day?
00:49:36I searched around for about an hour, looking for species I hadn't come across before.
00:49:40I found what I thought were St. George's mushrooms, lying in a group at the edge of the wood, but in the grass, away from the trees.
00:49:47Had you ever come across St. George's mushrooms before?
00:49:50No, sir.
00:49:52How did you recognize them?
00:49:53They looked like the picture in my field guide.
00:49:55I knew they were a spring mushroom, but the field guide did say they also grew in autumn.
00:49:59Which field guide was that?
00:50:00It was the Greenway Guide to Mushrooms and Other Fungi.
00:50:03How often did you use that particular guide?
00:50:07All the time.
00:50:08It's the one I rely on.
00:50:10Were you aware that it is a foreign translation, that that much of the information pertains not to fungi in this country, but in fact to fungi in Czechoslovakia?
00:50:19No, sir.
00:50:20You expect field guides to be correct.
00:50:22And how does that field guide warn you about species which are poisonous?
00:50:26They're marked with a red skull and crossbones.
00:50:29Refer to the map, please.
00:50:30Now, where did you find this group of mushrooms?
00:50:34On the east side, near to where the path starts.
00:50:37And how many were there?
00:50:38I can't remember exactly.
00:50:40I think nine or ten.
00:50:42And what did you do?
00:50:43Well, first I noted what the field guide said.
00:50:46St. George's mushrooms growing groups.
00:50:48Then I measured them all with my ruler.
00:50:49They were all about the same size.
00:50:51The caps were three or four centimetres.
00:50:54The size was right.
00:50:55Then I smelt them all.
00:50:57They smelt like flour.
00:50:59The field guide said St. George's mushrooms smell like flour.
00:51:02Do you have a keen sense of smell?
00:51:05Normally, yes.
00:51:06I had a bit of a cold this day.
00:51:08Let me stop you there for a moment.
00:51:10Are you aware now that the mushrooms were in fact not St. George's, but red-staining inosibes?
00:51:18A deadly poisonous species.
00:51:20Yes, sir.
00:51:21At that time, were you acquainted with the red-staining inosibes?
00:51:24No, sir.
00:51:25And you ever read about it, or about its characteristics?
00:51:28No, sir.
00:51:29Is that the truth, Arthur?
00:51:32Yes, sir.
00:51:34Carry on.
00:51:35What did you do next?
00:51:36I cut one of the mushrooms down the middle with my penknife to look at the gills.
00:51:41They appeared to be sinuit, curved.
00:51:44St. George's mushroom has sinuit gills.
00:51:46How many mushrooms did you make this test on?
00:51:48Oh, just the one.
00:51:49As the field guide said, they grew in groups.
00:51:51I assumed they were all the same.
00:51:53May the defender be shown Exhibit 5, please.
00:52:01Is that the penknife you used on that occasion?
00:52:04Yes, sir.
00:52:06Will you show it to the jury, please?
00:52:08Now, when you cut this mushroom down the middle, did you cut it all the way?
00:52:12Yes, sir.
00:52:13And did you notice any discoloration at all?
00:52:15No, sir.
00:52:16Well, are you aware now that the red staining iron aside begets its name from the fact that
00:52:21within seconds of being cut, it stains red?
00:52:25I am now, sir, yes.
00:52:26And what time of day was this?
00:52:28It was about six o'clock.
00:52:30And you were on the east side of the wood.
00:52:33What was the light like?
00:52:34Dull.
00:52:35I was in the shade.
00:52:36But I could see, and my eyesight is perfectly good.
00:52:38And what did you do next?
00:52:39I picked all the mushrooms, put them in my basket, and took them home.
00:52:44With what intention?
00:52:45Eating them.
00:52:46And sharing them with Marge, my stepmother.
00:52:49How often did you do this?
00:52:51I did it quite often.
00:52:53I'd actually done it about 12 times.
00:52:55If you knew there were edible, why didn't you eat one there?
00:52:57I don't like eating any fungus until I've washed it.
00:53:00Well, what did you do when you got home?
00:53:02I went upstairs to my room.
00:53:04I put one of the mushrooms into a wax paper bag to keep it fresh.
00:53:07I was in a hurry to get out.
00:53:09I was meeting Diana to play chess.
00:53:11I thought I'd record it in my field book later.
00:53:14Then I got changed to go out.
00:53:17Where was Marge at this time?
00:53:19She was downstairs watching TV.
00:53:21I came down, saw that it was 7 o'clock, said I've got to rush.
00:53:25There are some mushrooms in my basket in the kitchen.
00:53:27They need washing.
00:53:28Save some for me.
00:53:29Then I rushed out.
00:53:31Why were you in such a rush?
00:53:33I had to be there for half past 7.
00:53:34It takes half an hour to walk.
00:53:36Why couldn't you have taken a bus?
00:53:38I walk.
00:53:39I always do.
00:53:40I like it.
00:53:41Besides, the buses don't always come.
00:53:44Quite.
00:53:44So you went to the school chess club where you met Diana Rushton.
00:53:49What did you say to her that night?
00:53:52I made some joke about maybe having poisoned Marge.
00:53:56But it was a joke.
00:53:57Honest.
00:53:59What prompted such a joke?
00:54:01I don't know.
00:54:03It was just a bit of fun.
00:54:04She'd eat anything, nuts and bolts, if you gave them to her.
00:54:08Do you think if I'd deliberately poisoned her, I'd have spoken about it?
00:54:12What time did you leave Diana?
00:54:16Ten o'clock.
00:54:17And what did you do?
00:54:19I looked around the town.
00:54:21It was a nice night.
00:54:22I wanted her to come with me, but she said she had to go home.
00:54:26And why did you not go straight home?
00:54:28I liked the atmosphere.
00:54:30Streets are quiet.
00:54:31There's never any reason for going straight home anyway.
00:54:33I looked in shop windows.
00:54:36And what time did you eventually arrive home?
00:54:38A bit before twelve.
00:54:40I saw Marge at the foot of the staircase.
00:54:42I thought she'd fallen, hit her head or something.
00:54:44I didn't think it was because of the mushrooms.
00:54:46I had no reason to.
00:54:48And what did you do then?
00:54:50I called the doctor.
00:54:50He said to phone for an ambulance, which I did.
00:54:54When Dr. Belmore arrived and you showed him the mushroom you'd put aside, did you notice
00:55:00anything in particular about it?
00:55:02Yes, sir.
00:55:03It had become stained with red.
00:55:05Was that honestly the first time that you had noticed such stains?
00:55:09Yes, sir.
00:55:10One final question.
00:55:13What were your feelings towards your stepmother?
00:55:16I liked her.
00:55:17She was what Dad wanted.
00:55:18Thank you, Mr. Holland.
00:55:21Would you wait there, please?
00:55:24Mr. Holland, you say that you knew the fungi which grew in Downswood very well.
00:55:29Yes, sir.
00:55:31Did you also know that the red-staining inosidae grew there?
00:55:34No, sir.
00:55:34I suggest that's a lie, Mr. Holland.
00:55:37I suggest that you knew perfectly well that the red-staining inosidae grew there and that
00:55:41you deliberately picked that species in order that it might be confused with the St.
00:55:46George's mushroom.
00:55:46I've never heard of the red-staining inosidae.
00:55:51Is that so?
00:55:53May the defendant be passed Exhibits 3, please, plus Exhibits 6 to 10.
00:56:03Do all those field guides belong to you?
00:56:05Yes, sir.
00:56:06How long have you possessed them?
00:56:07A couple of years.
00:56:08Would you look at the Hamilton Guide to British Fungi and turn to page 3 of the introduction,
00:56:14please?
00:56:19Would you please read to the court the passage which begins, Beware Picking Small Mushrooms?
00:56:23Beware Picking Small Mushrooms.
00:56:27Many edible species resemble poisonous ones.
00:56:31Go on.
00:56:33For instance, St. George's mushroom has often been confused with inosidae petriardii, the red-staining inosidae, which contains deadly amounts of muscarine.
00:56:42Don't you find it rather a coincidence that those are the two very mushrooms that we're discussing?
00:56:48No, sir.
00:56:49Please read the next sentence.
00:56:52The red-staining inosidae, however, stains red when it is touched or bruised.
00:56:56St. George's mushroom does not.
00:56:58And you still maintain that you've never heard of the red-staining inosidae, despite the fact that in all but one of your field guides, the Greenway Guide, there are pictures of it and a clear warning about it?
00:57:09Yes, sir.
00:57:10Well, don't you read your field guides?
00:57:12They're for reference.
00:57:13They're not novels.
00:57:14Well, don't you refer to them, then?
00:57:16Yes, sir, but only when I find a species I've never come across.
00:57:18I'd never found the red-staining inosidae, had I?
00:57:21So I had no reason to look it up.
00:57:24Beware Picking Small Mushrooms.
00:57:26Is that a warning you're familiar with?
00:57:28Yes, sir.
00:57:30And weren't those small mushrooms?
00:57:32Yes, sir.
00:57:33Yet you identified them as St. George's Mushrooms simply by smelling them, whilst by your own admission you had a cold, and by cutting one of them down the middle with a knife to look at the gills.
00:57:45Did you call that a positive identification?
00:57:48No.
00:57:49Then what positive test of identification did you apply, Mr. Holland?
00:57:52I didn't make one because I felt certain they were St. George's Mushrooms.
00:57:55Isn't that rather a contradiction?
00:57:57I made a mistake.
00:57:59I admit it now.
00:58:02How long have you been studying fungi as a hobby?
00:58:06Over two years now.
00:58:07Well, I suggest, therefore, that you're very well versed in the means of identification.
00:58:12Yes, sir.
00:58:12And while you are prone, as we all are, to making the odd mistake, you'd not normally make a whole catalogue of errors, would you?
00:58:20That's right.
00:58:22Well, let's come back to the real extent of that mistake in a minute.
00:58:26Let's, uh, let's look at the evidence of the experts, shall we?
00:58:29How many mushrooms did you say you picked?
00:58:33Nine or ten.
00:58:34Despite the fact that Dr. Harper, who's a man with specialist knowledge of mushroom poisoning, has told this court that approximately 25 would have to have been required to kill Mrs. Holland?
00:58:47Yes.
00:58:47Are you arguing with the experts in this field?
00:58:50I only picked nine or ten.
00:58:52And in a group, you say?
00:58:54Despite expert evidence that the red-staining inosibis are a relatively rare species, and that to pick ten, one would in all probability have to search for them.
00:59:03They were in a group, honestly.
00:59:05Well, I suppose you're only arguing with the laws of chance now.
00:59:08I'm not arguing with anybody. I'm just saying everybody's wrong.
00:59:11Is Professor Binney wrong when she tells you that the red-staining inosibis stains red when it is cut or bruised?
00:59:17No.
00:59:18Yet you manage to pick them all, cut one in half with a knife, put them in your basket, take them home, and miraculously, none of them change colour.
00:59:29Is that what you're saying?
00:59:30Yes.
00:59:31Well, who are you arguing with now? Laws of nature?
00:59:35I suppose the next thing you'll be telling me is that the sky's red and the grass is yellow.
00:59:39Nature mutated for you alone.
00:59:41What I'm saying is I didn't notice them change colour.
00:59:44I put it to you that this whole story about making a mistake is a lie.
00:59:48I put it to you that you knew those were poisonous mushrooms. Is that not the truth?
00:59:54No, it isn't.
00:59:55Yet you can't give this court one reason why you felt certain they were edible ones.
01:00:00The field guide said St. George's mushrooms grew in autumn and that the red-staining inosibis didn't.
01:00:05The greenway guide? Yes.
01:00:08Why didn't you cross-check with the others?
01:00:10Isn't that the purpose of having them?
01:00:12I didn't think it was necessary.
01:00:13I suggest that you are deliberately choosing for your own defence the one book which you know contains wrong information.
01:00:20That's not true. I always use this book.
01:00:22Do you agree that it contains fewer descriptive accounts of fungi than any of the other guides, 100 in fact compared with 900 in the Hamilton guide?
01:00:31Yes.
01:00:32Well, what makes you use that one all the time? Why not use the one which is nine times more comprehensive?
01:00:41Because it's lighter.
01:00:42Oh, come along, Mr. Holland. Is this the answer of a serious mycologist? Because it's lighter.
01:00:50I only do it as a hobby.
01:00:53You say you don't like eating any fungi until you've washed it. Why didn't you eat one of the mushrooms when you got home?
01:00:59Like I said, there wasn't time.
01:01:01Well, how long does it take to wash and eat a mushroom?
01:01:03I asked Marge to leave some for me.
01:01:05I suggest you asked her nothing of the sort. I suggest you told her she could eat them all.
01:01:09That's not true. I asked her to leave some.
01:01:12Before you went out, did you make a spore print to determine the spore colour?
01:01:17No.
01:01:18Why not? Don't you consider it the most important test of identification?
01:01:24A test which in this case would have told you that the spores of these mushrooms were brown and that they could not have been St. George's mushrooms?
01:01:33There wasn't time. I was in a hurry to get out.
01:01:36Do you normally eat mushrooms before you've made all the tests?
01:01:40No.
01:01:41Oh, but you cheerfully let your stepmother eat a number of mushrooms which you had not identified.
01:01:47I made a mistake. I was careless. I admit it now.
01:01:52Well, I suggest that this is precisely what you want us to think.
01:01:55I suggest that you made this remark to Diana Rushton, who knows, I might have poisoned her, out of an arrogant belief that you had committed a murder that couldn't be proved.
01:02:06Isn't that what you thought?
01:02:07No. I said it as a joke.
01:02:11Oh, really? Do you think it's funny?
01:02:13Not now, no.
01:02:14So, after looking in shop windows for an hour and a half, you arrived home and found your stepmother lying unconscious.
01:02:24Well, why didn't you ring the doctor, not an ambulance?
01:02:27I didn't think.
01:02:29Well, I put it to you that having poisoned your stepmother, you set out to waste as much time as possible so that treatment would be delayed.
01:02:35Well, then why did I ring the doctor?
01:02:37Well, why didn't you tell him of the possibility of poisoning, when clearly she was salivating at the mouth, perspiring, and her pupils were constricted?
01:02:44Because I thought she'd fallen downstairs. Poison doesn't usually make people do that.
01:02:49It usually makes them fall down somewhere, Mr. Holland.
01:02:55Thank you, my lord. I have no further questions.
01:02:58Mr. Canty.
01:03:00Thank you, my lord.
01:03:02Why were you in such a hurry to go out that night, Mr. Holland?
01:03:06I was meeting Diana to play chess.
01:03:09Does she attract you?
01:03:13A bit, yes.
01:03:15Just remind the court of your age.
01:03:20Seventeen.
01:03:23I have no further questions, my lord.
01:03:28Members of the jury, the human body may be overcome in many ways, but surely the most detestable way is by poison.
01:03:47It strikes from the inside, where the victim is least able to prevent its action.
01:03:53That's why it is often widely known as the coward's weapon.
01:03:58I submit to you that this was a cowardly murder.
01:04:00Let me remind you of the facts.
01:04:02Now, Dr. Harper, who's a specialist in mushroom poisoning, has told you that it would take approximately 25 mushrooms of this species to produce a fatality.
01:04:11Yet, the defendant insists he only picked nine or ten.
01:04:15Yet, Mrs. Holland died.
01:04:18Now, Professor Binney has told you that she would not expect to find more than two or three growing together, and that would be relatively rare.
01:04:25The defendant tells you he picked nine or ten in a group.
01:04:29Why?
01:04:29Because he could not have assumed that they were all the same if they'd been growing in different parts of the woodland.
01:04:37He also asks you to believe that he's never heard of the red staining iron acai.
01:04:41Well, is this credible?
01:04:42He's been studying mushrooms for two years.
01:04:44It is clearly depicted in every one of his field guides, and indeed there's a warning against confusing it with the St. George's mushroom in the introduction to one of those guides.
01:04:53He puts the blame for his mistake about the season on a field guide, which is wrong.
01:05:01Yet, he has six other field guides, which are quite specific.
01:05:04The St. George's mushroom is a spring, not an autumn species.
01:05:09He tells you, however, that this is the field guide on which he most relies.
01:05:16Members of the jury, look at it.
01:05:18Compare it with the others.
01:05:19It is the least comprehensive of them all.
01:05:23Do you really believe that this is the one that he uses all the time?
01:05:29He tells you that he did not see red stains on any of the mushrooms.
01:05:33Well, I suggest that you look at his very own field book and decide for yourselves how observant a mycologist he was.
01:05:40Could he have missed the stains on all the mushrooms?
01:05:44Decide by looking at his own extensive notes how thorough a mycologist he was.
01:05:49Where are all those mistakes, all those oversights that he now freely admits to, within the bounds of mere carelessness?
01:05:59For every mushroom in that field book there is a spore print, the most important test of identification.
01:06:06Well, why did he omit to make one on such a crucial occasion as this?
01:06:13Consider the coincidence that this poisoning took place when his father was away on business.
01:06:21Now, you may feel that he had planned that so that his stepmother would have no one in the house to help her.
01:06:27Why did he not eat one of the mushrooms?
01:06:32He said he was in a rush to get out.
01:06:35Well, members of the jury, how long does it take to put a mushroom in your mouth?
01:06:40This is a case which poses many mysteries.
01:06:48If the red-staining Ina Saibi is so rare, how come the defendant was able to find nine or ten, let alone twenty-five?
01:06:56And given such rarity, isn't it natural to assume that they'd be growing close together, rather than in different spots?
01:07:07And consider this approximation, the figure of twenty-five mushrooms.
01:07:12On what is it based?
01:07:14There were only ten mushrooms found in Mrs. Holland's stomach.
01:07:19What she vomited up after feeling ill, we shall never know.
01:07:21The figure is based largely on the amount of muskery needed to cause fatality.
01:07:27Yet, research is far from complete on the actual amount in mushrooms.
01:07:32There are, to add to this, regional variations which have yet to be studied.
01:07:37Given such uncertainties, ought we not to treat the figure with some suspicion?
01:07:44And if the boy had intended to poison his stepmother, why did he not choose a species where only one mushroom would have been enough?
01:07:54There are far more deadly species around than the red-staining Ina Saibi.
01:07:58Why did he choose a species where so many were acquired, thus openly inviting suspicion?
01:08:04You might also like to consider this.
01:08:08If the mushrooms smelt that unpleasant, and looked so unsightly, would Mrs. Holland have eaten them?
01:08:15Yet she did eat them.
01:08:18I ask you to consider as well the boy's age.
01:08:24He is not, as the prosecution would have us believe, an expert on mycology.
01:08:28Nor does he have any qualifications in medicine, capable of recognizing the symptoms of muskery and poisoning.
01:08:37He saw his stepmother lying at the foot of the staircase and assumed she had fallen down them.
01:08:44What more natural assumption is there?
01:08:47And finally, there is the evidence of Dr. Reeve, the psychiatrist.
01:08:51Dr. Reeve says he can find no evidence of mental illness or of a personality disorder.
01:08:57In his opinion, the defendant does not have it inside him to commit such an act as murder.
01:09:04Medically speaking, it is not in his personality.
01:09:12Murder, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
01:09:17or a lesson to us all in the dangers of complacency,
01:09:22I urge you most strongly to consider the latter
01:09:26and bring in a verdict of not guilty.
01:09:36Members of the jury,
01:09:38this is not a trial in which the question is,
01:09:41did the defendant wield the weapon or did he not?
01:09:44The question you must answer is,
01:09:48did the defendant bear malice of forethought
01:09:51or did he make a genuine error of identification?
01:09:56Now, if you conclude that the defendant knowingly administered poisonous mushrooms to his stepmother,
01:10:03but that, having regard to the evidence concerning the nine or ten mushrooms,
01:10:08his intention was to make her ill and not to kill her,
01:10:13then you can bring in a verdict of manslaughter.
01:10:18If, however, you are satisfied
01:10:20that the defendant knowingly administered poisonous mushrooms to his stepmother
01:10:24and that his subsequent behavior,
01:10:28in particular telling the doctor that she had fallen down the stairs,
01:10:32points to an intention to kill rather than merely to make ill,
01:10:36then the verdict you bring in
01:10:39must be one of guilty to murder.
01:10:43Now, the second point I wish to make is this.
01:10:47The burden of proof rests squarely upon the prosecution.
01:10:51It is not enough to say
01:10:53that the defendant could have known
01:10:55of the existence of the red-staining Anasibi
01:10:58and that he could have planned this murder
01:11:01with that knowledge in mind.
01:11:04The prosecution must satisfy you
01:11:06that he did so.
01:11:08And now, let us turn to the family in this case.
01:11:12You have heard evidence
01:11:13regarding the relationships within that family.
01:11:17You may be left in some doubt
01:11:18as to the exact nature
01:11:20of the defendant's feelings towards his stepmother,
01:11:24as to what emotions he harbored deep inside.
01:11:27But I must tell you
01:11:28that it is not essential
01:11:30for the prosecution
01:11:31to provide a motive.
01:11:33And finally,
01:11:35you must judge this case
01:11:36upon the facts
01:11:37as they exist
01:11:38and as they have been presented to you.
01:11:42You will now retire,
01:11:44elect a foreman to speak for you,
01:11:46and consider your verdict.
01:11:49All stand.
01:11:50Members of the jury,
01:11:58will your foreman please stand?
01:12:00Answer this question,
01:12:01yes or no.
01:12:03Have you reached a verdict
01:12:04upon which you all agree?
01:12:05Yes.
01:12:06On the count of murder
01:12:07in the indictment,
01:12:08do you find the defendant,
01:12:09Arthur Holland,
01:12:10guilty or not guilty?
01:12:11Not guilty.
01:12:13On the count of manslaughter,
01:12:14as directed by his lordship,
01:12:16do you find the defendant,
01:12:17Arthur Holland,
01:12:18guilty or not guilty?
01:12:19Guilty.
01:12:25The judge passed a sentence
01:12:27of detention
01:12:27at Her Majesty's pleasure.
01:12:29This did not mean,
01:12:30he explained,
01:12:31that Arthur would necessarily
01:12:32spend the rest
01:12:33of his natural life
01:12:34in custody.
01:12:35It meant, he said,
01:12:36that from time to time
01:12:37the position would be considered
01:12:38and Arthur released
01:12:39if it became proper to do so.
01:12:49The following story will be considered
01:12:51the discovery of the jury,
01:12:52that would, he said,
01:12:52the homicide will never be considered
01:12:52so.
01:12:53You can also see,
01:12:54it's not the fault of the jury,
01:12:55but it is not the truth.
01:12:55The judge will be considered
01:12:56the jury.
01:12:56He said,
01:12:57the judge will never be considered
01:12:57a firm.
01:12:57You
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