Trial of Passion

Q

You are a retired minister?

A

I was an Anglican bishop.

Q

And how old are you?

A

Seventy-nine.

Q

Where do you live?

THE COURT:

Please sit down if you'd be more comfortable, Dr. Hawthorne. This is only a preliminary hearing, quite informal. (Witness sits.)

A

At
137
Palmer Avenue in West Vancouver.

Q

Do you live there alone?

A

I am a widower. I have a housekeeper — Mrs. Mary Mcintosh.

Q

Okay, and your neighbour on your left, as you face the street, that would be
141
Palmer?

A

Yes.

Q

And do you know who lives there?

A

Professor Jonathan O'Donnell.

Q

He's acting dean of law at the University of British Columbia?

A

Yes, I have known him for many years.

Q

And do you see him in court?

A

Sitting right there.

Q

Identifying the accused, for the record. Now I want to take you back to the late-night hours of last Friday, November twenty-seventh. Were you at home on that evening?

A

I retired at about nine p.m. I had fallen asleep in an armchair while reading and Mrs. McIntosh aroused me and sent me off to bed.

Q

And did something later awake you?

A

There was a great hullabaloo at the front door. I'm not sure what time it was, in the small hours at least. Mrs. Mcintosh has her room upstairs at the back, so I was first to the door.

Q

And what transpired?

A

It was a female voice, but the words were unintelligible. I opened the door and a young woman was standing there.

Q

And did this woman subsequently identify herself?

A

Ah, yes, her name is, ah … Miss Kimberley Martin.

Q

Now tell us what you observed.

A

Well . . .

THE COURT:

Just what you saw, Dr. Hawthorne. In your own words.

A

Well, she was, ah, somewhat in a state of nudity.

Q

Somewhat. What do you mean?

A

She was naked, except . . . she was wearing a tie.

Q

Please describe it.

A

It was very garish, brightly coloured.

Q

But it was a man's tie?

A

Oh, yes. I really wasn't focusing very well, but I
thought it depicted a scene on a beach, with a tropical palm.

Q

All right, where was she wearing this tie?

A

Where? In the, ah, normal place. I mean, I know this wasn't a normal situation. Around her neck. Properly knotted.

Q

Do you recognize this?

A

It could be the one.

Q

Exhibit One, your honour. Was she wearing anything else?

A

Well, a gold necklace. Quite expensive, I thought. A large cross suspended from it.

Q

Do you recognize this item?

A

Yes, that looks like it.

Q

Exhibit Two. How was she wearing this item?

A

Right, um, between her breasts. It had somehow got wrapped around the tie.

Q

What else did you notice about her appearance?

A

She was covered with red, ah, streaks and daubs. Her lower body, and also her breasts.

Q

Explain what you mean.

A

Mrs. McIntosh later recognized it as lipstick.

MR. CLEAVER:

Can we avoid the hearsay?

Q

Describe these daubs.

A

Well, red smears, mostly, right around her body, up her legs and thighs and pelvis to the middle of her abdomen. Where her skin wasn't smeared, there was a pattern, a jagged series of peaks and valleys — drawn as one might portray waves on a stormy ocean. And her breasts, ah, seemed to be coloured, too. With that same bright red, and her entire, ah, nipples. Excuse me.

THE COURT:

Can you get the witness a glass of water?
(Witness sips water.)

Q

Okay, and what was this woman, Miss Martin, doing?

A

Well, just standing there, shaking. It was cold. And she was yelling, “He's going to kill me. Help me.” I must say, I was quite frightened.

Q

And what did you do?

A

Well, Mrs. McIntosh had come down by then, and of course we brought her into the house, and we found a blanket to cover her, and we made some tea.