The Hawaiian gazette., 1912-08-06
OLD WOMAN WAS
BEATEN TO DEATH
So Says Coroner's Jury in Holding
John Freitas for Murder OF
Wife at KohaIa.

Mail Special to The Advcrtiser.)
HII.O, August 2.--Antouia de Jesus
freitas. an eighty. fveyearold Portu-
,ucse woman, was found dead IN her
room in Kohala ON july 90 under mys.
terious circumstances The coroner s
iury which investigated the mntter, re.
turned verdict to the effect that the
aged woman died from the effect of
bruises inflicted by her husband. and a
charge of manslaughtcr was conse-
qucntly brought against him, on which
he has been committed.
A large number of witnesses was
called before the coroners' jury, from
some of whom it developed that the
old woman had been mentally deranged
for the past eight months, and that it
had been the habit of her husband to
lock her up every day, when he went
to work.
The discovery of the woman s death
was first made by some children, dur
ing the day, when the husband was
absent. The door was then locked with
a paddock, DIR. b. D. Bond, who per-
formed the post mortem, testified as fol.
lows: 81 found bruises on both ears
and on the left forehead, but none of
these Were of sufficient force to have
caused any fracture of the lone.
Bruises were also evident on the right
shoulder, and on the arms, the hips and
the chest. Cuts ms from some blunt in.
strument, were on the lower jaw. These
cuts and bruises were all some days old,
and connot be said to have been the
direct cause of death, which may have
resulted from naturai causes Of old age
and second childhood--and perhaps by
neglect and abuse"
A Brutal Assault.
The most damaging evidence was
given by Mrs. Hookano Piikea, who
testified that she had seen the old man
abuse his wife about month prior to
her death. 81 peeped through an open
ing about an inch wide," testified this
witness, "and saw the husband fixing
the bed and talking in Portuguese and
hitting at something which ! could not
see, but I could hear the noise. Then,
| saw the husband lifting the wife mp
to the bed and dropping her thereon,
so the body was partly on the bed. He
punched her on the back, and she cried,
|
| her around the bed Then he dropped
her back on the floor and punched her
with his fist. She cried again, and he
lifted her for the third time and put
her on the bed in n rough way. The
woman was facing upwards. She was
| crying, and / saw tried blood at her
nostrils and also spots of blood on the
face and on the bosom, for she had a
low-cut chemise on
Threw Her on Steps.
Antoine Cambria, Portuguese plan
tation employee, also gave evidence in
regard to cruel treatment of the old
woman by her husband. cover two
weeks ago saw her at her gate" said
this witness fHer husband came and
got her and took her by the arm and
pushed her up against the steps of the
house. She struck her ribs on the
steps, and while she was down, he lift
ed her up again and made motion
as if he were going to punch her, but
as there We're so many people around
he did not do so. She fell down again
and he made motion with his foot
but | do not know where he struck
her. Then he picked her up again, and
took her into the room.
Since Manuel Freitas, his son, went
away, l notice that the door is al.
ways locked from the outside with a
paddock. / believe he locks his wife
up to keep her from going out, as she
is kind of insane.'
The coroner's jury returned yer.
dict to the effect that the deceased
came to her death "from bruises and
cuts upon the body of Antonio de
Jesus Freitas, wife of John Freitas,
committed by said John Freitas, with
his hands for two weeks prior to and
including the 25th day of July 1912,
at Halaula, North Kohaia, and that
such bruises and cuts were in our opin-
ion, the cause of the death of said An
tOnia de Jesus Freitas."