February 17, 2018
Susan Austen trial: Police bugs recorded Exit meeting at suspect’s home
Police audio bugs recorded a meeting of the Wellington branch of pro-euthanasia group Exit International, a jury has heard.
Police had a High Court judge’s permission to bug the phone calls and home of branch chairwoman, Susan Austen. Austen had emphasised confidentiality as the October 2, 2016, meeting had begun.
Austen, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges of aiding a suicide, and importing pentobarbitone.
In recordings played at the High Court in Wellington on Friday a woman, allegedly Austen, was heard discussing various ways a person could kill themself, including what she called her “favourite subject”, nembutal.
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Austen was asked how to get it. She said email addresses were available or it could be brought in from overseas, as she had coming back from Hong Kong with the drug squashed into a container that also held the fascinator headpiece she had worn to a wedding.
A day earlier a woman was captured asking Austen for help sourcing nembutal. The jury has been told nembutal was a suicide drug, along with pentobarbitone and pentobarbital.
Austen answered that she had been away, and had a “very successful trip”.
Another woman was told: “I have one lot with your name on it”. The woman was grateful and said that would make her feel a little more at peace.
Austen arranged to meet one caller who said she would bring powder. “We can do it in the car,” Austen said.
When she was arrested in October 2016, she and another woman were in a car dividing up pentobarbitone powder.
On Friday, a police officer agreed in court that the Waikanae woman who was with Austen was not charged.
Detective Constable Sam McKenzie said the woman could only have been charged with possession of the drug, a much less serious offence than importing.
Her lawyer had also raised issues about her age and health. It was suggested she had some kind of dementia.
Also as part of the investigation, police found a woman in Petone had a bottle of pentobarbitone without evidence of importation. She was not charged.
Austen’s lawyer, Donald Stevens, QC, suggested there was an altercation when police tried to take the bottle. McKenzie said he understood there was a standoff.
He agreed the woman’s daughter had to persuade her to hand it over. The woman insisted that she needed it.
One of the importing charges Austen faces was for a specific date in September 2016, but the other charge covered from March 2012 to October 2016.
McKenzie said police alleged Austen imported pentobarbitone six times.
Pentobarbitone poisoning was the cause of death of Annemarie Treadwell, 77, who died in Wellington on June 6, 2016.
A friend of Austen’s, Lily Zhao, said she did not know Annemarie but knew she was a friend of Susan Austen, who she called Suzy. Austen sent her an email in February 2016 involving “Annemarie T”.
The email talked about a package being intercepted by Customs. Zhao said she did not know what the package contained.
She translated one email into Chinese for Austen and sent it to either Austen or Annemarie.
Zhao told prosecutor Kate Feltham she loved and respected Austen. She agreed with Austen’s lawyer that Austen was an honourable and compassionate person.
DHL courier company employee Nick Patterson was asked about documents relating to a package sent from China in March 2016 said to contain titanium dioxide with a value of US$10. It was delivered to a Petone address.
Austen’s trial is due to continue next week.