Maria Lee

Background

Maria Helena Gertruida Lee (née van Niekerk), later known as Maria Lee, was born in 1899. She met Alwyn Smith in 1945. At the time, Lee was 46 and had been married three times. Smith was twenty-six.

Lee’s first marriage was to Oosterhuizen, and they married in 1915. They lived in the Lichtenburg district and raised four sons. In 1929 the couple divorced. She remarried soon afterwards, but her second marriage to Kruger lasted only a few short months. On 1 December 1934, Lee married Jan de Klerk Lee, a twenty-four-year-old metal worker. She sold the tea-room she had been running in Johannesburg and they set up home together in Pretoria.

After Jan Lee’s death in July 1941, Lee inherited close to £3000 from his estate. She then was described as a wealthy and attractive widow in her early forties.

Lee’s relationships included a pen-friendship and romance with C.J.B. Oliver and later with Alwyn Smith. While she was engaged to Oliver, she was also writing to two young soldiers fighting in North Africa: C.J.B. Oliver and Alwyn Smith.

Lee later applied for a job with Lennon’s, a pharmaceutical firm in Cape Town. In her letter of application, she maintained she was a twenty-nine-year-old widow, with no children, whose husband had been killed in the North African campaign. She later explained at her trial: “The whole letter was nonsense,” and: “But I had to do it for a reason... It was a disease, which might have ended in death or have resulted in long suffering. I could not face death again and would having done anything to break it off. I then wrote to Lennons. I had to go to any place where I could get away.”

The offence

Between October 1946 and May 1947, Lee used arsenic to poison and kill her young lover, Alwyn Smith, whom she claimed ardently to love. Lee’s plan was also framed through the context that Smith had a life insurance policy for £3 000 naming her as the sole benefactor.

Investigation

After Smith’s death, there was no direct evidence linking Lee to the crime and no arsenic was ever found in her possession. A police team under the leadership of Detective Head Constable F. van Niekerk investigated Smith’s death and Lee’s life, associates, and affairs, but could find no conclusive evidence against her for some months.

The post-mortem findings included arsenic in Smith’s body. The liver contained 0,41 grains of arsenic, the kidneys contained 0,05 grains, and the fluid of the kidneys and stomach contained 0,55 grains. His hair also contained traces of arsenic.

Dr Hillel Shapiro, the government pathologist, stated it was likely that the dose that finally killed Smith had been administered some time during the 24-hour period prior to death.

Arrest

Lee decided to leave Cape Town and move back to Pretoria in September 1947. On 14 October, she was arrested in Pretoria on suspicion of having murdered Alwyn Smith. She was remanded in custody at the Pretoria Central Prison while arrangements were made for her transfer back to Cape Town for the preliminary hearing.

Trial

Lee’s trial opened on 6 April 1948. The case attracted widespread public interest and the public gallery was packed for every day of the five-week trial. Lee dressed-up for the occasion and became something of a celebrity.

The prosecution set out to prove three things:

1. Arsenic was the cause of Smith’s death.
2. Lee was the only person who could have administered the arsenic.
3. Those claims were supported by Mrs Minaar’s evidence.

The evidence central to the prosecution included that Margrieta Minaar was aware that Smith had died of arsenic poisoning on 20 October, long before this fact had been reported in any of the newspapers. The narrative also stated that Minaar knew that the doctors were baffled by Smith’s ailments, and that these two pieces of information could only have been obtained from one source: Lee. It was also stated that Lee could only have known arsenic was the poison used if she had administered it herself.

Lee’s defence attorney tried to undermine Minaar’s credibility, but he could not shake her evidence.

On 10 May 1948, Mr Justice Steyn gave judgment and found Lee guilty of murder.

When Steyn asked: “Do you wish to say anything before I pass sentence of death on you?” Lee replied: ”I repeat, I am not guilty,”

Sentencing

Mr Justice Steyn passed sentence of death on Lee after finding her guilty of murder.

Appeals

Lee lodged an appeal, which was eventually dismissed on 11 September 1948.

Outcome

On the morning of Saturday, 18 September 1948, Maria Lee was hanged at the Pretoria Central Prison.

Timeline

• 1915 — Lee married Oosterhuizen.
• 1929 — Lee and Oosterhuizen divorced.
• 1 December 1934 — Lee married Jan de Klerk Lee.
• March 1941 — Jan de Klerk Lee went into hospital suffering from tuberculosis.
• July 1941 — Jan de Klerk Lee died; Lee inherited close to £3000 from his estate.
• 1945 — Lee met Alwyn Smith.
• 1945 — Lee applied for a job with Lennon’s in Cape Town.
• 1946 (February) — Smith asked Lee to give him £500; Lee travelled to Pretoria to marry Oliver.
• October 1946 — Smith returned to Cape Town.
• December 1946 — Smith began complaining about stomach pains.
• 13 March 1947 — Dr Morris Helman was summoned to Prince Street as Smith was abusive, complaining of abdominal pains and vomiting.
• 20 March 1947 — Dr Helman was called out again; Smith had a rash, was retching continuously, and complained of acute stomach pains.
• 22 March 1947 — Smith was admitted to hospital with suspected scarlet fever.
• 2 May 1947 — Lee telephoned Dr Helman claiming Smith was dying; Dr Philip Leftwich arrived later that afternoon; Smith died within hours.
• September 1947 — Lee decided to leave Cape Town and move back to Pretoria.
• 14 October 1947 — Lee was arrested in Pretoria on suspicion of having murdered Alwyn Smith.
• 20 October 1947 — Margrieta Minaar made a statement to the police.
• 6 April 1948 — Lee’s trial opened.
• 10 May 1948 — Mr Justice Steyn gave his judgment and found Lee guilty of murder.
• 11 September 1948 — Lee’s appeal was dismissed.
• 18 September 1948 — Maria Lee was hanged at the Pretoria Central Prison.

Aftermath

After Smith’s death, Lee appeared devastated by his death. When Constable Harold Norman Bishop and Constable van Rooyen arrived in the mortuary van to take Smith’s body away for post-mortem examination, Lee pulled the covering blanket away from Smith’s ankles in order to kiss his feet.