Foul-mouthed matricide Lesley Martin sobs her way into annals of infamy (Sept. 15, 2005)

Foul-mouthed matricide Lesley Martin sobs her way into annals of infamy

Sept. 15, 2005

Is there a more fatuous public figure in New Zealand than the weepy matricide Lesley Martin? After her mother's death in 1999, this woman wrote a book boasting about how she had first tried to kill her with morphine, then after that failed, suffocated her with a pillow.

Naturally, prosecution and a trial followed, with Martin attracting the inevitable "support" of grisly Australian celebrity snuff doctor Philip ("Shipman") Nietsche. And of course, a TV crew, to follow Martin's every move and record every moronic, expletive-laced conversational exchange in which she embroiled her sorry asssss. We saw the result of
this in the documentary The Promise: The Lesley Martin Story on TV One this evening.

The presence of the ghoulish Aussie death angel proved to be a sore
point for Martin's beleaguered husband, who could see that associating
with him and with Exit New Zealand would only harm his wife's
credibility in the eyes of the jury.  The matricide's response?---"I'm
a fuckin' EXPERT on this.  Don't fuckin' try to tell me, all RIGHT?
You can just fuck right off!"

Right to the end of her trial, she remained bullish, aggressive, and
strangely wedded to an idea that the country supported her.  No doubt
Dr Shipman had planted that fantasy deep inside that head of hers.
Oddly, in spite of writing a book about it, she seemed not to have
thought seriously about her actions at all.  To the bitter end, she was
full of self-pity; on her way into court for the verdict, she whimpered
to the camera: "Beautiful day --- for a crucifixion."

Throughout the documentary, Martin's constant refrain was, "I know I'm
right.  I know I'm doing the right thing."  After being found guilty of
her mother's murder, she bawled: "New Zealanders aren't going to let
this happen!  They're not going to let it happen!"

Thanks to her almost incredible level of self-involvement, Martin
breezily disregarded anyone that tried to reason, or argue, with her.
One revealing segment showed her encounter with an American
anti-euthanasia campaigner at some luncheon.  He tried, vainly, to
explain to her the difference between allowing people to die in
dignity, and actually killing them.  Martin just blithely carried on,
her jaw set defiantly.  He might as well have talked to the salad.

Verdict: Guilty.  Fifteen months.

THE BREEN QUESTION:  While many hours of coverage have been expended on
this matricide, how many documentaries have we seen devoted to
palliative care?  Zero?

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