Murder by Consent. The Facts in the Tragedy of Baron von Schauroth

Title: Murder by Consent
Subtitle: The Facts in the Tragedy of Baron von Schauroth
Author: Henry John May
Publisher: Hutchinson of London
London, 1968
ISBN 090877004 / ISBN 09-087700-4
Original hardcover, original dustjacket, 14x21 cm, 13 b/w photographs, 1 map

Condition:

Good. Dustjacket is a bit worne on edges, inside clean. Short dedication in German handwriting on bastard title.

Description:

Murder by Consent: The Facts in the Tragedy of Baron von Schauroth is a most interesting report on the fate of one the two sons of Erich von Schauroth, a former officer of the German Schutztruppe in then German South West Africa. His biography is also part of this book, which covers all important facts to know about this part of the old Prussian familiy in South West Africa and South Africa. Perhaps once in a decade a murder occurs which is so bizarre, so beyond ordinary belief, that it transcends its era and its setting to become a crime which is discussed and examined ever-afterwards. To this list must now be added the shooting of Baron Dieter von Schauroth near Cape Town in 1961, the case of 'murder by consent'. The Baron was born in South-West Africa, the elder son of wealthy Prussian land-owner Erich von Schauroth (1874-1958) with whom he had been in conflict.

He was up to his ears in debt, married to a beautiful young woman, and had insured his life heavily. Martiens Rossouw, 23 years old, was from a very different background; he had assisted the Baron in some illicit diamond-buying ventures and was bedazzled by his friendship. On 24 March 1961 on a lonely road not far from Cape Town, Rossouw fired two shots into the Baron at his own request and thus committed a murder the repercussions of which spread far beyond the criminal courts. This book gives for the first time the full story of this extraordinary crime, the trial and commission which followed, and illuminates both the background and the personalities caught up in events which they were ultimately powerless to control. The result of the author's researches and travels has brought to light facts unknown to the court which tried Rossouw for murder and makes a story of universal interest.

Content: Murder by Consent. The Facts in the Tragedy of Baron von Schauroth

Indictment
prologue: The Old Baron
Part one : The Castle
The Building
The Son
The Girl
The Friend
Part two: The Crime
The Killing
The Arrest
The Prosecution
The Defence
The Summing-up
The Verdict
Part three: The Commission
Part four: The Last Judgement
The Fight
The Last Morning
Postscript from California
Epilogue: The Survivors notes
Notes
Appendices
'The Ballad of Steinherz'
Genealogical table of the von Schauroth family
List of Dieter's insurance policies
Dieter's receipts and expenditure May 1960-24 March 1961
Liquidation and Distribution Accounts in Dieter's Deceased Estate
The Jackson Case
Index