THE INQUEST.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 554, 19 October 1871, Page 2

THE INQUEST.

THE LATE A E. COHEN. An inquest Mas held yesterday afternoon before Dr. Philson, Coroner, at the I*> T a7a j ! Hotel, corner of Pitt-streot and Karangahajfi Road, upon the body of Albert Ephraim Colics, aged 21, who died suddenly at j,& residence in Grey strict, on the p'J-ev" otlß evening, under the eimunstanccs detailed i n the evidence below. After the jury (04. boit Mr. Hymen Josephs was foreman), hq | een enipannelled, they proceeded to riJwi\_A hotly, which lay at the house in Grey-street. The following evidence was then taken •«_ Sarah West, deposed : I am a domestic j servant in the employment of Mr. Cohen who j was a commission agent, and resided in Q-rev-j street. I have been in the service of the l family for fifteen months. A little before ! four o'clock yesterday I came down stairs and j found my mistress just, leaving the housel iv : company with Miss Marks, her sister. She told mo that she would not be home for tea and that Mr. Cohen (deceased), had just come in to have a sleep, and if T did not hear him n.oving by six o'clock I was to call him. I understood decease:'; was to havo gone to Mrs. Marks's house in Hobson-streel, to meet Mrs. Cohan' there. After she bad gone I recollect decease passing twic. through the kitiliend. He spoke to me on one occasion, but I did not know what he said. I did not observe him particularly. Ho then went into a spare bed-room, where he now lies. A short time afterwards I heard deceased talkband speaking in his sleep and moaning 'There was only a partition between tlie room where he was lying and the kitchen. I afterwards heard a noise as if he was rolling on the sofa in pain. He then commenced retching a good deal. He retched several times between then and five o'clock. It was a little before four o'clock when I heard the first sound. Eirst heard the noise about ten miuu'es after Mrs. Cohen had gone out. Was under the impression that he had taken a glass of wine too much. Mrs. Cohen said she had seen him take a glass of sherry before she left. Mrs. Cohen and Miss Marks then went out. My impression was that he had taken too much wine, and that he would be relieved by vomiting. I went to the door, and asked what was the matter, but Mr. Cohen gave me no answer. I did not try the door. I thought he would have called me if necessary. A little after five the sound of retching ceased, and I thought he had fallen into a sleep, and I heard no noise afterwards. I went to the door again at six o'clock, and called, but he gave me no answer. I called him by name. I went again in another half hour, but I did not call very loud, as I thought he j was better sleeping. I received no answer. I did not enter the room. I tried the handlo of the door, which was not fastened. About half-past seven Mrs. Cohen and Miss Marks returned. They enquired for Mr. Cohen. I told them that he had been very sick, and that I could not wake him, and thought that he had better sleep. It was quite dark at the lime. Mrs. Cohen" and Miss Marks then went into the room, and struck a light, and cried out that Mr. Cohen was dead. I then went in and saw deceased. He was lying on his back on the sofa, with his hands across his chest. His face was pale, and his countenance was calm. He was not qtiite cold at the time. I J don't know whether his legs were drawn up; I he was covered with a rug. I went for Mr. ] Morrin, but not finding him at home, I went for Mr. Stretton, and he went back to the house with me. I have never known deceased to be particularly ill. H« was somewhat out of spirits yesterday. ViTben ho passed through | the kitchen I did not notice him mix any J. drink. lam not aware of his having used I any powders at all. He was at his business | yesterday, and, I heard, had been running I about a good deal all the morning. He dived at ' Mr. Marks's about one o'clock, I believe. He I lived on the best of terms with his wife. There was no misunderstanding between them. They had no children. There was no I, one in the house but myself and him after | Mrs. Cohen went out. There was no family. I I was the only servant. I have heard that lie I was very much harassed about his affairs.— | By the Jury : I have known Mr. Cohen to f come home before and take a nap in the I afternoon. He did not do so frequently—only occasionally.—Rachel Marks deposed : I am the daughter of Morris Marks, who is a pawnbroker. I reside in Hobson-street with my I; parents. Deceased was my brother-in-law. I | last saw him alive between three and four II o'clock yesterday afternoon. He was then in I my sister's bedroom. He was the same as j usual. He came and kissed Mrs. Cohen and mo, and told us that he was going to lie down for a sleep ; as I aud my sister were going I out for a walk, and were afterwards to meet i him at tea time at my mother's. He was in | good health. He said he was tired, but I I knew he was bothered with business, having | .to go to the Supretie Court on Thursday, and . X they had threatened to put him fu gaol. He I was to go to the court in a case of bankruptcy. He did not'sp:_k much about it. He tried to keep it as quiet in the family as possible. I After he had taken leave of us, we went out, ffl leaving deceased at horns, and leaving dhec- § tions with the servant that if he did not 1 wake at six o'clock, she was to call ■ him. When "we found he did not come | to my mother's house. We went to fetch him, I not thinking there was anything strange in I his absence. On our return at 7 o'clock we went into the room where he was lying, aud my sister called him, but he did not answer. | We then got a light, and found he was dead. | Mrs. Cohen is not present; she is too ill to || attend.—John Cadell deposed: lami» | stable in the Armed Constabulary. At a | quarter-past B.o'clock last evening, a young 9, man named Levy informed me of what nao. , taken place, and lat once went to the «*a- H deuce of deceased, in Grey-street. I »»»■ the'body in the same position that it is m today, except that it had a rug on the lower P«« of it. The body was cold and quite rigid- i tried to move the arms, which wero fowea k across the chest, but I could not. The lower limbs were stretched out to the utmost extent j I did not try whether I could bend them or not. Tho countenance was composed. l|ier j was no foam at the mouth, but the lower up I had apparently been bitten. There was no | blood, but it was bruised-looking. There wro g glasses on the dressing-table, but with not w g | in them. They all appeared toWlf.„l( There was also a water-bottle on thA dressin, | table. Dr. Hooper gave mo a papVi *m\ ■ said he had found. It was folded\?& If seemed to have contained a powderT'-i"; | empty at the time. I did not see f;'^ fff ffl fry of the deceased —Alfred Levy de^os. $■ f. f a commercial cl.erk, and live in Hobson^wj | - lam related to the deceased by marriage, a f. have known him for about three years, dun", . the whole of which time I have never know g him to be seriously ill. He was 24 jem om I have heard him occasionally couip.am . I headache. His habits wero strictly tempera • i I last saw him about hall-past two yerteio i afternoon. We dined together at Mrs. Mgu> I his mother-in-law, in Hobson-street. Jle , i sparingly of roast beef. He took so g cucumber, but not much, as he compla"l^. ■* a pain in his inside. I had some ol »■ cucumber. It did not gripe me. B-e ai„ w I one glass of beer at his dinner. He~1« go down town before me. I W 1 I

his death about seven o'clock in the evening. I did not know that he bad to appear a f- Court to-morrow. He had appeared at Court before. I do not think that could have had any particular effect upon his mmd. He was generally in very good spirits I cannot tell of any circumstances likely to have caused deatb.-The Coroner asked the jury •f tIJ %ld like to go over to the bouse and heir Cohen's evidence.—Hie jury replied that ; °'y did not think Mrs. Cohen could thvo's IV further light.on the matter.—Dr. Hoo'/r deposed : I was called to visit deceased at y-£ house in Grey-street between half-past _e***l_ and eight o'clock. On arrival I found him quite dead. He was lying on his back on a sofa. Tho lower limbs were stretched out, with the muscles firmly contracted. The arms were fixed across the chest, and tlie hands tightly clenched. The lower jaw was Jfirmly fixed." The lower lip wasbruised, as if lie had bitten it, and there were marks of blood upon the teeth. The pupils of the eyes were dilated. Ihere was no smell of anything about the mouth that I could detect. The countenance was not distorted in any way. I should think deceased had been dead for more than an hour. I looked carefully about the room, but. saw no signs of vomit anywhere. I saw mi empty brandy bottle, with a little camphor in it,'on the wash-stand. The paper produced was tnken out of one of his pockets in presence of several people. There was nothingin it, and it had no smell. I have this clay made a post mortem examination of the body, assisted by Dr. M. KB. Nicholson. There vre no marks of violence about it. The first part I examined was the brain, which I found quite healthy. There was no congestion or rupture of blood vessels. We next examined the heart, which I considered to be healthy—no valvular disease whatever ; both ventricles were empty. The lungs were quite health-i in fact all the organs of the body We examined the stomach, which was full of half-digested food; there was no odour of pnythWin it—no odour of prussie acid or aVy other poison. The coats of the stomach —the mucus membrane—near the entrance of the gullet, is deeply congested reddened, and there is extravasation of biood in various parts of the stomach. The liver and kidneys were quite healthy, avid also the intestines. I observed no evidence of diarrhoea. At present I am unable to give any opinion as to the cause of death. I considered it my duty to remove: the stomach and its contents for the purpose of analysis (bottle produced). I Wat struck with the extreme rigidity of the body in so short a time.—The Coroner stated that it would be necessary to adjourn the enquiry, and instructed Dr. Hooper to analyse the stomach, and the enquiry was then adjourned until next Monday, at two o'clock.—Herald.