THE DEATHS ON THE MOANA.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16431, 27 January 1919, Page 9

THE DEATHS ON THE MOANA.

* ENQUIRY OPENED. (press association telegram.) WELLINGTON", January 25. An enquiry is "being held concerning the deaths on the Moana of Dr. Grimm and Miss Isbister, who died during the . voyage from San Francisco from poison ; taken in lemon squash drinks. Mr P. S. K. Macassey, of the Crown " Law Office, is appearing for the Marine Department; Mr P. Levi for the Union Company; Mr Douglas Jackson for a •relative of Miss Isbister; and iMr H. Kennedy is watching the proceedings on behalf of the suppliers of • aerated waters. Alfred John Richardson, of Califor- • nia, a passenger by the Moana, deposed that wnon he saw Miss Isbister lying on the deck he knelt down beside her, and noticed that she was frothing at the mouth. "Witness felt her pulse, which f was very siow. • Her heart-beats, too, • wefe very slow. Artificial respiration I was tried, and an cmotic'was adminis- . tored.- ( Presently- -Dr-j - Grinun -waa brought on deck in a state of collapse, i arid an emetic was administered, but . neither emetic nor respiration was successful, and both died. Miss Isbister died in about, ten minutes, and Dr. Grimm just before her. "When he knelt alongside Miss Isbister ho smelt something which he thought was.oxalic acid. , He -had ' had experience of tho acid, i which was used for.cleaning wood, copper, and brass. He did not now think it was acid. Gilbert .Frank Kassel, metallurgist, ; of South Australia, who. was a pasi senge* on the boat, said that he smelt 1 the remains of the drinks taken bv de- | ceased, ■ and detected the odour of bitr ter almonds, which _ was characteristic of cyanide of potassium. In two soda water "bottles he detected the same odonr as in the! remains of the drinks. Captain Barlow, . master of the Moana, said* th&t Dr. Grimm was a man' of temperate habits and equable temper.. He- had a comfortable, income, apart from his pay. So far as witness* knew, Miss Isbister livd not met the doctor before. After the deaths witness examined. the drinks, very little of which had been taken. In one he detected a foreign odour. He had the bottles with' the remainder of the drinks, and tumblers of sugar, and the lemon squash sealed up. At Papeete the drinks were analysed, and this disclosed the presence ,of cyanide of potassium." Oxalic acid was used on the shin for scrubbing the floors, etc. It was kept in a box in the bar. Afterwards a small bottle of , oxalic acid was found in the. port alleyway. .The doctor was the only man who had access to the dispensary. The chief officer, Mr .Prosser,- said that after" the deaths a steward named Ives, replying to speculation on the part of a passenger, said: "He's put oxalic acid in the drinks instead oif sugar." He was sure that a third person was not specified. Ives also volunteered a statement that oxalic acid was kept beside the' sugar in the bar. Charles Simpson, head saloon waiter, said that Grimm after drinking said, • "There is something wrong with the drinks." Witness told Belshaw, tbe second steward, what .had happened. He said, _ "My God, I've poisoned two people with oxalic acid in mistake for limejuice." Belshaw, giving evidence, said'that he was preparing drinks with sugar,' ice, lemons, and sodawater. In the excitement at the time he may have spoken as Simpson had alleged, but he was sure that oxalic acid was not used in mixing the drinks. The enquiry was adjourned till Monday.