Evidence At Inquest On Woman's Death

Chronicle (Levin), 17 September 1949, Page 5

Evidence At Inquest On Woman's Death

HAMILTON, Sept. 16. When the inquest into the death of Ngaere Leslie Robinson, also known a9 Ngaire Olive Jenkins, aged 82, of Hamilton, was resumed before the j Coroner (ATr. S. L. Paterson, S.M.) to- j day, the Coroner after heariug evidencc 1 of another witness, Mrs. E. Taylor, at whose house the deceased commenced a haemorrhage, and recalling the pathologist and the husband of the deceased, said he would give his verdict on Arondav. Ethel Marv Taylor, a married woman with a grown-up family, living with her husband at Puahue, said that on i July Ti shc saw Dr. Blundell regardingj an ailment in her family. Dr. Blundell j said to her that a woman had called in the previous day and she had had six i children in six vears and was pregnant' again. Witness said that Dr. Blundell, told her he did not think she would carrv it. Dr. Blundell also said that j he had told the woman to come back if she was not well. Dr. Blundell did not tell witness the woman 's name, and she eould not sav why the doetor told her about the woman. On July 20 witness said Dr. Blundell rang her and said the woman had come back and he did not think she would carry the. child. He asked witness if she would talce her in for a couple of days and see how she j got on. Witness agreed and Dr. Blundell brought her out in his car. Mrs. Jenkins told witness that there was a dam on her property and that she would rather commit suicide than carry on with the baby. Mrs. Jenkins also told witness that she had been/awav two or three weeks earlier, but she was telling no one what she had done. Witness said that Mrs. Jenkins had her own nightdress, but she did not have much else that witness could Temember. After describing how she Tang Dr. Blundell when Mrs. Jenkins began to bleed, and what the doctor did, witness said Mrs. Jenkins left by ambulance for a private hospital. She learned of Mrs. Jenkins' death next morning. Witness said that for the past 10 years , she had been takjng convalescent , women patients from Dr. Blundell. She was interested in this work and those wlio could pay'did. She never charged women having babies, and onca kept a woman 's babv for 10 month*. She could afford to do this and received no pavment from anvone. In answer to the Coroner, witness said she never saw Dr. Blundell give a woman an anaesthetic. Mr. Paterson: Have you any facilities for dealing with a woman having a miscarriage in your home? Witness: No more than in any other private home. Mr. Paterson: Have you told us all about your conversations with. Mrs. Jenkins? Witness: No. We had a long talk, mostlv about monev difficulties. She told me that she could only take two children out at a time as she had insuffieiont clothes. Mrs. Jenkins also said that her husband expected her to make £1 go as far as £5, although he could spend £1 on beer and think nothing of it. Recalled by the Coroner, Dr. W. R. Eitchett, pathologist at the Waikato Hospital, said that if an anaesthetic injection were givem-itr would be givon in tho elbow. A small dose would disappear in a fow hours. The Coroner: If an injection of anaesthetic were given to Mrs. Jenkins when she first reached Mrs. Taylor 's •would there be any signs of it in your post-mortem after the exhumation of the bodv? Dr. "Fitchett: No. The husband, also recalled by the Coroner, said that his wife had not been away for two days three weeks before she went to Dr. Blundell as Mrs. Jenkins was supposed to have told Mrs. Ta.ylor. Detqctive Hayes produced statements made by Mrs. Taylor to the police 0A «Luj£ 23* ,