Inquest on Mr G.F. Reid.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 85, 24 February 1876, Page 3

Inquest on Mr G.F. Reid.

The inquest on the late Mr.'G. P.. Reid, took place on Thursday,; before;. Mr I. N. Watt, who acted as Coroner, and a Jury.

Mr J. H. Harris appeared at the inquest on behalf of the deceased's family and watched the proceedings'; and Mr Inspector M?llard represented the Police.

Dr Bur,ns deposed that he. had been in attendance ' on' deceased prior to 'his death. He 1 called casually on him on Wednesday, the day of 'his death, at about a quarter past twelve, and found him upstairs in his business premises," lying* on a rug 1 on the floor in the corner of the room. ' Deceased said "I am glad to see you, as 1 have taken strychnine." Witness said, " How long before ?" He replied, " Three hours. Witness replied, " It cannot be ; you have been down stairs till half an-nour ago, Mr Reid." He immediately said, " Oh, I do not know what I am talking about. I have not taken it." He seemed to be confused. " You see I have been vomiting-." he said, " I have great pain in my bowels, and I was purging all night." Witness examined him. Witness, who described the symptoms, said there were no symptoms he could" detect at that time of deceased having taken strychnine. By way of mentioning how little reliance could be put in him at this time, he might say that smelling spirits on him he taxed him of drinking 1 brandy, arid he denied having done §o. When he charged deceased with having taken brandy, the reply was "No, not a drop." Witness ' went down stairs, wrote a prescription, and sent one of the "clerks' to* Mr" Lenry's for soma medicine. • He waited in the room'ih the office downstairs immediately under where deceased was lying; About two minutes' after he had come down stairs ; — be was waiting for the medicine — he heard a cry of " oh," and a noise as=,if deceased were on his feet. He immediately ran up stairs. 'As he' entered the room he heard deceased say "Oh, doctor." His appearance was completely changed— his face was perfectly livid, his head thrown ' back, his eye-balls prominent and staring, his features fixed— and, his whole body rigid and convulsed. Fie never spoke again; The lividity of features arid the rigidity of body increased— he remained in this condition for two or three miniites^tHe spasm abated, his pulse gradually : becaire weaker, and he was dead within four minutes of that ; convulsion. ; ;

Witness was. attending to him prior -to his decease for depression and melancholy. He had evidently been drinking when witness first saw him on Sunday night. , Witness could see that he had been drinking too freely. - Witness found deceased rather depressed, but capable k>f beiug : roused if; he entered into conversation. His\ conduct wa# perfectly rational. . There was nothing tp indicate dejirium. His disposition and His wisH Were to get something to make him sleep-4-sleep on. He did not care- about going out to see anybody. Witness saw him on Monday — passed an'hour with himj saw :him on Tuesday — passed^ nearly an hour with him; The cohc'lusiPn witness arrived.at;was-: Whilst-daceased was in life, he never doubted hi£ sanity, ! but looking' at all the circumstances of the case, ne was now: of opinion .that deceased was insane.. ,The ' symptoms witness had deccribed were symptoms of poisoning by ; strychnine ;. he. had no doubt of that; : He had. never seen, a case of strychnine poisoning before* biit it" was different from ordinary disease j the . difference was unmistaker : able. ■

The Coroner mentioned, that there had been rib ' p'qsf mortem. " :

' Witness {to ; further questions): Deceased said he had taken strychnine three hours before, and in the next

: ¥re¥tli : iaenie*d*M-hayd Itffik'e1 tffik'eh litj;1 itj ; deceasea-: had i probably- taken- it ;? f"only:: fifteen : mjn iktes" befbve:* ' : The :: tiotivulsit)n wagtthe first proof [to, witness" jofjjpoisoning.. 'He was completely satisfied 'tnat"tafiahg J sjfcrychiiipe ' was' the. cause'^of] .death. .StTychhine would have the effect" of discoloring the face, as -they had wit- ] : ness'ed. . . . . . . '

Robert Nininib, clerk to the deceased was in the office when deceased arrived there on Wednesday morning. He arrived afrabout ten or a .quarter; past ten; He remained in the office about fifteen minutes, to witness's knowledge". ;: About half an hour afterwards witness went up stairs and found him lying down on ap iece"o f drugget on the ; fl'dbr in the' corner . ot the; office. • When witness opened the door d.eceased asked him to, leave'him quiet for half an houtf Wit:- 1 ness accordingly did soi His face was flushed, and he seemed evidently to have been drinking. At about twelve o'clock, or nearly so, witness went upstairs again, entered the room, when, deceased again asked him to leave him for a little longer rest. Witness came down stairs, and within a very few minutes Dr Burns came in. He asked' Dr Burns if he ; would go up at 6nce : and see him, as he was flushed, ■ and evidentally very unwell. Dr Burns did so. Mr Reid had been very temperate; a total abstainer, he believed— for three, months previous to the last three weeks';' previous to a late visit to Balclutha. Since then he had been continually more or ' less Under the influence of spirituous liquors. He was so much under the influence of spirituous liquors that witness thought his mind was affected to such an extent as to make him irresponsible;

To a 'Juryman : Witness had no knowledge as to where deceased obtained strychnine.

E. Hams, clerk in the establishment, said that at about; a quarter past-twelve from what he had ; heard, he went. . and found Mr Reid, apparently in great pain. He was on the floor on a "carpet, lying on his right side and groaning' very much. The right arm was extended, arid there was a twiching of the finders of the right hand, and the left hand was- clutching his breast. His face was very much flushed,, and he was perspiring freely. Witness' said to him," " Are you- not well,'Mr Reid V and he replied, " No, lam not ; I am very bad." Witness asked him if : he could do anything for him, and he replied, " Send for 'Mrs Reid ?" He went and told Nimmo to do so. Ten . minutes could not have elapsed from the time witness first saw' him ill till the time of his death. Shortly after, JNimmo remarked " Is riot that a bottle on the road ?" Witness stopped and picked up the phial produced, which was marked " strychnine— poison.'' ■ - .

The word '' poison " was on the bottle in three different places. The phial was one that would contain, we believe, exactly half an ounce of strychnine, and, as nearly as possible, onethird of its contents had been used. The remaining two-thirds of the strychnine was shown in the bottle. The bottle bore the name »pf no chemist, and the Police, it was mentioned, could not trace the seller. -The battle 'looked as if the label had been on it for a considerable time.

This was all the evidence.

The Jury, after a few minutes' deliberation, returned the verdit that the deceased died by poison administered by himself whilst in' a state ' of- temporary insanity. — ' Daily Times.'