CASE OF BRENDA BOW.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1407, 6 April 1912, Page 6

CASE OF BRENDA BOW.

SUFFOCATED IN BEDROOM. (Ey Tclegraph.-Prcss Association.) Auckland, April i. The adjourned inquiry into the death of Brenda Bow,.aged about S years, who was discovered in an exhausted condition on Friday afternoon in a room filled with smoke at the residence of her parents, was resumed this morning. Mr. Hope deposed that, when he was called in, the deceased child appeared to be beyond restoration. Artificial respiration was continued for about an hour without result.

Mary Keb.'cca Bow, mother of the child, said that the latter had been an incurable invalid from her birth. On the afternoon of March 21), witness had been away for about twenty minutes on. a meiKijte to a neighbour's, when her'eldest boy, iiged I'J, ran across and told her that there was snr.i;e in the house. They found ;i smouldering kapok mattress in the back bedroom, where deceased usually .slept. Witness took her out, and sat on the back steps with her. Witness could not account foi tliu mattress having en uglit fir? unless the children had been pliiyins with matches. The deceased child was the pet of the house. Bertie Bow stated that, when fw- arrived home from school, hn discovered smoke in the house. He felt sure his little sister was in the room, bocnuse he had hurriedly looked for her in other parts of the house. He tried to |>o in for her, but was driven back by the smoke. He then ran for his mother after elcsiiiß the door of the room to prevent the draught from dinning the llamo>.

Detective IJunrlcrmniii deposed that lie had bseii unable M a.-ccrtniii the origin of the fire. The chi.Mreii who were playing about the. he use at. the time were youiiß to salisfai'turily answer questions, ijveryrliing possible had he-en done to restore the child.

The jury riturned n verdict of death from asphyxiation, resulting from suffocation caused by smoke. The foreman emyhasiseit the bi.licl ot the jury th.it the circumstances were entirely free from suspicion.