DOUBLE TRAGEDY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1405, 16 March 1905, Page 3

DOUBLE TRAGEDY.

\ ' £ MAN AND WOMAN KILLED.

(F®r Press Association.) Woffington, last night. A doable tragedy occurred this morning »n a house at Newtown. The front of the premises is cooupied by John Bousoll as a saddler’s shop and the upper portion by j f>Mrs Pugh, her daughter (Mrs Hughes) and auree children. Bonsell boarded with the f women. About 7 o’clock this morning j Mrs Pugh wont to BouseU’s room to call t 3 ’ anc * found her daughter lying on the n*or dying, apparently poisoned. She rnshed downstairs to Boused, and found “im in the shop with half his head blown : °®. b.y a Winchester rifle.” Bouaall was atybut 30 years of age. He was in financial difficulties, the bailiffs having been instructed to take possession. It is also assorted that the husband of airs Hughes P-ad intended to institute divorce prooeed I &gs.

FURTHER PARTICULARS. Per Press Association.

• ■ Wellington, last night. I Boussell, one of the ■ victims of this mjprniQg’a tragedy, had been carrying on business as a saddler for some time past at his premises. Ho was a widower, and Mrs Hughes and her mother and family came in Jonuary last to live with it |a stated that the husband of Mrs Hughes, from whom tho dead woman had bsen for some time separated, had threat-e§-sd or was contemplating the institution Of divorce proceedings against his wife. An account of the tragedy as far as she knew of it is supplied by Mrs Pagh. Her stjory i s a 3 follows: —Last night she reetrod to rest at tho usual time, as also did her daughter, who shared hor bedroom. 00030 time about 6 o’clock this morning Mrs Pugh was awakened by tho sound of S fall, which she attributed to one of the boys, who, she explained, was in the habit Of falling out of bed. She arose, and found that the boys wore all right, and retired to : again, noting as she did so that her daughter was not m the room. As her danghtar had been ill she thought she may have felt nnweli and gone.downstairs. At 7 o’clock she arose and went to Boussell’s ASradrooim to call him. She knooked at the > 00r > and the door, to her surprise (as ■ -Rouasoll usually had it locked), gave to j —her knock. She called to Boussell, but K-s ot no answer, and opening the door Rightly saw a baro foot on the floor. "Sintering the room she discovered her -yaughtor lying on the floor, still warm, “tnd not dead. Being alarmed at the lack . response . to her eSorts to make her 'daughter rise, she went downstairs in oarch of Boussell, and entered the shop, tfhere, lying close up against tho saddler’s york benoh, and clad only in a shirt- she | iiund Konssell, with the top of his skull : &2own away and a rifle Jying beside ''him. She forthwith despatched one heffrgrand-children to summon Dr Perf ins, and the police were then sent for. ■ Pugh declared that she heard no shot | and she could give no reason for the |> tragedy.

Mrs Pugh said she knew nothing of Ronssell's business affairs, but it is gathered from other sources that he was in financial "Wifficalties. Indeed hia shop was yesterday in the possession of bailiffs, who left at closing time last night, taking the key with them. On arriving at 8 o’clock this taorning one of the bailiffs found that the •fSragedy had been enaoted.

According to Mrs Pugh, the dead woman, who was abouo 36 years of age, had been ill for some time, and was also more or less mentally afflicted. She 'ijenffered from her head, and used to cry and sometimes tear her head.

-Boassell is described by tho neighbors ah being a quiet and independent sort of man, and not tho kind of man that one would expect to commit suicidewas generally known that he was financially troubled, and this, together with any development arising from reof Mr and Mrs Hughes with himself, is supposed to have been tho root of.-tba trouble. It is concluded that the wfcman died of poison either self-adminis-tered or given to her by Roussell., Enquiries amongst the residents near the vicinity of the scene of the tragedy went to show that about 6 o’clock some of them hfeard ahots fired, but hearing it in the sleepy part of the morning they variously attributed it to tho door suddenly banging or the shutter falling. The children of Mfs Hughes also declare with their granddptther that they did not hear a shot fired The house where the tragedy occurred is a iwc-atoroy dwelling with a shop front of usual kind. Adjoining Ihe shop proper ig a room where there is a work bench and Ahia is where Roussell was found. In tho ceiling is a hole caused by the ballet after it had passed upwards through the man’s brains. Roursell was a widower and there appejara to be some mystery surrounding bijsPmarriage, but nothing definite on the po/iit can be ascertained at present. He had a life polioy in. the Citizen’s Life Assurance office, and enquiry from that office shows that his age at time of death was 31.

.The Coroner will hold inquests on the bteJies at the morgue at 2 p.m. to-morrow. A post mortem examination will be held on the dead woman. • , '