Death By Burning.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 19 December 1918, Page 1

Death By Burning.

An inquest was held at the Courthouse, Otaki, on Saturday, by the District Coroner, Air W. C. Nation, on the body of Louis Rtnice, found that morning outside his whare. which had been consumed during the night by fire. ' Reece was an old man, 82 years of age, who lived by himself 111 a. oneroomed whare 011 the Beach road, Otaki.

Ernest Irvine deposed to being amkonedi on Saturday morning about 3 o'clock by a glare of fire. He saw it was Recce's wliare and immediately went over. Tihe fire had a good hold, but he say nothing of Recce. He then went to the house of Allan Jenkins and aroused him. Jenkins was soon at the scene of the fire and discovered the body of Recce outside the building with a bucket close by it, as though deceased had got out of the building in sea roll of water. Constable Satherley said it looked as though deceased, who was totally blind, had got outside in search of water, that he probably bumped against the galvanised iron chimney and fell backward. When found the body was lying on its back, the clothing almost all burned off and the body down one side very much burned. He bolieved that deceased met his death accidentally while in search of water. He was an old age pensioner and also an Imeprial pensioner. He Qiad residedi in Otaki for about 12 years and mayy efforts had been made to get him to go into the Old (Men's Home, but he refused. He had a wife and daughter in Masterton..

The Coroner found •" that the deceased, Louis Recce, met his death accidentally through his wliare catching fire in the night."