AN INFANT’S DEATH.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 438, 6 October 1908, Page 2

AN INFANT’S DEATH.

At Palmerston on Sunday morning, the infant child of Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Read, was found dead in bed between its parents. An inquest was held yesterday. Dr. O'Brien said he had made a post mortem examination of the body at the request of the police. The child was born on August sth. The body was well nourished ; there was a discolouration of the face and left side of the body, also the neck, right side of body, chest and abdomen. The right lung was badly congested all through. The cause of death was asphyxiation. The discolourations of the body were probably due to convulsions, during which the child turned on its face and was smothered. The stomach and intestines were healthy. Mrs. Read, mother of the child, said it had been healthy since its birth ; it had been rather cross and a doctor saw it, but he said there was nothing the matter with it. The child was quite well on Saturday night. She did not wake during the night, neither did witness. About 8 o’clock yesterday morning witness awoke and the child was .then dead, still lying on her right side as she had been the night before. Corroborative evidence was given by H. E. Read, father of the deceased. A verdict in accordance with the doctor’s evidence was returned.