Girl’s Sudden Death

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 576, 31 January 1929, Page 1

Girl’s Sudden Death

POISON THEORY REJECTED OVER-EXERTION CAUSES COLLAPSE The theory as to strychnine poisoning raised at an inquest opened yesterday on the death of Miss Laura Freda Lewis has been definitely disproved. rpHE cause of the girl's death was due to over exertion, causing cerebral hemorrhage, unsuspected and apparently precipitated by exertion in Quietening a barking dog. The unfortunate rumour circulated that the girl had met her death by strychnine poisoning, caused considerable worry and anxiety to her parents, but the result of the post-mor-tem examination showed there was no trace of poison in the body. Miss Lewis awakened her brother Reginald at 2.20 o’clock on Wednesday morning and complained of the noise made by a dog outside her room. She and her brother went out and quietened the animal and returned to bed. A few minutes , later her parents heard a loud thud, and on going to the girl’s room found her in convulsions and putting her hands to her head. She was taken to the hospital after Dr. Paterson was summoned, and died at 5 o’clock yesterday morning. For some time Miss Lewis had been suffering from headaches, and was subject to sudden attacks of sleepiness. She had consulted three doctors, and a tonic was procured for her in the belief that her trouble was gastric. • The post-mortein examination showed, that Miss Lewis suffered from abnormally high blood pressure, following on chronic kidney disease.