DEATH IN EMPTY HOUSE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 964, 6 May 1930, Page 10

DEATH IN EMPTY HOUSE

MAN FOUND LYING BESIDE GAS MAIN POLICE TRACE FAMILY Special to THE SUN PALMERSTON N., Today. The Manawatu district is the scene of another mystery. The dead body of a man named Allan Thomas Harper, a labourer, was found in a vacant house in Avenue Road, Foxton, on Sunday. Death was due to gas poisoning, believed to be self-administered. Efforts made by the police to trace the whereabouts of Harper’s wife and three young children resulted in the discovery this morning that they are living at 23 Queen’s Drive, Wellington. Apparently Harper borrowed a spanner ou Wednesday and had not been seen since then.

At the inquest before the district coroner, Mr. A. Fraser, yesterday afternoon, evidence ot identification was given by John Martin Harper, a brother ot deceased, who stated that the latter was 4S years old, a married man, and lived in Shannon -with his wife and three children. He last saw his brother alive about two weeks ago, and he was then in good health. Deceased, who was a returned soldier, was a big, powerful man and as far as witness knew he had not suffered from any illness nor did he have any worries. He had never made any threat of suicide. Evidence of complaints received ■ concerning escaping gas and the subl sequent finding of the body was given by Constable Bell and Charles MacDean. gasworks manager for the Foxton Borough Council. The doors of the house in which deceased was found were locked, hut one window 'had been forced open. Harper was found lying in the hall with an overcoat over his head beside the gas main, the tap of which had been turned on with a screw wrench. The house was full of gas and from the appearances he seemed to have been dead for some days. John Symons, a blacksmith, stated that on Wednesday afternoon last Harper had borrowed from him the screw wrench produced by the police. Harper had said that he wanted to loosen a tap on his water tank. He seemed perfectly normal and promised to return the wrench within half an hour. Witness had not seen him since.

The coroner’s vel'dict was that death was due to gas poisoning selfadministered.

The family, until recently, lived at Shannon and yesterday the Shannon police visited the house which they had occupied, only to discover that it had been vacated.