MYSTERIOUS DEATH AT MANGAWHARE. EVIDENCES AT THE INQUEST.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 268, 30 May 1888, Page 3

M YSTERIOUS DEATH AT MANGAWHARE. EVIDENCES AT THE INQUEST.

Pawswuxf, May 23. Tin, inque-t on the body of Mr.*. Mary McKen/ie, was. held before Mr Webb, Coroner, to-day. Mr Beale leprescnted the friends of deceased. Mr accountant at the Mangawhoie Stoic, deposed that deceased was dressmaker at t lie ,-toie for about ii\ o \eais. but about amonlli ago^evered her connection nnd comiuenced business at. D.u'uawlle. She «n> a sensible woman, latlier -nongmiuded. anil a \cry unlikely -woman to make an attempt, on her own htc. She had stated that hei husband was dead, but lie h. id lu\u d a iunioui*<thal her hu— band wa*- on the uumhcld-. but he did nor. emht it. He wa- ictuining trom church on Sunday e\cnin» with his wife when he he.ud sound* like thecrie- of a woman from the dneetum ot Manga w haie Whait. Not healing an\ lepetition, he went home. Oecea-cd appeared to be earning a good In ing. In Mai eh la-t -he complained that her house w a- enteied one evening whilst <he was a«aj. and some diesse.- damaged, one being 1 ripped up and thiown outside the hou-e. Mauike ll.udhig depo-ed that decea-ed had told bun she wa- a widow, Mie h.id -how n him a lett-M tiom .1 elersr\ man m 80-ton, who had attended her husband s death-bed nnd had conducted the f uncial service. Mie told linn about her home having been entered in Match la-t, several ot lit i diesse- being chiown about and damaged Thi- *>he uttiibuted to e-pitL, a- mone\ w.u- 1\ ing on her dieting table and had not been taken, -o that the object could notjbe robbciy. N\ itness -aw her L-t ali\o last Sunday e\enmg at church, w hens.be aeeompaniedhisbrothei , himself, and Mr Fied Bookings as far aManinei - stoic and back again to the budge next the Manirawhare store. She seemed quite cheertul. and not the lea-l despondent He and his bi other left hei in eompam with Mr Hoskings at the biidge. After they had sepaiated, and when about 450 yaids away, ju-t a- they had crowed the second biigde, on then way home, and in the piobable time of four and a-halJ minutes, his bi other hearing •something, said, "What's that 1 ' Stop :" Immediately after hi-; saying thiwitness heard a mo-t tenitic -cream. l>oth tinned round to listen It wa- sufficiently distinct to make out that it was a woman *> voice. They h-tened one or two minute-, and hearing nothing further pa— ed on. supposing- that the voice, came from some people in a boat on the othei cide of the iner. Witnes-'s brother -aid, " Well, that is a remaikable -cieam foi a woman to make on a Sundaj night, if made fora lark." Had not seen the decea-ed alive since then. When deceased left Brown, Campbell and Co - store <he **aid she meant t>> leave the di-trict. She had dative* at Taranaki. To Mr Dai fraville, foieman : Believe deceased was ovei 30. She said she -eparated fioin her husband thiee months aitei hei m image, whicli took place some 12 years ago. Have no rea-on to doubt tne authentuii} ot the clergyman-l etter concerning hei husband's death. Believe she had an umbrella and hymn-book in her hands when we paited. Then? weic no mark.- of violence on het tace then. Edwin Harding gave corroborative evidonce. (reoiire Fiederick Ho-kmg-. assi-tant teacher at l>a< gaville School, and le-iding at Mangawhaie. nearh opposite to deceased's i evidence, also gave evidence sitnil.tr ro th.it gn en by Me--i- Hauling, illative to having all walked in company together fioin the church. Deceased then appealed even moie cheerful than u-ual. Witne— continued: Aftci sepaiating with the Harding- decea-ed accompanied me a- far a- my father- gate, wheie we parted. She went on up the road towards her home and I went indoors. Nothing tiauspired between us beyond shaking hand- at parting, when she remaiked that it wa- rather chilly. 7 have accompanied her home on former occasion-. She wa- attired in a long closefitting black cloak and black hat, and had an umbiella and gloves. Her residence wa s a few minute- walk trom where we parted. I went outride my father*, hou-e about rive minutes to nine, to see if our boat was leturned. I ■was out about rive minutes. I =aw three women walking down the load towards the Mangauhare Road and some people near the bank, aero-- the green. I did not hear any crie^-. Ido not think the decea-ed was one of the three women i saw or 1 -hould have recognised her. It wa-. a beautiful moonlight night. I called for deceased to go to chinch, and when we left her house she lowered the limp and locked the dooi. On the verandah I a-ked whether I .-hould take charge of the ke>, but .-he replied she would put it in her pocket, but I cannot -ay for certain whether she did so oi not. Samuel B. P. CucKsey deposed to -eemg the body lying on the bank of the river, his attention having been called to it by a little g-irl on Monday afternoon. The body wa- lying down the bank, the face downwards in the water, and the toes in the mud. The clothe-5 of deceased were disarranged, and lying over her head, the arm was caught in a small stake. The cloak was buttoned up. The body \va<* lying a few yauls below the bridge, and about 150 yards from deceased's house. Did not think an accidental tall would have put the clothe*, in the position found — nor if deceased had jumped in the water. Dr. Noi ton deposed that he made a postmortem examination, and said : I find no injury whatever on deceased's body, except to the lower and upper lips, which have well-marked contnsions. The cause of d^atli is u-.phy.via by drowning. The three distinct contusions I have alluded to micrht have been cauced by a blow with a man's knuckle.-. If .she had fallen against a pile ] -hould surmise the blow would have re -ulted in one contusion only. Elizabeth Larkins said she saw deceased part company with Mr Hoskings at his gate on the evening in question, when she proceeded in the direction of her own home. She saw a gentleman who was quite a sttang-er to her pass down the main road towards the score. Constable Mc Leod deposed that deceased reported to him the outiage that took place in March last,. He suspected three fellow* of having committed it. The black corded silk dress which she was wearing wher drowned had been then ripped open ir several places and bespattered with mud. Nothing else had been disturbed in thehouw besides what was in the workroom. He be lieved that to be an act of larrikinism. Two of the suspected persona had since left th( district, and he had no reason to believe the other one was concerned in her death He had made every .search and inquiry ir the brief time he had since his return fron Auckland, the previous night, and couk discover no clue to the mysterious death o the deceased. Elizabeth Flood, a neighbour, prover going into deceased's hou-e ye u teida^ afternoon after the body had been picker up. She found the front door wa» not pro perly closed, but the key was in the lock The lamp had burnt itself out. The housi

was in order. The tea things had been left after usine them for tea. The back door was elnit, but not locked. This being all the evidence forthcoming, the jury returned." an open verdict of " Found drowned."