The Rarawa Drowning Case.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7804, 22 April 1905, Page 2

The Rarawa Drowning Case.

SUICIDE WHIiLST TEMI'OItAIULY INSANE. . The adjourned inquest concerning | the death of Herbert Uower, the ' ' passenger who was missed from the j' ; s.s. Karawa on Wednesday morning, ;( 1 L\h Inst., was KcKl on Thursday | 'at the Breakwater Hotel, before Al? j' jT.' llu'tcliison, M.M., aw Coroner, and j a jury. I Allied llobert (lower, farmer, re- ' svdlng with his father in the l'atea, district, deposed Unit the deceased .was his brother, anil also had ri'sided at home. Deceased was I j ears of age, and a single man. Heritor t had been for the last two years ' suffering from a severe form of nerjvous depreifion. About two months ago Herbert took a trip to JlanglUkii, where lie made nu attempt to commit suicide by cutting his | !throat. Acting on medical advici. tluee we.'ks ago witness took his 'brother 011 a trip north, and,visi : .eJ Ito'loruti. This seemeJ to have in, elect. Dr. Marsack, of Hotorua, advise:! witness that his] brother ought ' to go home again, and that in his peculiar state of depletion he re- ' . tjuircd to be strict.i.v watched. Wit- ' 'ness embarked on the Hurawa with ' iii.-s brother from Onehimga on Tuesday, 10th inst. Witness secured ' tto top berth o£ the cabin for his ? brother, his own berth being direct- | ly o]([K)site. At 4.30 tais brother f was lying in his bunk, being 'drossod with shirt, trousers and vest. I He appeared to bo sound asleep, Witness then went to sleep. He woke a a lew minutes after 5 o'clock when •- the steamer was being berthed. Ho a at once missed his brother from the t cabin, and' after waiting a few mi- > nutes, under the impression that ho 1. was in the bathroom as was his >- morning oustom, became anxlousi and made a search, Ibut could find no e trace of him on the vessel. The dcl- ceased had left some of his clothing s ijt the cabin. Witness reported the a disappearance to the Captain, and a search was made which proved! e fruitless. Witness had siirce identih lied the body found in the water le as that of his brother. He also <1 identified the articles produced as t 'belonging to his brother, r- . Detective L. I). Uenjamiu deposed y- that on Tuesday last, in conseII (juence of a message from the Har- )- bour Hoard, he and Constable Butle timore proceeded to the breakwater ie and cim'iiv,'?-/vi 'fho hnrlr from the

water. After a toiSotf review of circumstances, the jury, without retiring l , found that the deceased, whilst in a state of temporary insanity, had thrown himself off the steamer and had been drowned).