CARRINGTON ROAD FATALITY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 71, 14 September 1911, Page 3

CARRINGTON ROAD FATALITY

AN OPEN VERDICT. An inquest was held yesterday into the circumstances surrounding the death of William Leeder, a creamery manager, of Ashluust, whoso remains were found ill the debris of a cottage burned on the Upper Carrington road on Monday evening last. Senior Sergeant Dart, in opening the inquiry, said there was nothing in the evidence to suggest that the occurrence was other than accidental, except the facts that deceased had been depressed in spirits and that a razor blade was found near the body. But it was for the Coroner to say whether the evidence justified any verdict but one of misadventure, i

Alfred Leedcr, sawmill hand at Symons' mill, Carrington road, said i that deceased was liis brother, and was ' 37. years of age. He belonged to Ash-1 hurst, and lived there with his wife I and children. About a fortnight ago witness received a telegram asking him I to go to Ashhurst, and he went. His { brother then seemed in good health, but | quiet and worried. With the doctor's i approval he brought him to New Ply-1 mouth for change of scene, and since j then the deceased had lived with him in \ a whare at the mill. He last saw the I deceased at five minutes to one o'clock ! on the afternoon of Monday. His : brother remarked that he thought of i going up the tramline to see the loghauler at work. He had previously mentioned that he proposed going up to witness' farm, about two miles beyond the mill, to do some burning of felled bush. There was an unoccupied three-roomed house on the property. When the I trucks came in from *he hauler at about • a quarter past six o'clock, and his brother was' not with them, he became anxious. He didn't inquire as to whether Ihe deceased 'had been to the hauler, but went in search of him. He came across tracks coming back from the section, and ho returned to the whare. His brother, however, had not returned, so he got a man named Bishop to go up to the section with him. There they found the house burned down. They returned to the mill, and witness got five men to assist him. and they made a search of the debris, finding the remains of his brother's body. Deceased had been somewhat depressed, but witness had never heard him threaten to take his life. His family life was happy, i and witness could not assign any reason for the occurrence. Deceased had had fits. The Coroner: "Epileptic fits?" Sergeant Dart: "No, sir, apoplectic, from what I can learn, although deceased was a young man for that. He seems to have had a tendency to paralysis. Witness, replying to the Coroner, said the deceased was a cigarette smoker. To Sergeant Dart: From the position of the body he judged that his brother had been lying on some bedding which was in the house. This bedding was loose tow. Xorniiiii Leslie Ilanwright. contractor, working at the sawmill, said he lastsaw the deceased niive between 12.30 and 1 p.m. on Monday, going up the tramline from the mill to the hauler. To go to the cottage the deceased would have to turn off the track higher up, and go down to another road. Witness was one of those who searched the debris, and he himself found the charred remains, afterwards coming in to New Plymouth to notify the police. Mounted-Constable Kgau stated that on Tuesday morning he searched the ruins of the cottage. At a place indicated to him he found the remains of a man, lying face "downwards on some grass seed. There had evidently been a heap of grass seed in the room. He searched about in the ashes, and found a razor blade lying alongside the remains. He had not been able to get the razor identified. Witness afterwards conveyed the remains to the morgue. The Coroner returned a verdict that the deceased met his death from burning during the destruction of his brother's cottage by lire, anil there was no evidence to show how the fire originated.