A WOMAN'S DEATH.
CORONER'S INQUEST,
CONFLICTING EXPERT EVIDENCE.
The inquest opened on the 7th inst., touching the death of Le Vemer Alley, the half-caste Hindu woman who was found dead in her residence, Jtevon 6treet West, on the oth, was resumed in. the New Plymouth Magistrate's Court yesterday before Mr. A. Crooke, Coroner, (Mi-Inspector Hulton representing the police.
George Frederick Barton Day, apprenticed chemist, employed by Mr. Fraser, stated that- he was serving in the shop on the afternoon of September 5. 1-Ie remembered a colored woman coming in and asking him for two drachms of liquid opium. Before dispensing it he spoke to Mr. Morey who' told him that if he got the woman's signature under the usual conditions lie could supply it. Witness put the tincture of opium in a bottle similar to the one produced and gave it to the woman, she signing the book. Sho went out to get a witness to her signature but did not come back Witness had not seen her since. When spoken to by witness about the use she was going to put the tincture to she said she knew how to use it and wrote down in the book "For medical use." The bottle contained 120 drops. The woman had been in the shop on previous occasions, but had never before asked for poison She said nothing about her health. So far as witness iknew the drug was pure. ■ Mrs. May Thompson, teacher of painting, stated that the deceased had come to her as a pupil about five weeks before her death and had come for lessons twice ft week. She had been to witness' house' on the morning of the day of her death. She made no reference to her domestic or family nft'airs, and appeared to lie in good health, except for a cold. She left the house about ten minutes before noon.
To the Coroner: Deceased always appeared to be industrious, quiet and referred. She did not seem depressed and made no reference to her- future prospects. On the morning of the tiny of her death she did not appear to be any different than on previous occasions. ffvpfc Alley,' whose evidence was given in 'Purjaulii and interpreted by Mr. J. IT. Ainslee, deposed that he was born in India .1(1 years ago. He tarried on business in (Devon street as a fruiterer and confectioner. Last October he met the deceased in Auckland, who stated her name "as as Le Verner, and he gave her a position in his shop at Putaruru, She worked in the shop and slept in the hotel In November last lie married her at Putaruru in the presence of several of his countrymen, one of whom .per-' formed the ceremony in accordance with Mahommcdan law. He had no written record of the marriage. In April last lie eaitie with his wife to New Plymouth and opened business here. He and his wife got 011 together all right. Occasionally they had had "words" but never any serious rows calling for outside in-, terference. About a week before her death he went to Auckland, returning on September 4. She then appeared all right and was working in the shop. About 4 p.m. on the following- day ?he complained of internal pains. On the night, of the ilth they had had a conversation about leaving New Plymouth' and agreed to go back to Putaruru. He was to go first and she to follow in a week or two, after she had disposed of the business. When his wife complained of interna] pains they cbsed the shop next the Empire Picture Theatre to go I home. On their way home she went into a chemist's shop to get some medicine. He did not ask what medicine she was going to get. He did not go info the shop but waitci for her outside. From the chemist's shop they went to the Public 'Library to look at the newspapers for the report of an Auckland street case in which they were interested. They then went home, arriving there about 5 o'clock. After they left tlic-r library the deceased still complained of the pains. Directly they got) home she went into the bedroom sv»d down and ho sat in the dining room. Subsequently j he gleaned some fish and called out to her asking her to come out and instruct him how to cook it. She came out of the bedroom, told him what to do, and sat in the dining room while he oooked the fish. He asked her to have some hut she refused, saying that she was going to take some medicine. She took a tumbler from the table and went into the pantry to get some water. That would bo about sis o'clock. On coming out of the pantry she returned to the bedroom. Witness finished his tea and then called out to her if she would have a cup of tea. She replied that she would not have any. He then went into the pantry and found the glass deceased had used alongside the tap. Ho smelt something in the glass before having a drink himself, hut could not tell what the smell was. The small bottle (produced) he found in the pautry smelt the caine as the glass. When he finished cooking the fish on the gas stovo he turned off the gas and left the tubing in its usual position. After tea he sat for a little while and then went to the bedroom and told his wife he was going out for some matches and she said: "All right. Go." She was then lying, down. He lit the gas in the bedroom before going out. He tried to get some matches at an hotel, the dtores 'being closed, bub failed and returned home, where he found some about 7 o'clock. He sat down for a few minutes looking at a book printed in Hindustani, and then called out io his wife. About ten minutes past 7 he called out to hia wife and, receiving no went into the bedroom. He found her Jying on the bed, with her feet hanging over the side. From the time he had left her she had changed her position naff she was lying face downwards. iShe was fully dressed and lying on top of the bedclothes. The gas in the, bedroom was »till burning, as also was a jet in the dining room which he had lighted before having his tea. The windows of the bedToom was closed. On finding his wife lying as stated he said "What are you doing? Are you making fun of me?" Ee called to her once or twice, put his hand on her arm. and then lifted her feet on to the bed and turned her over. He thought she was having a joke with him. Her eyes and mouth were open. He tried to rouse her and on putting his hand on Iter breast found it warm.
He thon put his hand over her mouth to ascertain if she was breathing, but, detected no signs. Tie noticed the smell of the medicine and also the amell of pas, which he thought came from the gas ring on ivhith lie had beeen cooking. Me went out and told a policeman what had happened and then went, to look for a doctor, eventually in something under an hour, getting Dr. Wade to come to the houe? The doctor made an. examination and pronounced the woman dead. Witness slept in the .same house as th» body iba„ -night, and- on jriing to tlu#*B yiaa i?wrt morning found ilia t"!«•'
disconnected. The gas was turned off. He was quite sure that after he cooked the iisli on 1 lie previous night the. ring and tube were all right, and that next morning (licy were disconnected. Aftet lie turned his wife over. an.l placing his hand on her inom.li, lie noticed the sniell of on his hands, but did not; detect it anywhere else about (lie room. His wife had undergone four operations iri Auckland. He had heard her complain previously of great pain, and saying she wished she was dead. To the coroner: She had been constantty complaining of great pain, and he hart known her to be crying because of it. He had not seen anything at any time in his wife's behaviour to lead him to suppose that she contemplated taking her own life, except on the occasion about seven months ago, when she said she suffered so much that it would be as well if she were dead. Since then aha had been to a doctor in New 'Plymouth, and he had told her she would have to undergo another operation. This she seemed to take very much to heart.
Dr. Wade stated in evidence that on the night of the sth he met the previous witness, and went with him to bib residence in Devon street west. That was about 8.20. The doors of the place were shut, and the place was in darkness. On entering by the back door he. did not notice any particular smell. Alley hack told witness he thought his wife was dead, and lie was very excited. When the gas in the bedroom was lighted witness saw the deceased lying on the bed. She was fully clothed, except, for boots and shoes, whichever she had worn. He made a superficial examination of the body, and found that the woman was dead. Witness took Alley along to the police station in his (witness') car. On the following day Dr. Fookes and witness made a post mortem examination of the body. It was well nourished, and there, were no signs of external violence. There were marks of previous operations, Thero were marked signs of peritonitis, and of inflammation of the liver. The stomach contained fi'/joz of thick yellow undigested foodstuffs, of a peculiar acrid odor. The windpipe and bronchia were normal, except for a sliyht congestion of the
mucous membrane. There was no foreign matter obstructing any of the passages. The brain substance was congested. The stomach, a portion of the liver, the right kidney, and the first portioh of the small bowel were removed, and with the contents of the stonnch, each placed in a separate clean jar, which was sealed and labelled. As a result of the post mortem Dr. Poolers and 1 witness could come to no conclusion as to the cause of death. He had since seen the Government analyst's report, and did not wholly agree with it, although he was -not prepared to say the analyst ' findings were wrong. He had particularly smelt about the month while the body was still on the bed, and detected no smell of coal gas, nor did he notice any smell about the rooms, as if there had been gas escaping. . To the coroner: Two drachms of tincture of opium was the smallest dose that would cause death. A fatal dose of tine-, ture of opium usually took from eiaht to twelve hours to cause death. If diluted, witness would expect it to take longer. The minimum time was two hours. The svinptoms of opium poisoning were practically negative; it could not. always be smelt. He did not think the deceased could have gone to the tras ring, taken off the tube, inhale enough gas to prove fatal, and then rtagger back Uvftlve yard? to bed. In the first place, she would not have had the sense rem ir.ing to turn off the gas. Coal gas was very difficult to breathe, as it caused coughing and sickness. Among the sighs of cojil gas poisoning were rose-colored tints on the skin, the windpipe and the bronchial tubes, distention of the right side of 'he heart, and a cheery redness of tluvbrain. None of these conditions were present in the deceased's body. All the authorities on coal-gas poisoning emphasised the persistency of the smell. The smell was generally noticeable after the body was opened, if the post mortem were not too long delayed. The effect of the amount of opium taken by deceased would be more potent because of the unhealthy state of the kidneys. A remarkable feature of the kidneys had been the hardness of their substance. He had though! that perhaps if any of the jars were leaky the contents might ha ve been affected by any escape .of gas in the train on their way to Wellington.
In answer to the coroner, the sub-in-
spector said the jars had been taken to Wellington by Senior-Sergeant Bowden, presumably in the railway carriage with him. The police had now information in their possession showirt ■ iliat deceased's nee was 44 years, not 24 as stated by her husband at the opening of the in. quest.
The coroner said the Dominion analyst's report was to the effect that death had been caused by gas poisoning, but of course he (the analyst) knew nothing of the conditions of the body as dis* closed by the post mortem. What lie {the corbner) proposed to do was to forward a copy of Dr. Wade's evidence to the Dominion analyst, and see if he still adhered to the theory of gas poisoning, and to ask the police to make further inquiries as to whether the deceased had at any time purchased poison from other chemists. The inquest would be adjourned tine die.
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Taranaki Daily News, 29 September 1917, Page 7
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2,242A WOMAN'S DEATH. Taranaki Daily News, 29 September 1917, Page 7
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