SUICIDE OF A BUILDER.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 March 1920, Page 4

SUICIDE OF A BUILDER.

TRAGEDY IN NEW PLYMOUTH. 1 A MARRIED MAX'S DEATH. A ease of suicide occurred in. Xew Plymouth on Saturday, when Mr. William Cliff, builder, of Avenue Road, died. through hanging himself. ■Some anxiety'was aroused about mid. day on (Saturday owing to the disappearance of Mr. Cliff from his work under somewhat suspicious circumstances, and when search was made the worst fears were realised. The deceased, who was working on budding a house a little off Avenue Road, near the rear of Mr. Penn's property, arrived on the job as usual on .Saturday morning and was about for some little time, and then disappeared. No notice was taken of this until after dinner, when lie did not return and Mr. Earley, who was working with him, commenced a search. While engaged on this he met Constable Hadler, of Filzroy, and informed him of the circumstances, and the two tvent together in search of the missing man. His tracks were discovered and followed across some paddocks and into a little piece of bush at the rear of the property on which he was working, and at last his body was found suspended from a partly fallen tree, by * light rope, wound several times round the neck. Constable Hadler at once cut the body down, but life was extinct, the unfortunate man having been dead several hours. An inquest was held yesterday before the District Coroner '(Mr. T. A. B, Bailey, S.M.), and after hearing the testimony of those who found the body and Dr. Hugh McCleland, who had at-, tended deceased for some time, a verdict «as returned that lie met his death by banging himself while temporarily of an unsound mind. Deceased was a married man aged fi7, and leaves a widow and four children.