DEATH IN A WELL.

Taranaki Daily News, 12 February 1921, Page 4

DEATH IN A WELL.

.THE FRANKLEY ROAD TRAGEDY, SOME FURTHER DETAILS. The inquest concerning the Frankley Road tragedy will be held at the New Plymouth Courthouse at 10.30 o'clock this morning, when the coroner will enquire into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mrs. Hannah Jury, who was found drowned in a well at her home on Thursday night. Further details of the tragedy than published yesterday morning are now available from the depositions in the hands of the police. From these statements it appears that, though husband and wife were on good terms, the latter at times refrained frdm speaking. After tea on January 23 Mrs. Jury left the house. Heft husband was in one of the paddocks at the time and did not see her go. On discovering her absence and finding that her personal belongings were not in the house, he concluded that she had gone to her son, Mr. James Cross, at Taihape. On Thursday evening a bull refused to drink some water that Mr. Jury had pumped from the well. A closer examination showed that the water appeared to be stale, and the fears thus aroused were confirmed when Mr. Jury opened the well with the assistance of his son-in-law, Mr. Percy Mason. The body was fully clothed when found. Light was thrown on the mystery of the disappearance of other things’ belonging to Mrs. Jury when the remains of a fire were found near the house, 400 or 500 yards distant from the well. In the debris were buttons, the handle of a hand-bag, and a finger ring, which were identified as having belonged to the late Mrs. Jury. On the day of his wife’s disappearance Mr; Jury saw her making a fire, and thought she was burning rubbish, as she* sometimes did.