A WELLINGTON MYSTERY.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 3080, 29 December 1908, Page 5

A WELLINGTON MYSTERY.

UNKNOWN MAN'S END,

SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

THE INQUEST.

By Telegraph—-Press Association

WELLINGTON, December 28

An inquest into the cause of the death of the unknown man found dead in the alley-way at the eastern side of His Majesty'* Theatre in Courtney Place on Sunday morning was opened at the morgue before Mr Geo. Lambert, Acting Coroner, this afternoon.

Dr. Kington Fyffe, who performed the post mortem, said the man was sft sin in height. The body was well nourished, and was that of a man probably between 45 and 50 years of age. Witness described the tattoo marks on the arms. The hands were marked as if by the use of a pick or handling sails. At the top of the forehead there was a slight abrasion about half to quarter of an inch long. There wera two small abrasions on the left side of the nose, which appeared to be more recent than the mark previously described,' and some small scratches on the neck. Blood had been effused under the skin where these marks occurred. The larger marks were such as might be produced by a man taking hoH of the deceased by the throat, and the smaller might easily be the marks of finger-nails. The marks looked like a right-handed grip, which had been shifted Irom the front of the throat. There was a recent abrasion on the back of the left shoulder. Witness found no marks of constriction on the neck. The tongue was bitten on the lafc side close to the tip. The Coroner: Do you infer that the man was seized from the front? Witness: Yes. Continuing, he said the gullet was normal, but the larynx was very congested, and blue in colour. There were numerous ecchymotes all over the interior of the lungs. The left lung was congested, also the right, not to the same extent as the left. The cause of death was stoppage of the heart's action due to injury to the lungs. Inspector Ellison: What duration of time would be required to stop the heart's action.

Dr. Fyffe: Pressure on the lungs if applied with force would cause ludden death.

In answer to the Coroner, witness said it was probable that the man had been ssizad by the throat. The deceased had nothing in the state of his organs to cause death. Inspector Ellison: The injury would have caused death?

Dr. Fyffe: Yes: Undoubtedly the pressure on the larynx would account for death.

In answer to another question witness said that a sudden blow across the larynx might kill a man instantly. Death was not due to suffocation. It as due to sudden shock. Dr. H. A. Gilmer said he was called by the pjlice shortly after 3 o'clock yesterday morning to see a man lying near His Majesty's Theatre The man had been dead for from two tn four hours, and his clothing was disarranged. The right pocket of the trousers .was ripped out. There were marks on the neck such as those described by the last witness—which he attributed to violence, but no blood was .noticeable. Witness was present at the post mortem examination, and concurred in Dr. Fyffe's evidence. Constable Moore, who was on duty in Courtenay Place on Sunday morning, stated that about 2.30 he discovered the body of a man lying in the urinal near His Majesty's Theatre. He described the condition of the man's clothing, and said the body was cold. Witness made his usual rounds of Courtenay Place on Saturday evening, and had not observed the man previous to finding him dead, neither had he noticed anyone about His Majesty's Theatre after the regular employees left about 11 p.m.

On the application of the police an adjournment of the inquest was granted till Monday, in order that evidence as to identification might be obtained.