THE INQUEST.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10487, 25 November 1911, Page 5

THE INQUEST.

An inquest was held yesterday afternoon before Mr E. G. Eton, J.P., Acting-Coroner, and 1 a jury, of which Mr J. L. Hughes was foreman. May Smith, ■'wife of the deceased, deposed that she had resided at Matahiwii for twenty years. Heir late husband had been, there several .years before her. About three months Br.gp they removed to a farm at OpaM, ■whith Mr Smith had purchased. Before they went to .the farm, tine deceased had an- attack of influenza. He became despondent, and dddl not recover properly. He had ibeen dull and dispirited' for some tame, and attempts to liven him up failed.' On Thursday morning till® l deceased helped. to miilk the cows, and had his breakfast as usual. iWdtroess last saw.ham about ten o'clock in thie morning. She asked hfum to get some wood., and lie did sio. She did' not 6ee hifrf alive again. Wii'tness 1 left tho house about 11 o'dock on business, and returned about half-past (three. Heir husband was not then to be seeai. She thought he might have been looking for a''cow. As he did not return, she [became (alarmed. She made inquiry from Mr Cotter's, and found he hlad ! not been there. She then got her neighbours to search. Her daughter noticed that the gun. was missing. Hie last time the deceased had' .used the gum true about a week before, to shoot » diiis-eaisied cow. He wasi well used to firearms'. The deceased) had worried a, llot of late about monetary matters— im fa.at, he) was always' .worrying. The die ceased had no necessity tlo worry, ia s- they had a buyer for /the place. ' He was cheered, up a little •when he knew he, hiad a buyer, but hie isoon became de&pond•ent again. Richard .KliibbtewMte, farmer, dieposed' tlhat hJ» wa& a (brother-in-law ipf •the deceased, iand resided at Laiflptfowß#. iWitaiess was aware that deceased lived on. a faian ®t Opaki, thati he had had influenza, end iihait} ko was despondent. About two months ago Tvoitaessi topkdieceased .trip to Napier. They istayed' .there for about ten days, but deceased did' not seen much improved. Witness tihought he was mentally affected, but he did net display any suicidal tendency. 'Witness had no idea thlat he would (make away with; himsieffif, or that he needed wa/tdhing. Thto decear* Bed had no need to worry about his financial position, ibnut hie hiad aievejr had any ibuisdness ,to transact of a fim<nnciaiy cthlaracter prior to going on jto Che ia<rmt .There was a ,sMalli moittpjage on/ rthei property, but ft/hfrs represented no more than an ordliinia«ry house rent. The gun produced: belonged fto who was well used' ,to firearm®.

William H. Butick, farmer, of Opaika, deposed .that he ,had knownl deceased, for (about tweauty-five year's. Aoout (three months ago, he >came to Hivo on. ia (farm, at Opaki. Witfeness notdciedi that deceased was depressed firom the first time (he went to the farm. About six o'clock on Thursday evening witness heard that deceased was miis'sing, and' /a ssisted imj a search, 'fib© arch was <tontmued, wfrth the mid of (Tan/terns, untiiSl midnight, tut without siuicoess. The. .search .was resumed at four o'clock on Friday morning, anld about !half-fpast four o'clock witness' discovered the body Tyimg on the. right side', tabout two Irandred ya.rdsi from ftihe houste. It was fulßy dir-essed, with an oilskin on. The oiiskib was unbuttoned from the two top [buttons', and witness l (noticed n wounld itri deceased'si abdomen. A. <sun was tying about iSffx feet from the Iwdy, and. one of .the barrels had 1 been disctharged. Tlie oa.p and pipe iof deceased .were- Tying about six feet away in .ait opposite dia'ection. They looked as though they had been placed together. ,The body was removed to the morgue by Oonistable Ferguson .

I>r AroheT Ho skiing deposed that lie lind examined thie !body of deo&ased at the morgue. There was 1 ai hole in his uindietr-sliiiint, through which the intestines w«re protruding. He found a icorrasiponidiiing ihole on the left sidle of the abdominal waE, just below the ribs. This, had been caused t>v a gunshot ftred from a position very ©Lose ito the body. The wound was aibonit ft.wo inches, in diameter..

and stained with powder for about two inches round The wound, led upwards from the abdominal cavity to the' thorax, and pellets had' lodged in itho heart aaid other organs'. Death must have been instantaneous. From tlio appear.anco of the body, death iiad occurred from .twetlrve to eighteen iuoitrs prior to the examrin'atioai. Witness discovered an tmdiseharged shot cartridge in the coat .pocket of the deceased. Constable Ferguson deposed 1 to having .gone to the Opaki 1 on Friday morning with Mr C. Holmes. He saw the body about 4.40 o'clock, anJd had it removed to ,th© morgue. The No. 12 cartridge produced' wias found in one of (the pockets of demisted's cUothes.

The Jury, without retiring, returned a verdict that the deceased met his death, .by a gunshot wound selfinfltfeed .whilst of unsound mind.