CITY TRAGEDY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 246, 17 October 1929, Page 10

CITY TRAGEDY.

MAN DEAD IN OFFICE.

HUDDLED BEHIND DOOR.

ROOM FILLED WITH GAS.

LETTER LEFT FOR PARTNER. /

At noon to-day, the body of Frank Winter, partner in a firm known ae the Rustless Door Pad Company, was found in his office at 20, Phoenix Chambers, Lower Queen Street, Auckland. Death was due to gas poisoning, the connections of a meter having been torn away.

Mr. Winter's office Is a self-contained apartment on the firat floor of Phoenix Chambers, next to that of Mr. J. I*. McPhail, land agent, who is Mayor of Birkenhead. When Mr. McPhail came to his office at nine o'clock this morning he noticed a strong smell of gas, and communicated with the Auckland Gas Company. The office of the Rustless Door Pad Company was closed, and a small card was pinned on the door bearing the pencilled words: "Back 9 a.m. Thursday." That was in Mr. Winter's handwriting. Later in the morning Mr. McPhail became suspicious and, mounting a chair, looked over the frosted glass partition. He saw an attache case on the table and a hat hanging from a peg. There was no sign of Winter.

"I became convinced that there was something wrong," said Mr. McPhail, "so I informed the police."

Constable Day arrived and forced the door. He found the body of Mr. Winter huddled in a corner to the right of the entrance. Immediately above the body •was a gas pipe, which had been connected with the meter, and' had been broken at a joint. The.room was full of gas. i

Sergeant Angland, of the wharf police, took possession of several letters which Winter had left. One of them was to his partner, Mr. Harold Tarrant, of Wellington, in which Winter referred to depression owing to business worries.