A MYSTERY.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18541, 17 November 1925, Page 5

A MYSTERY.

PRISONER DEAD IN CELL. SUICIDE OR SEIZURE ? (PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, November 16. What is thought to be an amazing suicide, surrounded by an inexplicable mystery as to how a man, in the circumstances, could possibly take his own life, occurred at The Terrace Prison on Saturday afternoon, when William Hayden was found dead while handcuffed and in a strait-jacket, with a strap round his neck. Medical authorities are of opinion that' the prisoner died of suffocation, but how he managed to free his hands and p'.n..'p them back again in the handcuffs it is at present not possible to explain. For some days Hayden had to be guarded very closely. From the day he entered the'prison "he did not take to his incarceration at all well. He grew litter and morose, and spent hours in brooding, now and then breaking out into a rage and declaring someone was coming to kill him. On Friday evening Hayden became so violent that it was dangerous to enter his cell. During the night he was closely guarded. It was decided, for his own good, to have him sent to Porirua Mental Hospital. Dr. H. A. H. Gilmer and Dr. R. 0. Whyte were summoned, and when the prisoner was spoken to he declared that the authorities had decided to take his life. He said that he knew they were going to do it, and it had been a terrible thought which had been preying on his mind for days. So violent did Hayden become next morning that it was decided to put him in a strait-jacket until he reached Porirua. This was no easy task, as the man fought like a tiger, but he was ultimately secured, and a van to take him to Porirua was summoned. While waiting for the van, Warder Gibson, who had been in attendance outside Hayden's cell all the morning, was summoned to the front door. He left Hayden lying on the floor, unable to move. When he returned, 15 minutes later, the man was still in the same position, but the strap which had been fastened round his le,gs was round his throat, and Hayden was dead. Dr. P. F. McEvedy, who was summoned immediately, said that, so far as he could tell, the man had died from suffocation, but it might have been from heart failure. Mr ,T. C. Seanlon, governor of The Terrace Gaol, says: How it could have happened is beyond me altogether. Hayden was a man with a long list of convictions, and was serving a sentence of three years, having been committed in July last. The police are investigating The Terrace Gaol mystery. A post-mortem is to be held this afternoon, and the inquest will probably take place to-morrow.