VERDICT OF DROWNING

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21639, 25 November 1935, Page 13

VERDICT OF DROWNING

INQUEST ON MAN FOUND DEAD IN CREEK (SriCtAL TO T»B PRBSB.) TKMUKA, November 24. A verdict that Colin Edward Sherriff, who was found dead at his father's farm at Clandeboye, was drowned, ithe indications being that his state of health caused him to collapse when clearing debris from a creek on the farm, ,was given by the coroner, Mr C. R. Orr Walker, at the inquest this morning. Thomas Sherriff, a farmer, of Clandeboye, said that Sherriff was his son, and was 25 years of age and a single man. He lived with his parents and had 18 months ago been an inmate of the Waipiata Sanatorium, but was possessed of normal physical strength. On Saturday the witness had occasion to leave the farm to go to another farm some distance away, and on returning noticed that the conveyance for taking milk to the factory was still undisturbed, with the horse unharnessed and the milk-cans still there. He cycled along the main road calling his son by name, but saw no sign of him in the paddocks. His daughter returned home after 2 p.m., and said that she and a boy named Dunn had found Sherriff. The witness went to the spot and found his son lying dead, partly submerged in a creek which runs through the property. His son had been repairing a fence nearby on the previous day. To the coroner, the witness stated that Sherriff would consider it part of his duty to clear any obstruction in the creek. He had never threatened to take his life. The water was three feet deep at the place where the body was found, and the creek was a fastflowing one. Dr. Francis Arthur Scannell said that about 4 p.m. on Saturday he was called to Mr Sherriff's place, where he saw Sherriff, who had evidently been dead some time. The face and neck were livid, which suggested that death had been due to asphyxiation. The witness examined the body for signs of injury, but found none. There were - signs which suggested that the cause of death was drowning. To the coroner, he said that it was possible that immersion in water would cause Sherriff to collapse and become submerged on entering the water.

Constable A. H. Abernethy said that on his visit to Mr Sherriff's farm he found Sherriff lying on a bed. He examined the body but found no marks of violence.