MYSTERY OF TWO DEATHS

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26847, 27 September 1952, Page 6

MYSTERY OF TWO DEATHS

Man’s Leap From Building

WOMAN’S BODY ON BEACH

The body of a woman was found by the police in a shallow grave in the sand on the beach at South Brighton at 10,40 ajn. yesterday. She was

JOSEPHINE BARBARA ALLAN, aged 26, w.?single'' > woman of Team street, who waa employed as a forewoman at the Latex Rubber Company’s factory in High street. She had been reported miming on Thursday afternoon.

Mlse Allan was before she was buried in the sand, William Junior Brown*- aged 20, of Brougham street, who was also employed at the Latex Rubber Company’s factory, jumped to his death from the roof of St. Elmo Courts, a seven-storey block of flats in Hereford street, on Thursday evening. He fell about 100 feet.

Police inquiries revealed that Miss Allan had been to South Brighton late on Wednesday night with Brown, and that she had not been seen again after that.

About 8.40 p.m. on Thursday a man was spoken to on the roof of St. Elmo Courts, at the corner of Hereford and Montreal streets, by the caretaker (Mr W. A. McCallum). Shortly after this the man was seen to mount the parapet and dive off. The body hit telephone wires, breaking one, before hitting the ground. Death must have been instantaneous.

When the body was viewed by the police it was seen that the man’s handkerchief had been stuffed in his mouth, possibly to prevent him from screaming. There was nothing to show the identity of the man. Later the body was recognised as that of William Junior Brown.

Search at South Brighton Detective-Sergeant G. C. Urquhart and Sergeant C. Haack made inquiries which lasted throughout the night. As a result of these inquiries a large party of police under Detective-Sergeant G. W. Alty and Detective-Sergeant A. B. Tate went to South Brighton to search the large area of beach and sahd dunes. At 10.40 a.m. Sergeant J. Jackson, of New Brighton, found the body buried in the sand a few yards above the high water mark and near the South Brighton Surf Club pavilion. The body had been buried not very deeply and then covered over with sand. Dr. C. T. B. Pearson, a pathologist, and Detective-Sergeant J. B. Kearton. official police photographer, immediately went to South Brighton. The body was taken to the morgue at the Christchurch Public Hospital and Dr. Pearson carried out a post-mortem examination. His investigations have not been completed. An inquest into the death of Brown was opened yesterday before the Coroner, Mr E. B. E. Taylor, for identification purposes and adjourned.