SUICIDE OF CRIPPLE
Ordeal Described At. Inquest (New Zealand Press Association) NELSON, July 1. An elderly crippled man who lived alone in a whare at Marahau was unsuccessful in his efforts to summon aid before he took his life with a rifle, the district Coroner (Mr L. W. Leppien) was told at an inquest in Motueka yesterday into the death of Thomas Ledbetter Cooper, a retired stonemason.
Sergeant E. Daken said that Mr Cooper had not been seen for some days when neighbours investigated but were unable ’to enter the whare. Forcing the door, he had found deceased lying on the floor with a .22 calibre rifle nearby. Death appeared to have occurred about two days previously. A message on a table near the body said that the deceased had fallen heavily on an arthritic hip. had been unable to stand or get food and had blown a whistle in a vain effort to attract attention. There were no suspicious circumstances, said Sergeant Daken.
A verdict that death had resulted from head injuries from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, was returned. .
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Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29246, 2 July 1960, Page 14
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179SUICIDE OF CRIPPLE Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29246, 2 July 1960, Page 14
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