CEMETERY TRAGEDY

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 224, 15 June 1908, Page 8

CEMETERY TRAGEDY

STRANGE LETTER ON DANCERS OF MEDIUMSHIP. VICTIM'S DEATH.-THE INQUEST. : • . Tho man Albert Freoman, who shot ' himself in tho Sydney Street Cemetery on Fri- : / • ■ day afternoon, died in tho Hospital at 3.30 . a.m. on Saturday. Ho left behind a letter, bearing Friday's date, for tho Coroner, which was read at tho inquest on Saturday afternoon. The.lottor was as follows:— RESISTLESS SPIRIT INFLUENCES. "Mr. Coroner. Dear' Sir, —Tjiere will soon be a post mortem and inquest on my remains,. and I desire to inform you that I am driven to the desperate act through influences entirely beyond my control, so that suicide whilst temporarily insane would not » . , be tho true and accurate verdict.' lam ruined from tho control of . spirits and cannot, try what I will, escape their clutches. I cannot rest or sleep, and consequently can- , . ■ not'work from resistless hypnotic influences and trances I- am thrown into by this invisible source, being the worst .thing in the <■ • .world and most destructive ' to physical v health.. _ I am not the first luckless medium vr ••••• to end in this sad tragic manner, and know , - of nothing else to do .to relieve myself, as it • - . . is liable to grow worse and might develop, ■into a stroke of paralysis from the constant !- •.'. . strain and loss of sleep I undergo. Trance '• mediumship is an'." exceedingly dangerous . business and an impossible role to fill unless nor; safeguards are placed around' the urn by responsible spirits who do the v" : ' selecting. • ,It ,; ought. : to be stopped,'for I would have absolutely nothing to do with it from choice, being a matter .of selection and arbitrary compulsion on the part of spirits .' whose power is absolute, constituting a ' tyranny, with the medium, left completely at tho mercy of hostile intriguing and evil ones, . , ; which simply means martyrdom, ruin; and .. .death. With this explanation I am justified ■V' in passing out.—Yours respectfully, . m " "ALBERT FREEMAN." ' , THE INQUEST. 'At the inquest, held before- Dr. !A.- , M'Arthur, 8.M., Coroner, Dr. Henry; gave k; ..... ' i evidence that he was palled by the police to - .tho cemetery about 2_p.m. on' Saturday, and - .found the deceased in a reclining against the corrugated iron building coveri ing'the late Premier's tomb. Ho had a bullet wound'in the'right temple, and there was a 'swelling on the left sido of the fron- . tal bone/under fractured skull could ■ ,/, - - 'be felt. The man was alive, but not coniscious, and witness had him removed in the ambulance van to tho Hospital. Witness was shown a revolver, which, it was said, had been found near him.. The wound had oil the appearance of being self-inflicted. Dr. Ewart, medical' superintendent, stated ■ ■ i that he removed the bullet and several pieces of loose bone at tho Hospital." The patient never recovered consciousness, and died about 3.30 a.m. on Saturday. -He agreed with Dr. Henry that the wound had all the ap- . fearance of'being self-inflicted. ■ -HOW THE BODY WAS FOUND. ,

George White, sexton at the, cemetery, ; 'iaid' that, shortly before 2 p.m. on Friday, ' he heard ; a. sharp report, and, running 'in y' , the direction, of: the "sound, found ;■ the de-> ceased lying !on his' left side, with a hole . in his head, bleeding very freely, and a revolver by, his side. There were several papers lying by his side. Ho did not touch the body, but ran at , once to thevPolico Station,: Lambton Quay. Thereiwas nobody by the -body when he left.: On the way back, when close to the deceased, he met Mr. Andrew Collins, who had the revolver, tho papers, and the deceased's hat. He was going to the Police Station. The doctor and the police came a few minut'e3 afterwards. He had never seen the deceased before. • Constable James Cripns said that he was summoned to the cemetery by the last witness, and called on the way on Dr. Henry, who accompanied him.' He also 'met the Sub-Inspector, who went with then). Mr. , Collins handed .witness ! the revolver, Svhich 1 .was loaded in all but one chamber, and ho extracted the bullets .(produced). The papers produced and some sealed letters. were also handed'to him by Mr. Collins; who said that lie had; found them near the scene, blowing ■ ' about. After removing the deceased to the Hospital, witness went to his lodgings with Constable Brown; and took possession of liis ' effects, amongst which were some Socialistib and spiritualistic printed matter, a; pad of; iwriting paper, and a number of cartridges ' similar to those in the revolver.' ' •. DECEASED'S PREVIOUS ACTIONS. ' Constable S. Brown said that he had been doing plain clothes' duty in the Botanical Gardens for two or three months.. He saw the deceased there every day from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. He always carried writing paper simi- . lar to a pad produced. \ Twice witness spoke to him, and gathered that he was a recent arrival from America. He said that at one time he had. owned a lot of property there, and through ill-fortune he had lost all his money. He had a habit of always talking to himself and driving awivy the spirits. He was harmless so far as witness could see. Witness saw him on June 11. He had not seen him on Friday forenoon, and until he saw him lying down he liad never seen liiiif in that part'of the garden.. He had never-noticed any weapon such as'a,revolver on him. He '. would - have noticcd if lie had one. •. He . ■ seemed very quiet, and never annoyed anyone. Ho never said anything that would lead •> to the belief that he : was likely to commit. suicide. Witness did not know of-', what . trade lie was. '-' : .

: Kate Jew, boardinghouse-keeper, No. 188 1 Lambton Quay, said that tho deceased had I been one of her boarders since March Ho : always paid his way, and wasvery quiet and 1 reserved. Ho . never said or did anything 1 that would lead one,'to believo that.he would take his; own life. Ho never mentioned spirits or spiritualistic matters to witness. 1 On Friday lie had breakfast between 8 and 1 9. Ho hardly ever had lunch, and he did not 1 have it on Friday. Frequently he was away all day. He told witness that he had been 1 miner in America;.and had left .because the •janks failed. Witness' never saw him with 1 revolver. ; ' His brother and sister were often in to see him. The brother lived in Johnsonville. -. ; j TEMPORARILY INSANE. The" Coroner said the' letters left by' deceased showed that lie was insane whon he committed tho act. • ' , The jury found that death was due to the effects of a bullet wound from a revolver, and that the wound was self-inflicted while the Icceased was temporarily insane.