THE SUICIDE OF ASSISTANT SURGEON STOREY.—INQUEST ON THE BODY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXI, Issue 2360, 11 February 1865, Page 5

THE SUICIDE OF ASSISTANT SURGEON STOREY.— INQUEST ON THE BODY.

An inqnest wivs held at the Military Camp, Otahuhu, at noon yesterday, before Dr. Philson, coroner, on view of tho body of Eobeit Storey, As'-istant-Surgeon of the Royal Artillery, attached to the Commissariat Transport Corps, and in medical charge of tue sick' 'at Otahulm village and Penrose. The following gentlemen wero sworn on the jury :— H. De Burgh Adums (foreman), Wm. Bradford, Michael Dowhug, Wm. Wilkinson, Wm Leslie, Henry flu-fit, Peter Farrell. Patrick Devlin, Thos. Brown, W. J. Simmons, James Boylan, John Eyan, Bernard Ingli&h. The jury having viewed the body, the following evidence was add need :—: — John Evans deposed : I am a diivev in the Royal Artillery, the I battery 4th Brigade, and am quarteied in Otabuku village. I was servant to the^ deceased, who lived in town, but being sick ciino to occupy the sick officers' quarters in camp ou Sunday last. I came with him, and slept in the sama r .om with him. • On the night of Wednesday he went to bed as usual, and about twenty minutes past one o'clock he awoke me, saying, " Evans, I dreamt very funny just now. I dreamt th<» <■ liild ■was dead. Go immediately, and see how it is 1 He referred t© one of his children, which had been unwell for some time. lat once pioceeded to town, to make enquiries respecting the child's health from Mis. Stoiey. 1 observed nothing peculiar abnut his manner. I never sawhitn so cheerful. Whilst I was dressing m> self, he got up and dressed hib hair »t the glass, after which he took up a number of a work he had from Vaity's circulating libraiy, called "Verona," and commenced to lead. He had slept well that night. He closed the hook again almost immediately, and lay down again on the bed. I was absent about twenty minutes. I left a light burning in the room when I went. On returning 1 first saw the razor lying ou the dressing-table, covered with blood, as I opened the door of the hut. The lazor produced is the one I refer to. Tho blood was fresh at the time I »aw it. On looking towaids the bed, which is at the opposite side of the room, I saw the deceased lying across it obliquely, with his throat cut fiom ear to ear. There was a large pool of blood at his right side. He had on his trousers, his socks, and one slipper, the other one being a short distance from the bed on the floor. He had on a Crimean shn t. He was quite dead when I saw him, although his breast was still warm. I went outside the hut and called out to the sentiy close by. The sentry told me to alarm the guaid, which I did. Two or three of the men went inside the hut, whilst I lan for Dr. Bawtry. The doctor followed me back to the hut. Prior to Sunday last my master resided in the village. Ibclievehecomplainedof thediarrheca. About 8 o'clock ou Wednesday evening deceased woke up and told me to shut the door, as he was afraid some peison was coming iv to hurt him. This was the only symptom I ever saw of his mind being affected. He did not take his meals very regularly, but only di ank what Dr. Bawtiy ordered. I have j been his servant for four months. He used to drink at times l ather heavily. He generally had biandy and sodawater. I have very often seen him the worse for liquor. I last saw him the worse for liquor about four days befoie going to the sick quaiters. I never knew him to have delirium tiemens. I slept in the same room with him in oider to attend ou him in his sickness. Ido not think he was delirious at the time. He was uneasy respecting the child. When I went to Mrs. Stoiey's I w.is told that the baby was much better, and 1 had better make haste back. By a juryman : The razor lay on the table before I left the hut. He brought it with him iv order to shave himself. Daniel Calder deposed : I am a lance-corporal in the 70th Regiment, stationed at Otahulm Camp, I was on the camp hospital guard on the morning of Thuisday. At about two o'clock I heard borae person call " Guard, turn out." I ran out and saw the last witness. I called the guard out— the last witness telling me that his master had killed himself. I ran to the deceased's hut, and found him lying on the bed on his back with his throat cut, as described by the last witness. He was quite dead. I don't remember having seen him before that time. Edward William Bawtry deposed : I am a staffsurgeou major, in medical charge of the field hospital at Otahuhn, and quartered within the camp. At about half-past one o'clock on Thursday morning I was called by Evans, the deceased's servaut, to attend his master at the hospital hut. On anival I found him quite dead. I examined tho body and found his throat cut, as described by the first witness. The body was lying ou the back across tho bed, with an extensive incised wound across tho thioat, som« nine inches in length, extending from one carotid artery to the other, and so deep that a large quantity of blood had flowed from it <\ud covered the bed. The wound was such as might have been inflicted by the razor produced. 1 left the body in exactly the same position I found it, and it now remains in that position. I saw the lazor on the dressing-table, coveied with moist blood. The razor produced is the sime. Deceased was urider my medica, charge. I have no doubt his death twm caused by tho wound referred to, and must have been nearly instantaneous. He would just have time to stagger from the dressingtable to the bed. His aliment was diarrhoea, for which I was treating him. He was confiaed to bed. On Wednesday afternoon I noticed he w.is under the influence of a slight illusion, attributable to exhaustion from diarrhoea and the withdrawal of his customary amount of 'stimulant. He was perfectly rational in the evening when I last saw him, abont 9 o'clock. He was then in bed. It was not by my directions the servant slept in tho same room. 1 was under the impression Le slept in an adjoining room. I have never attended him for delirium tremens, nor ever saw him' the worse for liquor. He was 30 years of age, andasfarasmyexperi*ncegoes, quite heaithy His temperament was sanguine, not melancholy. 1 am not aware that he has been in any difficulties. The child alluded to was sick, and is still suffering from chronic disease. Deceased was concerned about the sickness of his child. This might have some influence in inducing tho result dr scribed. ~ I *m of opinion that deceased committed the fatal act whilst labouiiug under temporary insanity. I have known deceased's servant for some days, whilst I have been attending deceased, and I believed him to be a person of steady habits and good character. Daniel Calder re-called : Deceased's servant, Evans, was quite sober when he called to me. ' He seemed much put about at the time. Daniel Haggerty deposed : lam a private in the 70th Regiment. 1 was on sentry at No. 3 pobt between 12 and 2 o'clock on Thursday morning, The sentry-box was only three, or four paces from th'e'door of 'deceased's room. ' About one o'clock I saw deceased's servant leave his hut. He did not speak, but returned about twenty-five minutes afterwards. I saw* nothing remarkable in his appearance. It was moonlight at the time. About ten minuses after decoased/n servant left, I

* hfe#irinitffind "iike^mbiin^but'ooiild vriot say^from, whence it cnmo. I thought it came from the hospital, which is close by. 1 only heard it once. When the eeivant r c?iine baek r l challenged him, aud saw him go into his l raafflerVroom 1 . -*H6 'had'not been m more than half-a-minute before he came mnning out and called out, " Sentry 1" Iran forward, and he told 'me his master wb ljing dead with his throat cut. I told him to alorm the guard, hut kept my post 'until I was relieved, when I looked in at the door and saw, deceased lying dead across the bed. This being the whole of the evidence, the jury re< turned a verdict that deceased committed suicide whilst in a state of temporal y insanity.