THE BROOKLYN FATALITY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 84, 6 October 1909, Page 7

THE BROOKLYN FATALITY.

CORONER'S INQUEST. VERDICT 7)F SUICIDE. ' To-day an inquest was held by tor* M 'Arthur, S.M., Coroner, into the ci*, cumstances of the death of Maurice John Matthews, who was found deacl in his house at Brooklyn yesterday afi ternoon. A gun was in his left hand. The deceased was an accountant in the employ of Messrs. N Moorhouse and Hadn field," solicitors, and was aged about fifty-three years. He -resided atHayes* street, Brooklyn. Dr. Couzens gave medical evidence that the cause of death was due to shock and internal hemorrhage, caused by a bullet wound in the Head. The bullet had passed through the head and gone into the wall of the room. The leg of a camera was lying on the bed in contact with the trigger of thp rifle. Gertrude Ann Matthews stated that her husband had been peculiar in his behaviour for some time before his death. He had beeri drinking. She went to Khandallah the night before to visit her father, and parted good friends with her husband. When she came back from Khandallah yesterday she found her husband dead. Her two sons were in the house on Monday night. On hei return from Khand'aljah she enquired in the .. office where her husband was employed, but found he had not been there during the day. She then went straight home. " She waj just opening the back door when she heard a shot. She did not think" it was from inside. She thought it was boys shooting rabbits. When she went into the bedroom she saw her husband lying on the bed with the smoke of powder floating about the room. She spoke to him and said, "Dada, speak to me," but there was no answer. She went out to get a doctor. Shortly after Dr. Cou2ent< came. She did ■not lake any notice oE the gun; she was too homfied. Her first thought was to get a doctor. She thought that he had been dabbling in horseracing and had suffered losses. She had tried to discourage him in this. H« had never said anything about being io financial difficulties at all. He had never threatened to lake his life. H« was not in good health, being asthmatic. He had said he would not live long, but she put that down to his ill-health. She could give no reason for his action unless it were that drink had softened his brain. He had been much better until his last outbreak, which started last Monday week. He was drinking aIJ the week. He had been out on Monday drinking, but not to exedss. The rifle belonged to her son, , who was a member of the City Rifle Corps.* It, was in the house with ammunition. Constable Pearce said he spoke to the deceased yesterday morning about 11 o'clock, and did not nofrufe anything in his manner at all peculiar. The deceased passed some remark about the weather. , The Coroner found that death waa due to shock and internal hemorrhage, caused by a gun-shot wound self-in-flicted.