IMPALED ON STAKE

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 143, 18 June 1937, Page 14

IMPALED ON STAKE

DEATH OF CHILD

CORONER'S FINDING

A finding that the deceased died at her home at Seatoun on June 15, the cause of death being a particularly severe form of peritonitis which arose as a result of the lower bowel being accidentally perforated by a garden stake on which she jumped, was returned by the Coroner, Mr. E. Gilbertson, after an inquest today into the death of Audrey Mary Murphy, aged 7 years 11 months.

The inquest was conducted by Sergeant C. R. Duke.

"A curious aspect of the case is the rapid onset of peritonitis and the lack of pain," stid the Coroner. Everything possible was done by. the doctor at the time of the operation. It was impossible to detect the nature of the injury."

An eight-year-old 'girl who accompanied the deceased said that they had been playing in St. Anthony's school ground after school. She and the deceased went home together. When in Inglis Street, she gave the deceased a push. The deceased jumped down over the wall into the garden, and witness ran away. She did hot see. the deceased in the garden, and did not mean to hurt her. They were only playing. Mrs. Ethel Maud Hurst, who also saw the accident, said that she saw the deceased jump over the Wall. She did not see anyone push her. Evidence was also given by a small boy who accompanied the two girls and another boy home. He saw the deceased jump over the wall after being pushed.' The girls were only playing. MOTHER'S EVIDENCE. Thelma Elizabeth Murphy, mother of the deceased, said that her daughter was brought hbiiie by another woman at about 4.30 p.m. on June 14 in a motor-car. She, was. taken into her room, and Dr. Ewen was telephoned. He was .out at the time, but arrived la tei:. The deceased said that she had ;been pushed; and- had fallen into a garden. At''about 9 a.m. on the following day the deceased died in witness's presence. She had only been given hot milk and a little cornflour. Constable J. E. Robinsor. said that he made an examination of the scene of the accident at 61 Inglis Street. The section was about 4 feet below the street in front and had a 4-foot retaining wall. There was no rail or fence on the top of the wall, which was about 50 feet long. At the bottom was a 6-foot flower bed running the whole length of the wall, with various flowers, includin' staked chrysanthemums. He gave evidence of finding the stake, which was broken into three pieces, and he produced it in court. Dr. H. B. fewen said that he was summoned at about 6 p.m. on June 14 to 101 Inglis Street, Seatoun. He stitched up a laceration of the perineum, assisted by Dr. Gordon Kemp, who administered the anaesthetic. When they left the house, the child had recovered from the anaesthetic, and her condir tion was quite satisfactory. He arranged for a nurse to attend the following morning, but when she arrived the child was dead. There was no evidence at the time of the operation of any other injury. He could not certify as to the cause of death. Dr. J. O. Mercer, pathologist to tlie Wellington Hospital, gave a report of a post-mortem performed on June 16. In his opinion death was due to shock which was caused by a fulminating general peritonitis. This had arisen as a result of a perforating wound of the rectum which had allowed the bowel contest to escape into the peritoneal cavity. . PRACTICALLY ALWAYS FATAL. "The type of injury which the deceased had sustained is uncommon but by no means unknown, and is practically always fatal," he said. "Indeed, a case on all fours with the present one occurred in Wellington a few months ago. At first sight the injury appears trivial, as symptoms do not arise until there has been sufficient leakage of bowel content to set up a generalised peritonitis. In the present case the bowel injury was some distance from the external wound of the perineum, and could have been discovered only by the introduction of an instrument into the bowel. At the time the external wound was stitched up there would be no reason to suspect such an injury. Had the injury to the bowel been discovered earlier it is extremely unlikely that the life of the child could have been saved by any operative procedure." .