SUICIDE

Evening Star, Issue 17483, 14 October 1920, Page 9

SUICIDE

Mr H. Y. Widdowson, S.M., coroner, held an inquest yesterday afternoon at 14 Charlotte street, Eoslyn, on the body of Duncan. Malcolm MacGonn, 80 years of age, who shot himself -with a rifle. Evidence was given by Frances E MacGoun, daughter of the deceased, who said that she had been keeping house for her father. He had lately been 10 weeks in the Hospital, and had undergone two operations. After returning from the Hospital ho seemed very bright up till the last day or two. He had been depressed since Sunday, but seemed much brighter that morning. Ho was a man of good physique, but of late he quickly got tired. She last saw him about half-nastj.2, when she left him sitting on the verandah and wont in to town. He had never hinted that he would take Ms life. She knew there was a gun about, but did net know there was any ammunition. When she returned home at 1.30 p.m. she found him in the shed reclining on a pile of papers with a gun beside him. She could see that he had shot himself. He was quite dead, and she at once communicated with the police. Dr Riley was his doctor. Susan Smith, who lived next door, said she had never seen the deceased depressed. Some time before 1 o’clock that day she heard a noise coming from, the shed, like tile sound of the discharge of a gun, but she concluded that it could not be that.

Ruth Every, niece of the deceased, said that he had been very depressed the previous evening, and she had been alarmed at his condition. He did not, however, hint in any way at (being tired of life. Constable West said ho had known the deceased for some years. He was a’ inan of cheerful disposition, but his years were telling on him. Witness was summoned to the house about 2 o’clock, and found deceased lying in the workshop, with Ms head against the wall. There were marks of a bullet wound through the left eye. The shot had evidently been fired at close range. Deceased was fully dressed. There was an empty shell in the gun found alongside. The Coroner returned a formal verdict that the cause of death was injuries to the head from a bullet wound self-inflicted by deceased wMle suffering from depression brought about by illness.