SUICIDE PACT

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 October 1939, Page 2

SUICIDE PACT

BROKEN ROMANCE TRAGEDY LONDON, August 22. e A broken engagement and tempor--0 ary reconciliations were revealed at ;• an inquest at Savernake Hospital yesterday on Peggy Rosine Matthews, 21, of Pentire-avenue Shirley, SouthampI ton, and Arthur David Oliver, 23 a sapper in the Royal Engineers. | They were found dead in a car in ? Savernake Forest on Friday night, a i tube having been connected from the ! exhaust to the interior of the car. William Henry Oliver, of Hill-lane, ■ [ Southampton, said that he had not seen his son since New Year’s Day, ' I when ho was on leave. He was full of I life and was always most optimistic. ■ Mrs. E. R. Tingey stated that the i dead girl was ner daughter by her first husband. The deputy coroner, Mr. P. Johnson: How long had your daughter and Oliver been associated? —About six years. Were they engaged?—Yes, from July, 1938, until Christmas, when he broke it off. Why?—! cannot say. During the six years did matters go sinocihly bet ween t hem ? —Certainly not. Ho had given me great trouble. In what way?—About IS months ago I refused him Ute house. Tic struck her, and ! was liorrified. Did they afterwards become reconciled? —They were off and on. She would see him, say. two or three times week, mid then she would not see him for some time. Had your ('mi-Titor ever been sol upset as to suggest that she would I take extreme measures? —No: when; reading of similar tragedies she was always horrified. She- said to me more than once. “1 could not do that, mum.’ Sh.e was stroii,'’; .minded? Yes. ('an you- account for the present occut'em'c'.’-—No, but he started borrowing money front her. I don't know what. efl'i >'i that would have. I gave her money when she was “I. Mr. Johnson found that the coupie elite red into a joint dele rminal ion to end their lives mid recorded a verdict of suicide while th' ir minds were mi- I hing'd. I