DEATH IN FIRE: FACTORS HELD “SUSPICIOUS’

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 August 1949, Page 7

DEATH IN FIRE: FACTORS HELD “SUSPICIOUS’

CHRISTCHURCH, August 19 (P.A.).— “The circumstances of this tragedy are highly suspicious, especially as to possible factors causing death. They clearly do not indicate, suicide, nor do they, by an ascertainable probability, indicate accident. 1 am bound to state that this death was attended with matters of suspicion, which should remain a matter of police investigation, notwithstanding careful inquiries already made,” said the coroner, Mr Rex C. Abernethy, at the conclusion of the inquest today into the death of Charles Godfrey Parish, aged. 39, who was found dead after a fire at his home, at 30 Bretts road, on the night of April 25.

The coroner returned a verdict that Parish died on April 25, the cause of death being asphyxia, from carbon monoxide poisoning, due to .the inhalation of smoke when he was burned to death. Detective Sergeant G. W. Alty conducted the proceedings for the police, and called twenty witnesses. Mr W. F. Tracy appeared for the widow; Mr W. R. Lascelles for the Norwich Union Fire Insurance Society and T. A. Gresson for the National Mutual Life Association of Australia Ltd. Wife’s Evidence Mrs Parish said she had been, married for about eight years. She had two children, aged four and six. Her husband went to Portage, Marlborough Sounds for the Easter holidays. She had intended to accompany him, but she could hot get anyone to look aftei- the children. Her husband telephoned from Portage several times, and he seemed to be in his usual health and good spirits. Her husband arrived home on April 25, while she was getting tea, said Mrs Parish. He seemed very pleased to see her. He was sober and in good spirits. He said he was going' to bed, because he was tired, after a heavy day. He said he would sleep in the sunroom so that the children would not disturb him. The sunroom had been built oh the rear of the house. A door opened off the porch into the sunroom, and another door off the porch outside the house. Mrs Parish continued that she went into the sunroom and talked with her husband. He was reading when she left him.

Answering Detective Sergeant Alty, Mrs Parish said: “As far as I know my husband had not taken any medicine. He occasionally took sleeping tablets, but never, to my knowledge, took prescribed sleeping tablets. Some tablets prescribed by Dr Paton were in the house, and my husband knew they were there. Other medicinal tablets were in the house and some sample bottles.” Ordered To Answer Mr Alty: Who gave them to you? Witness: Is it necessary to answer that? The coroner: “Answer the question please.” Mrs Parish: Hughes gave me some of them. Witness said the French windows in the sunroom were closed. She did not know whether they were bolted but she thought they must have been. She thought the blinds were fully drawn. The heater was on when she left. Mrs Parish said she went to bed and fell asleep. She woke up later and thought she could smell smoke. The kitchen was lull of smoke, so she opened the door to the porch. Smoke was pouring under the sunroom door. She tried to open the sunroom door, and called for help. “The handle was very hot, but I tried to open it several times,” said witness. “I might have managed to turn it, but the smoke was so thick and it was so hot. I realised something dreadful had happened, and could hear a roaring noise inside the room. I opened the outside dooi' and rushed to see if I could see in the windows. I could not, so I rushed to ring the fire brigade, as 1 knew there was nothing I could do. Mr Alty: Did you try the French windows? Mrs Parish: I never thought of it. They would have been too hot. Deceased’s insurance Witness said she had known her husband was insured, but had had no idea of the amounts. He had, apparently, been insured for- several thousand pounds. She knew that she was the sole beneficiary under her husband’s will. Her husband had given no indication that he contemplated taking his life. She had no idea how the fire started. Her husband rarely smoked in bed. To Mr Lascelles, Mrs Parish said that, at about 8 p.m., she had joined her husband in the sunroom, remaining with him until 8.45 p.m. She had, on occasions, taken nembutal capsules. She did not. think there was any danger of the children getting at them in the sewing machine drawer.

Charles Henry Robinson, station officer at St Albans fire station, said that when the brigade reached Parish’s house, no fire could be seen, but a woman was standing on the verandah. This woman told him there was a fire in the sunroom, and that her husband was trapped. Robinson said he decided to enter the sunroom by the outside door. He had no difficulty in opening the door. Nor did he have to unlock it. He could see the room was full of smoke, with a dull red glow in a corner. He could not see any flame, but there was a glare with a flame in it. A first-aid hose was brought into use. Robinson said he found a hole, about 2ft 6in in diameter, burned in the flooring under the bed. He considered that this was where the 'fire had 'originated. He was not able to say what caused the fire. Fire Superintendent’s Doubts Alexander Morrison, superintendent of the Christchurch Fire Brigade, said he examined the sunroom, but was unable to establish the cause of the fire. He felt certain that, if Parish had been awake, he could have got out quite easily. He did not think the heater produced had anything to do with the fire. To Mr Lascelles, he said the was in an unusual position. The burning agency was on top of the floor. The degree of burning showed intensity of concentration. The burning was of considerable duration. Witness said that, in his view, something with an intense burning capacity must have rested on the carpet under the bed. Maurice Marshall Cookson, South Island representative for Abbott Laboratories. Ltd., said he knew Mrs Parish and George Hughes, the latter being his brother-in-law.' He and Hughes were members of a Christchurch club, and the witness frequently left his bag, containing drug samples, at the club in the care of the steward. Some days after Parish’s death, he learned that some sleeping tablets had been removed from his bag. He immediately got in touch with Hughes and asked if he

had removed bottles of nembutai tablets from the bag. Hughes admitted doing so. He had taken four botdes. each containing five capsules. Hughes had no authority to do so. Gift Of Tablets George Hughest, a tailor, said that he had been on friendly terms with both Mr and Mrs Parish On April 25. he played golf with Mrs Parish and Fuller, returning to the city a oom 5.30. Witness knew Parish was returning that day. . . On previous occasions, said witness, when playing golf with Mrs Parish, she had mentioned that she was troubled with insomnia, and he said he thought he could get her nembutal. Later he gave her four sample bottles of nembutal capsules, but not all at once. He had never given nembutal or any other drugs to Parish. Claude Wilford Barrow, a company director, said that he had been a business associate of Parish. He said he did not think Parish was likely to take his own life. He had no financial worries. He was only a medium smoker and witness had never known him to smoke in bed. ’ Dr D. T. Stewart assistant patholooist at the Public Hospital said that, in his opinion, Parish died as the result oi asphxia from carbon monoxide poisoning, due to the inhalation of smoke. , ' ■ Reading his commentary on the result of his post-mortem examination, the witness said the indications were that Parish was alive when the fire started. It was probable that he was deeply unconscious before he was actually burned, and was dead before severe burns developed. Carbon monoxide, by replacing oxygen in the blood, caused insidious loss of consciousness, and the victim might be in a state of paralysis or coma before he realised his danger. It seemed surprising that Parish was not awakened by the smell of smoke. But it might be noted that there had been a long car drive, a meal, consumption of alcohol, and one of the barbiturate drugs had been taken. It was "probable that Parish slept heavily, and that, before he could be awakened by the smell of smoke or burning, he was overwhelmed by carbon monoxide poisoning. The amount of alcohol in the urine was consistent with the consumption of two to three large whiskies,