A SUSPICIOUS DEATH.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 5312, 6 October 1885, Page 2

A SUSPICIOUS DEATH.

Donedin, October 5. A middle-aged woman named Butler was discovered on Saturday morning dead in her house with her skull fractured, and other injuries It was at first thought that her death was due to the bursting of a blood vessel, but an examination showed that she died from violence. Mrs Georgina Butler, whose death forms the subject of an enquiry this afternoon, was over 50 years of age. She was known to be intemperate, and lived in a small threeroomed cottage in South Dunedin with her daughter (aged from 25 to 30), and the lacter's two children. Her daughter is Mrs Edward Brown, and was witness in the notorious Wain case. Her husband is at present at Ashburton. On Saturday morning Mrs Brown alarmed the neighborhood with the news that she had found her mother dead in bed. The woman was discovered lying dressed upon a small stretcher she occupied, quite dead. Her head was surrounded by a pool of blood, but there was no signs to raise suspicion of violence. At firsb ib was supposed that deceased, being a woman of drunken habits, had probably broken a blood vessel. Dr Horken made a post mortem, examination and found the skull fractured, apparently from a blow from a blunt instrument. There were also other wounds about the head and hands. Mrs Brown states that she left her mother and retired to bed at nine o'clock on Friday evening, and did not see her again until she discovered her dead body. The two women were drinking beer on Friday evening, but the daughter did not say that any visitor was at the place. No arrest is made. The medical examination shows that the wounds on Mrs Butler could not have been self-inflicted, or were the result of a fall, as the wall of the room opposite the bed was spattered with blood, showing j.that she was attacked where she lay. Both women were drinking, and the daughter Mas unable to give an intelligible account of her actions on Friday.