DEATH IN FIRE SUSPICIOUS AT CHRISTCHURCH

Grey River Argus, 20 August 1949, Page 5

DEATH IN FIRE SUSPICIOUS AT CHRISTCHURCH

Coroner Rules Out Accident And Suicide INQUEST ON CHARLES G. PARISH CHRISTCHURCH, Aug. 19. “Circumstances of this tragedy arc highly suspicious, especially as to possible factors causing death. Thej clearly do not indicate suicide, no. do they, by an ascertainable probability, indicate accident. I 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 an 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; Mr T. A. Gresson for the National Mutual Life Association of Australia Ltd. WIFE’S EVIDENCE Mrs Parish 'said she had been mai ried for about eight years. She had two children, aged four and six. Hei husband went to the Portage, MarxBorough Sounds for the Easter holidays. She had intended to accompany him, but she could not get anyone tc iook after the children. Her husband telephoned from the 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. They washed the dishes together. He said he was going to bed, Decause he was tired, alter a heavj v.ay. He said he would sleep in the sunroom so that the children woulu not disturb him. The sunroom had been built on the rear of the house. A door opened oif 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 Mr Alty, Mrs Parish said: “As far as T 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.”

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 though they must have been. She thought thq blinds were fully drawn. The heater was on when she .eft. RANG FIRE BRIGADE Mrs Parish said she went to bed and fell asleep. She woke up later ana thought she could smell smoke. The Kitchen was full of smoke, so she opened the door to the porch. Smoke was pouring under the sunroom door. She tried to open the sunroom dooi, and called for help. “The handle was very hot, but I tried to open it several times,” said witness. “1 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 door, and rushed to see if I could see in the windows. I could not, so I rushed to ring the fire brigade, as I knew there was nothing 1 could do.\ Mr Alty: “Did you try the Fi'ench windows,” Mrs Parish: “I never thought of it. They would have been too hot.” - DECEASED’S INSURANCE Witness said she had known her husoand was insured, but had had no hiea of tne amounts. He had, apparently, been insured lor several tnous..aia pounds. She Knew that she was the sole beneficiary under her husuand's win. Her husband had given no indication that he contemplated taking his lite. 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. Evidence of having received a call at 11.55 p.m. in the watch-house at the Central Fire Station from a woman who had said her house was on fire, and that her husband was in it, was given by Fireman-Driver Leonard Sydney. To the coroner, witness said he sent a calx to the St Alban’s Brigade. WHAT FIRE STATION OFFICER SAW Charles Henry Robinson, station officer at St Albans lire station, said that when the brigade reached the 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 sunrpom. and that her husband was trapped. Robinson said he decided to enter the sunroom by the outside door. He had no difficulty in opening tne door. Noi 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 tlu. was where the fire had originated. He was not able t,o say what caused the fire. . ~ , Station Officer Robinson said he teturned to the house on the morning o r April 26 with Superintendent Morrison and Sergeant Jones, and they examined the room to see if they could establish the caus e of the fire, but they were unsuccessful. FIRE SUPERINTENDENT’S DOUBTS Alexander Morrison, Superintendent 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 fire was in an unusual position. Ihe burning agency was on top of the floor. The degree of burning showed intensity of concentration. The burning was of considerable duration. _ He ruled out a cigarette as being the cat*? of the fire. There was nothing to indicate that it was electrical in origin, and he ruled out an overturned heater as being the cause.

If the heater was on, and was lying face down, it could start a fire, but not to the extent of this one. Witness said that, in his view, something with an intense burning capacity must have rested on the carpet under the bed. QUESTION OF DRUG 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 ot the steward. Some days after Parish’s death, he learned tha* some sleeping tablets had been removed from his bag. He immediately got in touch with Hughes, and asked if he had removed bottles of nembutal tablets from the bag. Hughes admitted doing so. He had tak p n four bottles, each containing five capsules. Hughes had no authority to do so. GIFT OF TABLETS

George Hughes, 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 at Waitikiri, returning to the city about 5.30. Witness knew Parish was returning that day. On previous occasions, said -witness, when playing golf with Mrs Parish, she had mentoned 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 smokei’ and witness had never known him to smoke in bed. EFFECT OF DRUG?

Dr D. T. Stewart, Assistant Pathologist at the Public Hospital, said that, in his opinion, Parish died as the result of 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. . . Norman Patrick Alcorn, Government Analyst, said there were traces of barbiturate in the stomach contents, and tests showed it as being consistent with nembutal. It was impossible to make any deduction of how much nembutal had been taken. To Mr Lascelles: Witness said that, in his experience, he had come across two cases where 20 grains of nembutal had proved fatal. Detective-Sergeant R. S. Smith said he had interviewed all the witnesses and made intensive inquiries in connection with the death of Parish, but no evidence had been obtained which would definitely establish the cause of fire in the sunroom. On the last occasion he interviewed Mrs Parish, she handed him, at his request, two sample bottles containing a. total of six nembutal tablets. This matter was the subject of a separate police file.