PATEA.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 23 December 1925, Page 6

PATEA.

(From Our Own Correspondent). SUICIDE. An inquest was held on Tuesday before Mr E. F. Hemingway, actingcoroner, touching the death of Moanui Koto Broughton, which took place at Otautu on Sunday afternoon last. Dunna 'Whanan, dairy farmer, residing at Otautu, said that he knew the deceased, who was a nephew < f his. Deceased, with a number of ethers, was at his (witness’) house on Sunday afternoon, and he appeared to be in his usual good health and, spirits. Deceased and his wife lived with wildness. Witness left the house for- the milking machine at about 4.30 p m., leaving deceased with others at the house. While milking one of his (witness’) children came down to the bail and said that Moanui Broughton was going through the orchard with a strap around his neck, and that he was up a tree. The next thing witness heard after the boy had spoken to him were the screams 'of the deceased’s wife. He ran up to the orchard and found Moanui hanging by a strap from a tree.- He tried to unfasten the strap, but could not, and then called out for someone to bring him a knife. On receiving the knife he cut the body ■down. Moanui was quite dead. This all happened within half-an-hour of the time witness went to the cowshed. To the jury: He did not kno-W whether the deceased had any financial worries or not. Hari Broughton, wife of the deceased, said that the last time she saw her husband alive was about 4.30 o’clock in the afternoon. When deceased went out of the house he appeared quite all right. Just before he left- the house they had a discussion over weeding the mangolds—he wanted to. leave them and go into Patea, but witness would not agree. Shortly after deceased left the house. To the jury: Deceased had no cause to be jealous; he w r as very good to witness. She could not say if he had any business worries; he certainly did not seem to worry about- anything. After evidence as to the finding of the body had been given by Dr. Simmons and Constable Armour, the jury returned a verdict that deceased met his death through strangulation, by hanging himself whilst temporarily insane.