INQUEST ON THE BODY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 103, 4 July 1866, Page 2

INQUEST ON THE BODY.

Last evening the Coroner, W..W. Squires, Esq., held an inquest on the body, at the Police-station. The following jury were" sworn : Messrs. John Tregea, Alexander Hunter, G. C. Saxton, Francis 1 Trask, Robert Pollock, W. Akersten, George Shepperd, Alfred G. Bttts, Henry Byng Gox, Robert Lucas, R. Powell, N. T. Lockhart, and N. Edwards, foreman. The following evidence was given : — j James Barton :I am the hospital attendant to the j Nelson Hospital. I have seen the body now lying in the engine house. It is that of ■ James Battle. He was admitted into the hospital on the 2nd February, j IS6O. He then gave his trade as that of a sawyer, and he said he was a native of England. His age then was 48 years. I saw him again about 18 months ago, he was then fencing on the road side near Blenheim. George Jervis : lam a storekeeper residing in Canvastown. I have seen the body in the epgine house. It is that of a man I have known by the name of" Old Jemmy," who has been for some time at Wilson's Accommodation House, Pelorus, half a mile from Canvastown. He was clearing flax at £2 an acre. I saw him last this day three weeks, on Tuesday, the 12th June, before- 8 o'clock in the morn- ' ing. He .had a swag, and I believe two long-handled shovels. On the following Sunday I made enquiries at .the Pelorus-bridge Accommodation House and found that he had passed on the road for Nelson. I also inquired at Dwyer's and Smith's Accommodation House and found that no man answering to his description had passed that way. My reason for inquiring about him was, that Iknew he was coming to Nelson, and hearing of the loss of Dudley, Pontius, Kempthornc, and Mathieu, I was induced to ask about him. I did not see him after Tuesday, 12th June* till I saw him to-night in the engine house. George James Barker : I have seen the body now in the engine house. I was one of the Searching Party for the body of a man supposed to be missing. About half past 9 o'clock this morning, about a mile from liranklyn's Plat, towards the Heringa, and about 100 yards from the road, to the loft side from here, my attention was drawn to a fern having its roots upwards, and a log about three feet long, that appeared to be placed there. I went and examined the place. I first found the body a little above the hips at the back. After removing some earth and leaves, this part of the body was only covered by about half an inch depth of soil. I did no more till Constable Marten came up, when we uncovered the body. The man was lying on his face. On turning him over, I considered he had be>n strangled, because his neck and chest, were red andi discolored. I was No. 1 1 of the Searching Party. lam a general dealer, but am a tailor by trade, and reside in Nelson. The body is the one now in the engine house. ■ His boots were lying under the head and his hat towards his feet. At this stage the inquest was adjourned till this morning, to ascertain the result of a post mortem examination. At 10 o'clock this morning the inquiry was resumed. The first witness examined was Mr. Shallcrassj who said: I am sergeant-major of police at Nelson. In consequence of information! received from a man named Sullivan, who is now in gaol on a charge of felony, a party was sent out on Monday morning, the 2nd July, to search for the body of a man named James Battle/who had been murdered on Tuesday, the l*2th June. The body was found, and brought into town last evening. It was found in the place indicated. It is the same now lying in the engine house. Mr. S. A. Cusack said : I am a Bachelor of Medicine, residing and practising in Nelson. I have seen the body in the engine house, which was pointed out as that of James Battle. On examination I found the body with its clothes on, and the. face covered with blood. On removing the clothes and washing the body we found it that of a man about 50 years of age. There was no rigidity about it. Allowing for | the cold weather it might have been dead a fortnight, j There was no decay about it except a slight separation of the cuticle or superficial skin. There were no external marks of violence. Mr. Cotterell made the post mortem examination himself. We opened the different cavities ■of the body. There was some little congestion in the brain, but nothing very •evident, or characteristic of the cause of death. Ttiere was a contusion underneath the skin at the upper end ■of the windpipe on either side. Tliere was nothing noticeable inside the windpipe or the mouth, or air passages. The lungs were slightly, congested, but nothing very remarkable. The heart was natural, and.there was a little air iri-the cavity. There was a contusion beneath the skin of the abdo-

men, a little above the right side pf. the navel, and a corresponding contusion on the 'intestines. /Thestotnach was empty) Had I heard nothing about the case I shonld form no opinion about the contusion on the windpipe. It is possible it was "caused 'by the grasp of a man's hand on either side. If I had seen the body under other circumstances I should not have thought of such a'thihg. The contusions on the intestines might have been caused by a. blow or a stick. I don't think the state of the body at' this" time of the year can be taken into the account, as judging of the time of death. In the summer.l.shoiaJd have said it had been dead only a. day. 'I cannot form an opinion as to the certain cause of, death. The cause of death would be consistent with' strangulation by the hand by the pressure of the windpipe by the hand. It was possible it might have been caused by. a shock from the blow on the abdomen, on which there was a most palpable contusion. The other cause of death is the more probable. of the two. • To the Jury : A man's weight pressing on the stomach for a time might cause death if he were a very heavy man, but I doubt the possibility of it. There were no marks to show this. It was most likely the man got a blow on the stomach and was then grasped by the neck; Mr. C. E. Cotterell : lam a member of the R.C.S., London, and- practising in Nelson. I have assisted at a post mortem examination of the body at the engine house, pointed out to me as that of James Battle. I examined it with Dr. Cusack, und saw no external marks of violence. Qn opening the head, we found the brain slightly congested, soft to the touch and easily broken up, on account of being dead so long. On examining the wind pipe, underneath the skin on each side, at the upper part, there was a contusion. It was on each side of Adam's apple. The interior of the wind pipe appeared healthy. On opening the chest there was nothing very striking or abnormal, except a little congestion of the right lung. The heart was examined this morning .when we found some air on the right side. . On opening the abdomen we found the muscles on the right side of the navel and above it bruised ; and a corresponding bruise on the omentum the covering of the bowels. I give no opinion as to air in the heart, except it was the result of putrefaction. I could not swear to. any cause of death. The stomach empty and in a heaithy state. I agree with Dr. Cusack that the appearance of the body is consistent with death by strangulation, or a shock to the system from a severe blow on the abdomen, but it is impossible to speak with certainty, as to the "cause of death. The. Jury immediately found that the deceased James Battle, was wilfully and maliciously mur-. dered, on the Maungatapu Mountain, in the Nelson Province. '