A SYDNEY TRAGEDY,

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14701, 19 June 1911, Page 9

A SYDNEY TRAGEDY,

INSURANCE INSPECTOR SHOOTS HIMSELF. A nUGEDY (reported briefly by cable) occurred in Aarons's Exchange Hotel, Sydney, on Tuesday morning last, an insurance agent, L. R. . Stevens, being found dead in the bath, with a bullet wound in the right side of the head, while gripped hi his right hand was a small doublebarrelled pistol, both barrels having been discharged. A fow minutes after midnight on Monday Mr. Stevens came to the hotel and booked a room. Nothing appeared to be wrong with him, and lie was perfectly sober. He was not seen until 11 o'clock next morning, when ho came out of his room, wearing a singlet, trousers and boots, with a towel thrown across his shoulder, and asked the housemaid tho way to the bathroom. The directions were given him, and he wont into the bathroom and locked the door.

Suspicions were aroused in the minds of the hotel employees that something was wrong when tho door bad remained closed for over an hour. Thinking that Mr. Stevens might have taken ill, one of the employees knocked at the door, and receiving no answer informed Mr. Pulbrook. the licensee, who on forcing an entrance was horrified to find Stevens lying on his back dead in the. bath. There was no water in the bath, and deceased bad not taken oil his clothes.

The police were informed, and found in one of tho pockets of deceased a pocketwok hewing the words, "Inspector L. It. Stevens, M.L.A. of Australasia, Wynyardstreet, city." Other papers showed that he Ws an inspector in the Queensland fnsursneo Company, and was recently employed fy the Mutual Life of Australasia, Ltd. Deceased, who was 53 scars of age, was a married man, and resided with his wife nd two children at Wilona Avenue, North Sydney. Tie was a native of New York, wd was well known in commercial circles "i Sydney. • .