ACCIDENTALLY SHOT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17753, 12 April 1921, Page 5

ACCIDENTALLY SHOT.

RACECOURSE FATALITY. I [BT TBLKGRAPH.— OWN COKBESPOUDBNT.] I THAMES, Monday. I An inquest was held to-day into the death of Hugh Matheson who was found I dead in the Jockey Ciub'a paddock I yesterday with a gunshot wound in his i head, The evidence showed that the deceased, who had been caretaker of the' racecourse for the Thames Jockey Club | for the past 13 years, retired to bed on I Saturday night in his usual health and , spirits, and a young man named Hayes, I sleeping in the same room, saw him in I bed when he retired at 9 o'clock. Hayes I awoke next morning at about 5.30 o'clock j and noticed that Matheson had gone j out, but took no further notice as he had been in the habit of going out at all hours of the night with a gun to protect the flock of sheep running in the ! paddocks from stray dogs. Nothing I further was thought of his absence until j breakfast time, when, as he had not re- I turned, Mrs. Matheson became uneasv and sent the daughters and Hayes to ; look for him. After searching without, success until about 10.30 o'clock, a message was telephoned to Mr. Haves, senior, at Thames, who at once pro- I ceeded to the racecourse and assisted in the search, the body being eventually ' discovered at noon lying on the around beside a high ten-wire fence, the gun standing against the fence with the j muzzle in the ground and stock upper- j most. The evidence of Dr. Liggins showed that death must have taken place at least five hours previously, and from the i position of the body and the gun he had . no doubt that the death was purely . accidental, and was caused by the deceased pulling the gun through the wire fence and the hammer becoming caught i by one of the wires. The police and ! the other witnesses all agreed in stating | that they were quite satisfied the ex- j plosion of the gun was accidental and I caused in the manner described by Dr. Liggins. The gun was a double-barrel bhotgun, the hammers of which would not stay at half cock. This appears to have been mainly responsible for the accident. A verdict of accidental death was returned by the coroner. Mr. Matheson was a married man and leaves a widow and four grown-up. .daughters.