GIRL'S SUICIDE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21729, 19 February 1934, Page 9

GIRL'S SUICIDE

BLOOMSBURY TRAGEDY EX-NEW ZEALANDER'S END LONDON. Feb. 16 "I am going to gas myself. It is a small room and should not take long. Please do not reproach yourself for what 1 am doing," wrote Antoinetta Marquiretta McGrath, aged 26, described as an actress and journalist, formerly of New Zealand, to her former lover, who is living in Bristol. Miss McGrath was found dead in a gas-filled room in a Bloomsburv boarding house, and a verdict of suicide while of unsound mind was returned. The evidence showed that Miss McGrath had several small debts. She was very much attached to her lover, from whom she parted six months ago. Since then she had been depressed and had frequently threatened suicide. The letter added: "It is not the hopelessness of my relations with you, but the general stato of affairs that causes me to commit suicide. You have made me happy in the past and I do not want my death to make you unhappy. 1 cannot bear to be parted from you any longer."

In a letter to the coroner Miss McGrath wrote; " I wish mv father and sister to know that although I wrote little I have always been happy in heart, and 1 am happy to die." Deceased left a diary which she had concluded while dying. This described her childhood in Otago and incidents of her later life. It also referred, lovingly, to her parents and friends, and then stated: —

" It is funny to be cutting strips of paper to cover the doors and windows. I hope the gas will not inconvenience people. 1 will wait until the next flat is quiet before beginning. All is quiet now so I turn on the gas. It is getting stuffy. Writing is a little difficult. 1 wonder what the next world is like. Death comes slowly. I think I will lie on my bed now. It is 3 a.m. Goodbye." "The signature was almost illegible.