JEANNIE McCOLL'S FATE.

NZ Truth, Issue 251, 16 April 1910, Page 7

JEANNIE McCOLL'S FATE.

HOW DID SHE DIE ?

Was There an Operation?

A SISTER'S PATBETIC STORY.

"I Can Scarcely Believe it Now. 1 '

At, 11.30 a.m. on March 26 there died at the residence of Mrs Annie Durston, 10 Havelock-street, Mornington, Jeannie McColl, a single woman of about thirty years " of age, who, previously to her death, had kept house for her brother, a miner, at Waitahuna Gully. She left her home on March 12 and reached Mrs Durston's on March 15. On the following day she had a miscarriage, twins being born. Thereafter she seemed to be getting on very well and was quite cheerful when her brother' and sisters, who bad found out her address, visited her on March 22 and following days, but on the night of March 25 Mrs Durston found it., advisable to send for a doctor, and Jeannie died early the following morning. " . An inqiuest was begun on March 26, before Mr H. Y. Widdowson, S.M., Act-ing-Coroner, and a jury, when the brother of deceased, Dugald McColl, was examined, and was continued m the following week, when Mrs Durston and Dr. Pit-, chett (who was called m on the. night of death) were examined. The doctor, was strongly of opinion that an instrument had been illegally, used on deceased, but would not positively swear to it. .On April 6 the inquest was further continued, when deceased's two sisters' were ;put m the witness-box. Mr B. S. Irwin appeared for Mrs Durston. Elizabeth McColl,. sister of deceased, residing at North-East Valley, : said she last saw her sister alive about 9 o'clock on the evening of March 23, at Mrs Durston's house. Deceased was then m bed, and witness . thought- she looked ;ill, but she didn't say what was wrong with her. On the previous evening de T ceased said her chest and mouth were sore, following on an attack of influenza. On this occasion before seeing net sister witness saw Mrs Durston, and asked whai' was wrong with her sister that she should be m her house. Mrs Durston said, deceased had had a miscarriage. 'Witness was very astonished,! anil, couldn't believe it, and ! said it couldn't be her sister. Witness asked to be taken to ;d[e6cased, jelling Mrs. Durston she could later on tell her anything she had to say" Deceased and witness, slept together that night, though witness could not rest • much, and spent most of her time m a chair at the bedside. Deceased was very weak, and during most of the time she had arms round witness' neck. Mrs- I>urston assured wijtness that deceased was' not so ill as witness thought she was. Deceased did not seem excited ( and was very quiet. Deceased did nob tell her the cause of her illness, and witness was so glad to see her alive that she hadn't the heart to approach the subject. Witness didn't ask how deceased came to go to Mrs Dur-, ston's because deceased was very dear to them, and witness wanted to study her feelings. Witness suggested to Mrs Diirston that deceased should go to the hospital, but Mrs Durston said she was getting on nicely, and, as deceased had been nursed through the worst .of her illness, it would be unnecessary. Deceased also assured witness that she didn't want to go to the hospital— Mrs Durston had been very kind to her, and she, begged not to be taken away from her. All that night (-the 22nd) deceased was restless, though she was quieter when witness left her m the morning. On the evening of the , 23rd (Wednesday), witness again saw deceased, who was not inclined, to talk, but who stared hard at her. Deceased said she would soon be able, to get out of bed, and Mrs Durston said she thought she .was getting on very well, but if a doctor was wanted one would be sent for. Mrs Durston asked witness to ask deceased ,if she had brought any luggage or money, v but deceased • said she couldn't remember; — she couldn't remember things for some time, past. She, however, said she could remember having two sovereigns, some silver arid a railway ticket m her purse. but v she didn't say what had become, of it. Witness and her brother and sister were summoned to Mrs Durston's early on March 26, arriving about 3 a.m.. The Coroner . Were you surprised to hear she was dead ? Witness : Yes, very surprised and shocked. 1 Mrs Durston said something' must have gone wrong with deceased's heart, as her death was very sudden and she couldn't understand it. The Coroner : Was Mrs .Durston upset and surprised? — She was very upset. The Coroner : And surprised ? Witness : I couldn't say. first heard that deceased had left Waitahuna Gully on March 15. ■It struck -her as surprising that deceased had not notified" her that she was coming to Dunedin. After waiting until March 19 for a letter, witness went down to Waitahuna Gully, . and was told by her sister. Sadie, who was .there on holiday, that Jeannie had gone to Dunedin. Sergeant : • Do you know Thomas Carr ? Witness. : He is our next-door ., neighbor. • Sergeant: Did you speak to him on the matter ? - '.'"..' Witness : I had heard tbat he had gone to Dunedin m the same train as deceased, He said ha had not, but afterwards confessed that lie had. He said he had parted with her ou the Dunedin railway station on the morning of March 12. Sergeant: Did he say how she was ? Witness :, He only said he had left her on the station. He looked very nervous, and I -suspected that he knew where she was. I asked him, and he said she was doing well and was with friends of his. The Coroner : He didn't tell you the name of the people; Witness : No. He said that if we went to Dunedin on March 21 he would take us to where she was. On the 21st Carr came to Dunedin with my brother and rue. When, I; arrived m Dunedin . I found Jeannje had written a note to me, there being no address on it! Jeannie wrote that she had been ill with influenza and other things. She said she would explain every thong when she saw me .that day (the 21st). I left Carr at the corner of the vOctagpn, for the purpose of sending telegrams home. Carr said he would go to Durston's to see if Jeannie had actually gone to North-East Valley. Dr. Closs had treated Jeannie for heart trouble— it wasn't that she had heart disease, .but her heart was affected. We had understood so ever since childhood. Sergeant : Dr. Closs has looked up his books, for the past ten yea* and cannot find the name of deceased. The Coroner : You can always expect a certain amount of cloaking m these cases, (To witness) : When did you see deceased previously to her visit , to Dunedin ? Witness : I was with her for a -holiday at Waitahuna Gully about a fortnight previously. The Coroner : How was she then ? Witness . 'She was bright and happy, and I did not suspect anything— nobody could have done so. Deceased didn't speak about her condition. Sergeant : Did deceased know anything about Mornington. Witness : She hadn't often teen to Dunedin, v and didn't know Morningfcon. I don't tonow Mrs Durston, and • I never heard Jeannie spealc of her. Mr Trwin : Why didn't you speak to Carr on the way down ? Witness: We couldn't bear him near. us. He was m the guard's . van, and mv brother and I were alone. We were very indignant, at his having taking Jeannie where he could not take us. We intended to deal with him after we had found Jean-

Mr Irwin

nie. Mrs Durston told me Jeannie had arrived without money. I know she left home without luggage. Mr Irwin : Do you know where Jeannie was between March 12 and 15 ? Witness : Certainly, not. Mr Irwin: You didn't ask? Witness : No. All we wanted for her was to get better. Sergeant (producing letter) : Do you know that hand-writing ? ' Witness (after a long examination) : No ; 1 don't know it at all. Sergeant : It is a note to Mrs Durston m some strange writing asking her to put witness' name on an enclosed letter. The post-mark is dated March 31. Witness : I have only received notes of sympathy from friends during the past i few days. -Dugald McColl, brother of deceased, recalled, said that before leaving Waitahuna Carr promised to take him and his sister to where Jeannie was, but on arrival m Dunedin Carr said he would go and ,see if she was still where he had left her! Carr went along Princes-street from the Octagon, as far as Dowling-street, but then vanished, and witness had not since seen him. In Jeannie's purse there was only a florin, but there was no railway ticket. Witness wasn't at home when Jeannie left for Dunedin. i The Coroner : Were you not surprised to see your sister Sadie at your home V Witness ': No ; I knew she was coming down for a holiday. Sergeant : Did Carr say why there was cause for so much secrecy ? Did he say anything about her. condition ? Witness : He only said she was all right. The Coroner : Did you not suspect your, sister' s s condition as a result, of Care's remarks ? ' - " Witness : No. I didn't suspect anything. ." „ . Sergeant : Did she have any money ? Witness : There was about £4 m the house which Jeannie could have got. She left a pound, so that she couldn't have taken more than £3. The Coroner : Did Carr often come to the house ? Witness : Yes. He" had been coming to the bouse ever since he was a boy. tie is , about thirty years old. The Coroner : Did you notice any intimacy between Carr and your sister ? Witness : JNo. - ' The Coroner : Were they engaged ? Witness : No. I couldn't see there was anything between them. Mr irwin : You knew before Jeannie's death that she had little or no money? Witness : Yes. I offered Mrs Durstan some money. bhe took one of the two sovereigns offered, and said she would let me know when she "wanted more. - Sarah McColl (called Sadie by other witnesses), another sister of deceased, said she had been ill, arid it had been previously, arranged that she should go home and get . her strength up. She went home ,on March 10, and Jeannie left for Dunedin on the 12th. Jeannie said she was going to see a Mrs Rodgers at Pine Hill (Dunedin). She said she would return on the following Wednesday. She took only a small parcel with .her. Witness found out since- that Jeannie hadn't seen Mrs Rodgers, or the Miss Johnston she said she , was going to see m Dunedin. Sergeant : Did Carr's motlier go down m the same train- as he did ? Witness : No. I spoke to Mrs Carr on the station and she said: "Oh, Tom went down by the same train." Witness continued that she was told Jeannie was suffering from an ulcerated stomach and throat. The Coroner : When did you receive the last note from deceased ? * Witness : I received it at Waitahuna Gully after Jeannie's death. The Coroner : What was m the letter ? Witness : There were only a few lines. The Coroner : What' did she say ? Witness : She said she was sorry to have left me v at Waitahuna Gully. There was no. date on the letter. The Coroner : Did deceased not tell you about her trouble ? - Witness : No. , I saw no intimacy between her and Carr, and didn't suspect anything. I The Coroner : When did Mrs Carr return? Witness: I don't know. I haven't seen her since. . 'The Coroner: =Did you know of deceased's condition ? Witness : Mrs Durston said there had been. a miscarriage, but I couldn't believe it until I heard ..the doctor's evidence, and , I scarcely believe it now. The inquest was then adjourned until April 18. .