SENSATIONAL SUICIDE.

NZ Truth, Issue 284, 3 December 1910, Page 5

SENSATIONAL SUICIDE.

SEQUEL TO A SUPPRESSED CASE <■____• Witness Cuts His Throat. What Was There to Fear?— Faigzm Full-op — Sought Solace m Suicide— Wife Relieved Him - of Razors — But Aaron Severed His Arteries With a Knife.

. In the Supreme Court at Dunedin yfcbe other day a Jury disagreed m t_te iease m which one Henry Pollock, a Jewish gentleman who kept a tobacconist's shop m _reorgeH3ireefc, Dunedin, Was charged with having attempted to commit an unnatural offence. Publication of the evidence was prohibited, which is unfortunate = m view of the subsequent sensational, death of one of the witnesses. How^ ■ever, it is perhaps permissible for •• ,i T^r_h' , to say that all tbe wit-, "nesses for the defence were Jews,; one of them being Aaron Faigan, a, married man of 35 years of age, who carries on a tailor's business m nan-, over-street. Ever since tbe jury disagreed, Faigan showed signs of much nervousness, and on the morning of November 25 he was particularly restless, and talked about parting with his wife. About one o'clock Aaron saw Detective Thomson .m Castle-street, and left bim witb vue delusion -thai the sleuth intended to arrest bim. From that time until 1.50 p.m. be was m a sta/te bordering on NERVOUS PROSTRATION, and on two occasions his wife took razors from biim. Later on be said he desired to go to an outhouse, and asked his wife not to follow bim, and she went only as far as the yard, thinking he had no weapon about him. t aigan suddenly slammed the door and his wife rushed m and struggled with him, but could not prevent his cutting bis throat with a knife. It was found that Aaron had severed both arteries and must have 81/PT* TO DEATH m a very short time. Aaron bad been worried over administering the estate of his late father, and a further cause of worry was an anonymous letter recently received, m which a threat to charge Faigan with a certain offence was made, unless .money was forthcoming. At the inquest a verdict of suicide whilst temporarily insane was re!turned.

In her evidence, Mrs Faigan said she struggled hard with her husband, and once had the knife, out of his band, receiving several hasty cuts on her hands and face. She called out for help, but nobody came. Several people came to the fence, but no further— if one of these bad helped her, her husband's life could have been saved*