MURDER AND SUICIDE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21976, 10 June 1933, Page 12

MURDER AND SUICIDE

THE WANGANUI TRAGEDY PROCEEDINGS AT INQUEST (Per United , Press Association.) WANGANUI, June 9. “ There is no evidence to shdw that Mrs Gordon was a consenting party,” said the coroner, Mr S. M. Dixon, when delivering his verdicts in respect to the deaths of Nellie Gordon and Joseph Nathaniel Gordon, which occurred under such tragic circumstances at the Metropolitan Hotel just after 1 o’clock on June 3. He found that the female deceased met her death as the result of wounds' in her throat inflicted by her husband, and that the man died from wounds in his throat self-inflected. A notebook was produced in which appeared passages written in indelible pencil purporting to have been signed by both the deceased persons as having agreed to die together. The evidence went to show, however, that the writing was that of the husband. Detective J. Walsh, who appeared for the police, was definitely of the opinion that the writing was that of Gordon, and none of it that of his life. , The coroner said he was satisfied that the writing was .all that of one person. The evidence went to show that the. woman had left her husband. She came to Wanganui on May 30 to stay with a married woman who had previously resided in Patea, and with whom she had been very friendly. The deceased had made it clear to her friends that she was leaving her husband for a man named Stan Thompson. He was to take her to Australia. The deceased’s husband visited her at Wanganui, and according to the witness, with whom the deceased was staying he had become reconciled to a separation. It was shown that on June 3 the husband and a man named Thompson both came to Wanganui with the intention of going to the WanganuiTaranaki Rugby match. They met on the Patea station and travelled in the sarne carriage and were met by the woman at Wanganui. The trio went to the commercial room of the Metropolitan Hotel, where they all had drinks. Gordon (the husband) after getting drinks from the bar, told Thompson that the licensee wanted to sec him. Ihompson went out, leaving the man and his wife together. He had a drink with the licensee and conversed for some five or seven minutes. When lie went back to the commercial room lie found both Gordon' and his wife on the floor. She was quite still and Gordon was gasping. In reply to the father of the deceased woman Thompson said that on two occasions the husband had expressed himself as reconciled to his wife leaving him and going- to Thompson.