THE LAWRENCE SHOOTING CASE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2179, 28 November 1895, Page 58

THE LAWRENCE SHOOTING CASE.

An inquest was held on the 19 th at tha Magistrate's Court by Mr Coroner Carew and a jury of six, of whom Mr James Beath waa chosen foreman, concerning the death of Sac Cot, who shot himself at the Chines 3 Camp, near Lawrence, last month. Dr Ross deposed that Sue Cot was brought into the hospital on the 7th inst. from the Dunedin prison. He examined him and found that he was suffering from peritonitis. A consultation was held next morning. Deceased became worse, and on the 12oh another consultation was held and an opinion arrived at that there was perforation of the bowels. It was decided to operate, and on this taking placa it was found that the bowels were perfoiated in two places. Deceased subsequently died, and the medical opinion come to was that death was caused by perforation of the bowels' and peritonitis. There was a wound abou"- 1 ha above the navel which could have been udnscd by a bullet. It was possible that the bullet might not have perforated tbe bowels in the first place. It might have grazed them and ulceration might have followed. Deceased was pretty low when he came to the hospital. Dr Burns stated that two outside wounds were found, but both bad healed up. They I were probably three weeks old. The rest of witness's evidence was chiefly corroborative of Dr Ross's. Not having seen deceased before, witness was not prepared to say whether he was in a fit state to be sent away from Lawrence or not. Joseph Neylon, blacksmith, 1 living at Taapeka Flat, near Lawrence, said hr remembered the disturbance at the Chines» Carap about the 16th October. He had just finished tea, and was near the Chiuesi Camp, when he heard Mrs Sing Leg screaming. Witness ran to her house, and saw her outside it. She called out loud, " They are murdering her inside.- The doors are locked, and you will have to put the door in." Witness found the door locked, and forced it with his foot. There were two rooms in the house. He went into the lefthand one— a bedroom— and saw Sue Cot sitting on the bed behind the door. He also saw Bridget M'Lauchlan lying under the bed with her head out, but saw no one else in the place, Mrs Sing. Lee .followed him in. Bridget M'LauohLtn was groaning. Witness | struck Sue Cot twice with bis fi.it, and the . Chinaman then fired one shot from a revolver but missed witness. He fired.again, and bit witness^ on the inside of the hip. Witness got outside, and after a few seconds Mrs Sing Lse came and complained of being shot. Witness then hopped away and got into Mrs Sing Lee's house, which was clow to the other, and did not see Sue Got again till some days afterwards, when he saw him in Lawrence Hospital. The house where witness was shot was occupied by Bridget M'Lauchlan and was alongside Mrs Sing Lae'a. Witness saw only one pistol, and no one else had pcrseasion of it except Sue Cot. The occurrence took place about halfpast 7 o'clock in the evening. Ah Teck, residing at .the Chinese Camp, said that shortly after 7 o'cloak on the 16 th October he heard Sue Cot go into a fourroomed cottage occupied by him, witness, and others. He (deceased) went into his bedroom and locked the door, but did not speak. About a quarter of an hour afterwards witness heard the report of a pistol from Sue Cot's room. Three Bhots were fired ia rapid succession. There was no one else but witness and Sue Cot in tho house. About five or six minutes afterwards some Chinese came into the house and said that Sue Cot had killed two women and a young man and had then killed himself. Witness went to the door of Sue Dot's room and found it locked on the inside. He then went outside into the street and looked for -the police. About 10 minutes afterwards Sergeant Conn came down and broke !in the .door. There was a constable with the ; sergeant. The three went into the room and saw Suo Cot lyirg on tho bed with his head bleeding. The sergeant searched the room and witness looked for the pistol, 1 bnt could not find it. There was a small ■window in the room. Witness never knew that Sue Cot had a pistol in his possession. Constable M'Allen stated that he went to the house. Sue Cot was on the bed apparently dead. Witness felt bis pulse, and it seemed natural. Witness thought he was pretending to be-dead. No traco of firearms was found, but outside the window, which opened about* 12 iriche?, they found five empty cartridges, which seemed to have been lately emptied. Dr Newall, of Lawrence, recommended the wounded ptison's removal to the hospital at Lawrence. Oa the sth inst. Sue Cot was brought to Dunedin prison, and was able to walk to the railway station, and appeared to be fit to travel to Dunedin. A verdict was returned that deceased died from the effects of a gunshot wound, but there was no evidence, the jury considered, to show by whom the wound was inflicted.

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