A MELBOURNE TRAGEDY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3571, 22 August 1922, Page 21

A MELBOURNE TRAGEDY.

MORPHIA POISONING. MELBOURNE, August 14. One of the most shocking tragedies in the history of Alelbourne, resulting in four deaths, was discovered at the residence of Dr Cranstoun, at Hampton. A patient went to consult the doctor, but failed to obtain a reply to his ring at the doorbell, and, hearing a telephone ringing inside, he became suspicious that something was wrong. He peered through a letterslit in the door, and saw a man lying in the passage. Assistance was onuii.eu and an entry was forced. It was then found that the man lying in the passage was l)f Cranstoun, who was dressed in his pyjamas and who was unconscious, having apparently emerged from the bathroom and collapsed. A search of the house resulted in finding the dead bodies of th# doctor’s sons —John, aged 15, Robert, aged 10, Colin, aged eight, and a young woman named Gladys liayliss—while Mr# Cranstoun and the doctor’s two other young children—Margaret, aged 13, and Bella, aged six—were found in an unconscious condition. The doctor, his wife and two girls were removed to a hospital, and it is expected that they will recover. At present nothing is known of the circumstances that led up to the tragedy, but in all the cases it i 3 believed that the viotims were subjected to morphia injections. When found, Dr Cranstoun had a hypodermic syringe lying behind him. The body of John was found lying on a hearthrug in the drawing room, Robert and Colin were in separate beds upstairs, and Aliss Bavliss, who had acted as companion, to Airs Cranstoun, was on a bed downstairs. The two girls and their mother were also in bed. August 14. Dr Cranstoun died this afternoon. No light has so far been thrown on the cause of the tragedy. The baker called before breakfast. Miss Bavliss said : “l don’t think we want any bread to-day.’ She appeared strange. Schoolmates of the children who were in the habit of calling for them were informed that they were too sick to go to school. Dr Leary says there is no doubt that morphia was the cause of death. He knew Cranstoun for two vears, and had never met a more charming personality. He believed that he was a confirmed drug fiend, and was probably suffering from a> delusion as a result of morphia, which might explain the tragedy. He also knew that Cranstoun was in financial difficulties, mainly through betting. Two years age he treated Cranstoun for an oyer injection of morphia. He was unconscious for 16 hours, and grave doubts were then entertained for his recovery. August 15. Mrs Cranstoun has sufficiently recovered to make a statement which was corroborated by her two daughters. She said that on Sunday evening her husband informed her that he had prepared a new antidote for influenza, and asked her to allow him to test it on her hefore giving it to ins patients. She acquiesced and was'inoculated. The doctor then said that while he was about it he might as well “do the lot,” meaning the other members of the household. The whole family, including Aliss Bavliss, were then treated. About an hour "later the mother and daughter# were inoculated with a second dose of the antidote. There was no explanation given as to why morphia was injected.