CORPSE AS COMPANION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 15081, 2 December 1919, Page 9

CORPSE AS COMPANION.

j , MYSTEBYi.OF BR...GOOCH, - ! LONDON, Nov. 7.— A tragedy, the -.■.detaSils- "of -ivliicli ; "sta)?tHngly reiembkid" I Poe's famous story, "Tlie, O'blong. Box,"j 1 has ' been*' discovered •■' at ; a King's Cross lodging-house. An eccentric elderly . a man, passing under th© name of Dr.*- , Gooch, lived 1 in the same room as his dead wife. ' '■"« Th© discovery Avas made through Gooch not talcing letters which were left- \ on, the doormat.. The door was tried, 1 -and knock's- : b'eing unanswered it was'^ 1 burst- in," and' Qdoch ;\vas;!fourbd i : lving' ' dead in tho bed, with ah empty bottle .' wKic'h'.liad'-Mfiotttaihed prussic -acid clasped in hisihand. — • . .-. Hi^. wife's, corpse:, which was lying On' a mattress- suppOTted bv chairs, was in, a sta£e of terrible decomposition.. ' The .;. woman was last ;seen^ in, May, since when Gooch had pretended that she was i11..-- : He- completely -- deceived the other .-lodgers.- Ho;- would .carefully lock, the door. -when going outj-. calling *"Goo'd-byej' '■■: darling;'' v'an'd 1 '- taking 'sympathetic messages from, ihe Jbd'gers, to whom he- ; brought replies. •<■ ; The lodgers - frequently complained of the; drbadful snioll* and the landlord-, at- . tempted' to evict Gooch, but the latter ', successfully pleaded, that, his wife was too'ill'io'-be mo-v^ed: ' LONDON,' NriV. • ! B.— The Coroner's, investigation into 'the queer story of- -Dr ■ Arthur Gobdh, who " lived in tlie same room'iis h : is deftd wife unltil he ■commit-; •ted "suicide, diaclose'd 'tliat the couple had lived ■ a hermit-Tike' existence for many.. y£ars. ■-DV: Gdocli ':: in desoribed as a clever medical", scientist ' and lecturer, • but' a confirmed .drug-taker, consuming great quantities of chlorodyne alternated with,alcohol., ■'■;■■• ; " i .-.'- 7 ; '-'■••'.' "•■■! He left a . letter addressed to the . Coroner sayiag, A'My/wife refused to cji^eV a'liosplital, -So Ve decided 'to die , ; together."..;:, v, v,-.. ■■■■-•'■> -r ••■:•'» '' ■'" ■ '* •.Tlie Coroner.' •■totuyned,; a. verdiat .th«4t. : the wife's -death was due to natural causes.- ■•'.-.•: .."'• ! . -*j ■.'■■■> ":'.'. j {■•A doctor' gave, evidence that she .had ' .died! .10.: days -before the discovery of Gooch. ■ ' _*