MAORI CHILD’S DEATH

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17408, 5 November 1930, Page 11

MAORI CHILD’S DEATH

AN ALLEGED BLOW EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST (Per Press Association.) HA-WERA, this day. An inquest ■concerning the death of a Maori baby girl, of lloni lli Hi, at Keteniairo pa, near NoWnunby, on October 25, was held before the coroner, Mr. RS. Sage, and attracted- unusual interest consequent upon the charge of murder oil which the child’s Maori foster mother, Margaret Kerehona, had been previously remanded. The court-house was crowded, principally by Maoris. Detective Meiklejohn conducted the proceedings, which were watched on behalf of the foster mother by Mr. L. A. Taylor. lloni Hi lli, father of the child, gave evidence that she was 16 months' old at the. time of death. It had been adopted a year ago during the illness of the mother by Kerehona, who lived at Ketemairo pa, about 20 miles from witness’ home at Otnkeho. Witness had never heard prior to the death of the child of any illness and treatment. Dr. R. G. B. Sinclair and Constable Pigeon gave evidence that when they saw the ‘body at the pa at about ,10.50 o’clock on the night of October 26, Kerehona said she had struck it with her fist because it would not stop crying. When she found it would not wake up she tried unsuccessfully to revive it with water.

Dr. Sinclair, who made a post-mortem examination,' gave it as his opinion that death was due to 'compression of the brain, due to bleeding in the head. Ihe bleeding may have been caused by a blow over the skull on the right side, where bleeding was in evidence, or by a, ebn.tfe coup resultant on a, blow on the other side. There was no sign of external vioienco or injury except a slight scratching of the left-ear. (Proceeding)