LONDON SENSATION

Southland Times, Issue 19346, 11 September 1924, Page 7

LONDON SENSATION

EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST. DEAD GIRL’S LAST LETTER. (By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, September 9. At the inquest cn the Battersea tragedy a verdict was returned that Joshua met his death at the hands of the young woman, Peggy Mercer, who then committed suicide, while in an unsound state of mind, owing to Joshua’s action towards her. The Coroner’s Court was crowded, mounted police preserving order in the crowd outside. The first witness was Mrs Joshua, who, heavily veiled and in a voice scarcely audible, said that she married Joshua in 1896. She last saw her husband on August 13, when she left him to go to Scotland. There had never been any unhappiness between herself and her husband, and no talk of divorce, but her husband drove a motorcar himself and was often away at weekends. Joshua’s wife added that she had never heard of the dead woman.

Miss Mercer, sister of t|ie deceased woman, identified the body of Joshua as that of Basil Montague, whom her sister had introduced to her under that name. The Coroner read a letter from the deceased to her sister. The letter, which was found in the flat and enclosed the marriage ring, said: “Forgive my cowardly act, but I have decided to end it. I married Joshua in June. He said then he had divorced his wife and only lived with her for their daughter’s sake. He deceived me and destroyed the marriage license so that nobody should know, but I still love him and he loves me, otherwise I would not have taken this great risk. I am afraid every day that someone is coming for me.”

The sister broke down and was led sobbing from the Court. The Coroner said the dead girl’s diary showed she had been with Joshua every Sunday and Tuesday from January to August, going to theatres and playing golf and motoring.

Doctors gave evidence that the girl was not with child.

The Coroner added that if the girl’s last letter was true Joshua’s conduct was most discreditable. He had overcome a virtuous woman by a bigamous marriage. But the letter might be an invention, as some women did extraordinary things.