FOUND DEAD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 4001, 22 January 1903, Page 3

FOUND DEAD.

Late on Monday night the body of Henry Liddle Eadle, a fellmonger, was found in a disused bedroom of the Ship Hotel, Timaru. At the inquest hold on Tuesday, the evidence disclosed the following particulars : William Kearns, porter at the Hotel, said that on Monday night on passing No. 23, a room on the third floor, usually occupied as a servant's room, but was then supposed to be vacant, he went in to see if there was ar-vone in there, and, saw someone—the deceased!—lying on the "bed. Put the light over him, and looked at him, and as he could not hear his breath concluded that he was dead. Witness went down and reported the matter to Mr McKenna, the licensee, who sent for a doctor. Dr Reid said when he firs,t saw deceased he had been dead for a considerable time From the appearances of the body he must have been dead three or four days. Signs of decpmpsition werp well advanced. Therewere no marks of violence about the body. Had made a post mortem . examination, and found that he died of heart disease, fatty {degenerationand valvular disease. He might have died in his sleep, and his condition was such that he might have died at any moment, without being able to give an alarm. The body was well nourished. Decomposition had set in,; he could not have died later than . Saturday night. There was no sign that drink had anything to do with JC ta,usjngi,his.'4eathv • : ]

William Stephenson, wodl-classer, Tiniaru', stated that he had known deceased for some years. He was a widower without family, and was about 60 years of age. He was addicted to drink, in the habit of going onthe spree occasionally. He was an educated man, who knew his way about. He might have made his way upstairs when drunk, and laid down, but even when drunk he always seemed able to look after himself.

B. J. McKenna, licensee of the hotel, stated that he had seen'lhe deceased in the house occasionally, perhaps once a week within the last six months. He never had a meal or a bed in the house. Roojm No. 23 is reserved for the cook ; it had not been occupied for three weeks. The door was closed but not locked. It was rarely entered when unoccupied. The porter’s business was to go round every night except Sunday soon after eleven, when the bar 'is closed, and visit each room to sed that lights are out, and the rooms unlet he is to enter, to see that they are unoccupied. He reports to witness that everything is right. He did so oh Saturday night. Witness had no idea that the man was in the house until the porter reported him there. It was possible for anyone to get up the fire-escape at any time of day or night. He.bad no money on him when found. A drunken man could not havegot into that room by the fire escape at night. The police also gave evidence. The Coroner said the cause of death was made clear enough by the medical evidence, and the only mysteries about the case were how the man got into the house and died there without anyone knowing it, anh Ihe evidence of Dr Reid that the man had been dead three or four days, while the porter swears that he was not in the room on Saturday night. It seems strange that a man should get into the room unknown to anyone, but there was the positive evidence that no one saw or heard him. The cause of death was evidently failure of the heart 1

The jury found a verdict in accordance with Dr Reid’s evidence, that deceased died from failure of tho heart.