DEATH OF LIONEL TUKE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14139, 19 February 1910, Page 2

DEATH OF LIONEL TUKE.

i THE INQUEST. :- v , An inquest was held in the Courthouse, Blenheim, on i Tuesday, before Mr. T. Scott-Smitli, into the circumstances surrounding the death by shooting of Arthur Lionel Tuko.

William Draper deposed that he know the deceased well. Ho resided in witness’s hotel. * He last saw him: about 11.30 p.m. on Sunday. He seemed worried and upset, and was not looking well. Flo appeared that way all day Sunday; He had supper with witness;- and said ho was going away, and would give Clouston ana Co. notice, in the morning. They had a drink with their supper, and the .-deceased passed the remark that it might be the last drink they would have: together. ~ The witness had- no thought that tho deceased intended to commit suicide. The deceased thou retired, and wont upstairs to bed. That was the last he saw of him alive. .

To the Coroner: Deceased appeared to him to be perfectly sane. Edith Morris r waitress at the Club Hotel, said she saw deceased about ten minutes past seven on Monday morning. She took a cup of tea-to his room. Ha was in; bed, but did not,look well. Ha did not complain. Ho had been in bad health for some time. It was a usual thing to take tea to his room in the morning. Witness was shocked and surprised to hear, of the tragedy. Dr. Bennett said ho knew, deceased very well.- On Monday afternoon, about a quarter to two, ho was called-to see him, and found bom lying on his face on some grain sacks in a grain store near the Blenheim's wharf. Ho was quite dead, and apparently had been so for several hours. On turning the-body over he found a, lacerated punctured wound in the centre of the forehead, obviously due to a bullet. The brain appeared to be much lacerated, and a portion protruded through the surface wound. The, bullet had apparently’ fractured the hsse of .the skull., The witness know the deceased to be of a highly emotional nature, very'easily depressed, and subject to fits of prolonged melancholia. Ko had for a number of years suffered from tuberculosis, which on two occasions to the wetness's knowledge necessitated an operation. One such operation was performed four oi five months ago, and the deceased made a good recovery. Within the last day or two the scar broke down; and made a slight ’leak. He had often in a half joking way said, that the quickest way out would be to “end it.” The bullet wound undoubtedly could have been self-inflicted. The deceased took'a most jaundiced \vicw of things, and was of morbid tendency. , , Alfred King said that he was at the Blenheim’s wharf shortly after 8 o’clock on Monday morning, and heard a report. He thought’ that it was someone’s bicycle tyre which had ex-, plofled. The witness took no other 1 notice, and went on with his work. Albert Jones, shop-assistant at Miller and M'Kay’s gave evidence that the deceased visited the shop about 6.30 on Saturday evening and purchased a revolver, a bottle of oil, and a box ox cartridges. The revolver produced was the same, ho thought. The witness did not notice anything peculiar in the deceased’s manner. He said ho was going. pip-shooting. His Worship [rave as his vorclict that the deceased died from a bullet wound, which was self-inflicted.