AN EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 143587, 28 August 1911, Page 3

AN EXTRAORDINARY SUICIDE.

wounds inflictld with an AXE. The evidence brought before the Act-ing-Coroner, Dr. H. A. M’Cleland, and a jury this morning at the inquiry Held into the circumstances surrounding the death of a Maori named Pno Motunui, a farmer at Okawa, revealed a most extraordinary case of suicide. Totara Piii, Okawa, identified the body. Deceased was a nephew of his. He was about 45 years of age. For some time past ho had been very eccentric, sometimes lie would speak and sometimes he wonkl not. Witness did not see him on Friday last prior to the accident, but was one of the party who helped to convey him to the hospital afterwards. Deceased did not speak from the time they put him in the express until they got him to the hospital; To witness’s knowledge deceased had not previously attempted to injure himself. Polly Pue, sixteen years of ago, said the deceased was her lather. She lived with him at Okawa. On Friday morning he had breakfast pretty early, and die did not see him again until after ten o’clock, when he was walking up from a piece of bush whicli they could see from the house. Ho was staggering. He climbed over a fence near a haystack and then fell down. Sho ran to fetch assistance, and she went with another Native to where her father was lying. In the meantime her mother had run down. tier father was covered with blood. He did not speak to anyone. He was taken to the house on a sledge. To the Coroner; She had never heard her father say he would kill himself. At times ho had been very peculiar. He went away on Friday morning without speaking to anyone. John Patu, farmer, of Okawa, said lie lived near to where deceased had been living. At times lately he was melancholy and scorned wrong in his head. He had not heard him say he would kill Himself. On Friday morning, between 10 and 11 o’clock, he was working about half a mile from tile homestead, when Polly Pue came for his assistance. They went down to the place where the deceased was. He was lying on the ground. His head was all covered with blood. Ho did not speak. Witness helped to take him to the house on a sledge. A doctor was fetched from Waitara and attended to deceased, and ordered a conveyance to be fetched to take deceased to the hospital. Tamati Pue, a son of the deceased, said his father was engaged fencing last week. Among the tools he. used was an axe. He did not know whether his father was engaged fencing on Friday. The axe produced'was that belonging to his father, and was the one lie had been using in erecting tno fence. Witness was present when Detective Boddam found the axe on Sunday. His father had been very queer at times lately. He, knew of ' a deal in cattle deceased had had lately, and also that he was disappointed about it. Mr. Wylie, surgeon, said deceased was admitted to the hospital at 11 o’clock p.m. on Friday, the 24th, and died at 12.40 a.m. on the 27th. On examination of the deceased shortly after admission to the hospital he was found to be suffering from extensive injuries to his head, which necessitated the performance of an operation- The deceased was conscious, and before the anaesthetic was administered witness asked him who had caused his injuries, and his reply was that it was all his own work. He also told witness he caused the injuries with an axe. : Dr. Horne administered tho anaesthetic and acted as interpreter during this conversation. Witness then described the injuries. There were evidences of many blows. The operation consisted in cleansing the various wounds as far as possible, and in tho removal of a piece of bone which was pressing on the, brain and its membranes. Pieces’ of gress and fern wore also removed from the surface of the brain. The wounds were brought together as far as possible, bleeding stopped, and suitable dressings applied, and then deceased was removed to bed. Later he showed signs of acute septic inflammation of the brain following on the injuries, and this was the cause of death. Witness was of the opinion that the injuries were selfinflicted. Tho direction of the different wounds suggested that they were selfriutlicted. The man must have been in a condition of intense frenzy at the time, and so iar as witness knew it might be described as an unique way of committing suicide. It was quite possible for deceased to have, walked as described by the witnesses. Detective Boddam gave evidence to the effect that ho had visited tho Okawa pall in company with Constable La Pouph&of Waitara. He explained tho position of the deceased’s house and its surroundings, and went on to describe the finding of the axe in tho bush. Witness made a very careful examination of tho ground, where ho discovered patches of blood, and there were no signs whatever of any struggle having taken place. He considered the story told by the witnesses perfectly consistent with what ho saw. Tho jury returned a verdict in accordance witli the medical evidence.