LOST OVERBOARD

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20768, 1 July 1937, Page 6

LOST OVERBOARD

INQUIRY CONDUCTED By Tele rraph—Press Association WELLINGTON, June 30 The finding that deceased was lost overboard and drowned at sea during the passage of the Rangatira from Lyttelton to Wellington on May 2, and that he could find no cause to say she committed suicide, was returned by the Coroner (Mr F. Gilbertson) at the inquest on Marjorie Elizabeth Jane Fulton (68), married. The inquest was conducted by order of the Attorney-General, under Section 3 of the Coroners Amendment Act. Her husband, Nicholas Fulton, of Wanganui, said his wife had been suffering from a general nervous disorder for a number of years, and since 1935 had been an inmate of the hospital at Hanmer Springs. Her health had shown a continued decline, and recently she asked him to take her home. He told of being awakened by the stewardess on the Rangatira and informed that no trace of his wife could be found. They had no family. Medical reports were produced, stating that the deceased had suffered from involuntary melancholia. There was no evidence of deceased actually committing suicide, said the Coroner, although she might have had a sudden urge to do away with herself. The evidence showed that a deck watch was kept on the Rangatira, but it was possible for someone to jump overboard unseen. It had happened before.