DETERMINED SUICIDE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4834, 26 December 1893, Page 3

DETERMINED SUICIDE.

The Inquest. An inquest waa held at Sumner this morning, before Mr R. W. Bishop (coroner) aud a jury, of whom Mr Josiah Rogers was chosen foreman, on the body of Phillip Home Robinson, aged fifty-one years, who was found dead in his house yesterday morning with veins in each o£ his arms severed. The suicide appears to have been a most determined one, and the room in which the act was committed presented a horrible sight. It was evident that the deed had been committed with the greatest deliberation, aa the deceased had rolled up bis right ! shirt sleeve, and inflicted a out in the vein of his arm with a pocket-knife. Not content with this he had evidently cut the vein in the other arm through his shirt sleeve. Appearances showed that he had held his arm for some time over a chamber utensil, which contained a large quantity of blood. He then evidently went to the bed, which was likewise saturated with blood, and had finally struggled into an adjoining room, and there fallen on his face. After using tbe pocket-knife he had closed it, and it was found under the bed. Mary Ann Robinson deposed that she was the wife Of deceased, and was married to him on August 23 last. He appeared to be in his usual health on Saturday evening at seven o'clock, when she saw him in Christchurch. He was to have met her again at eight o'clock, but did not do so, so she stayed in town. On Monday mornj ing, accompanied by her father, she went to Sumner, and upon entering the house, . she went Btraight upstairs to the bedroom, ; the floor of which she found covered with j blood. She then went to the opposite j room and found deceased lying on his face. , She immediately called her father, who 1 went for Mr Wrenn. ! To the Foreman *. Deceased was quite j sober, and in good spirits, when she last saw him. ' I • To the Coroner : She and her husband ; had always lived on good terms, and she 1 was not aware that ho had any financial trouble on his mind. Deceased bad been living retired since he gave up work on the

Peninsula, and had no relations in the colony. Thomas Edward Lee, a butcher, and father of the last witness, deposed that on the previous day he had come down to | Sumner with hia daughter, and on entering the house they found deceased dead, 5 and quite cold. He at once sent for the ' police. Had seen deceased on the previous " Thursday, and he then appeared to be in 1 good health. Had known him for about a year. Deceased had got about £1000 out from Home just prior to his marriage, and -was always a careful man. Constable Henry Johnston deposed that at 10.30 a.m. oo the previous day, from instructions received he proceeded to the residence of deceased. He entered the house in company with Mr Wrenn and the ** last witness. On going upstairs he found f a quantity of blood, on the front .bedroom J floor, and the blankets and pillows of the 1 bed were saturated with blood. Found > marks of blood leading into a back bed--1 room, where he saw the body o£ deceased 1 lying face downwards and partly dressed. ' On bending the right arm he discovered a ' clean cut over the middle vein of the arm, 1 and a similar cut on the other arm. Found ' a small pocketknife under the bed, whioh was stained with blood, and which would have caused the wounds. In the pockets of deceased found two pawn tickets, one ; dated Dec. 23, 1893, for a watch, and another ticket dated Oct. 23 for a watch, for £7 10a. Had also found a letter from a brother of deceased in Leeds, dated Jan. 5, 1893, which conveyed the information that deceased had been left ,£IOOO by his father. Thero . was also a memorandum from the Ucion Bank of Australia, dated July 31, 1893, advißing deceased of the receipt of a letter of credit for him for .£928 19s 3d. Dr Hunt gave evidence to the effect that when he was called to deceased he had apparently been dead about thirty hours. He had no doubt that the wounds were self-inflicted, and tbat loss of blood was the cause of death. T. H. Ranger deposed to seeing accused on Saturday evening after ten o'clock. He appeared then to be in his usual state, and perfectly sober. Had seen him almost daily for some time, and never knew him to drink to excess. Should have considered him a most unlikely man to commit : suicide* The Coroner, in summing up, pointed out that the evidence showed conclusively that deceased had died by his own hand, and the jury returned a verdict to the effect, "That deceased had committed suicide while in a state of temporary insanity."