ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8309, 6 May 1905, Page 5

ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES

INQUEST. The inquest in reference to the death of Catherine fiunter was resumed at the Magistrate's Court this morning, before Mr H. W. Bishop, S.M., District Coroner, and a jury, of which Mr W. •Pearce was appointed foreman. Catherine Anne Hunter, a daughter of deceased, said that on Wednesday evening she had gone home at half-past eleven o'clock with her mother, who had then seemed very well. Deceased, after having had some supper, had gone to bed at .about ten minutes to twelve, and witness had not seen her again. Deceased had no complaint, so far as witness knew. George G. Hunter, a son of deceased, stated' that he had returned* home at about 12.30 o'clock on Thursday morning. He had noticed a . light in, the front bedroom; and called out " Are you all in?" There was no answer, and witness had pushed open the door. The bed was empty, and witness's mother Was lying on the floor. Efforts to rouse her failed, and witness had gone for Dr Gibson. Witness thought that his mother was dead when he had first seen her on th© floor. He had never heard her make any complaint about having any disease. . Dr Gibson said that he had seen the deceased shortly after -one o'clock on Thursday morning, and that she was then dead. He had found no marks of external injury. . The organs were healthy, with the exception of the kidneys, ; which showed signs of old-stand-ing disease. On the right side of the brain there was a large clot of blood, due to the rupture of a medium-sized blood-vessel. The cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage, secondary to chronic Bright's disease of ..the kidneys. Deceased would nave had" an aching pain peri-Sps. at times, but not one sufficiently acute to have led her to summon medical attendance. The coroner said that the medical evidence was to the effect that the immediate cause of death was apoplexy, an<J the jury's, verdict was in accordance with this explanation.