FARMER FOUND DEAD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16570, 1 November 1921, Page 8

FARMER FOUND DEAD.

SHOT IN HEAD. A farmer, John Schimanski, w’as found dead at Kaiapoi last night with a gunshot wound in the head. Deceased w r as a married man, aged thirtynine. An inquest was held at the Courthouse, Kaiapoi, before Mr Wyvern Wilson, Coroner, to-day. Dr J. Henry Crawshaw stated that he was called to the house of John Schimanski, Cass Street, at 11. p.m. last night, and found the body of deceased lying on the floor of a be-ircorn in a pool of blood. There was a double-barrelled shot gun with an exploded cartridge in the right barrel. On examination he found that the top of the head was blown away, expivng the brain. Deceased was quite dead He was of opinion that deceased sat on the side of the bed and placed the muzzle of the gun in his mouth. Mrs E. L. Schimanski, widow of de ceased, gave evidence of identification and stated that she last saw her husband alive about 11 p.m. when he seeded strange in his manner. He had taken the gun into the bedroom but she thought her son had the cartridges. While talking to her brother about deceased she heard the report of the shot. Deceased had preat financial worries* with regard to his property. Similar evidence was given by H. Marsh, brother-in-law of deceased. He stated that from what deceased had told him he understood deceased to be in a tight corner financially. A verdict was returned that deceased committed suicide by shooting himself when suffering from financial worries.