POISONING TRAGEDY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, 15 December 1927, Page 5

POISONING TRAGEDY.

INQUEST ON VICTIM. SENSATIONAL EYIDEX CE. (By Telegraph —Prer? Association.) HAMILTON, Wednesday. An inquest into the Karamu poisoning tragedy resulting in the death of Allan. Cornall, was continued this afternoon. 'Cheyne, the other victim, who lias recovered, gave evidence that in February last he had a somewhat similar experience, when his illness was attributed to taking salts from a packet already broken. His wife had been intimate with a man-named Hutt, whom he ordered off the place when the latter boarded there. Ilis wife told him that Hutt had thieatened to poison her. Replying to the Coroner, witness Cheyne said his wife never disclosed to him her illicit relationship with Hutt until Cheyne was discharged from the hospital recently following th.o poisoning. His wife asked him, however, never to let Hutt come back on the place. Hutt was a rabbiter by occupation and it was customary for him to have strychnine to poison rabbits. Witness knew of nobody in Karamu who had a grudge against him. Harold Long stated that when employed at the Karamu Post Office he was asked by Ted Hutt to telephone to a chemist for two ounces of strychnine. A small parcel arrived for Hutt that night, but witness was not sure who sent it. Dr. Joseph said" that on February 19 last he attended Cheyne at his house, lie diagnosed his condition at the time as strychnine poisoning, but after consultation with another doctor they atributed the trouble to nervous disturbance. A Government analyst gave evidence that the contents of an ale bottle and a stomach contained a large amount of strychnine. Martha Ann Cornall, widow of the victim, stated that Mrs Cheyne told her she thought the poison had been meant for Mr Cheyne, but witness could not remember the exact words used. When she asked Airs Cheyne why she thought that, the latter replied, “Only one person could have done it and it must' have been Hutt.” Aluch evidence was given concerning the relationship of Airs Cheyne with Hutt.

Edwin Owen llutt, rabbitcr, of Karamu, said that at one time he boarded with the Cheynes. Witness admitted misconduct with Mrs Clieyne, but he had been on good terms with both her and her husband. llutt admitted purchasing beer in Hamilton and taking one bottle home, where, nc said, he drank it. Witness did not tell Mrs Clieyne that her husband had been misconducting himself with another woman, but one morning, when Mrs Clieyne was running down a certain other Karamu woman, he remarked that a man who had had relationship with Mrs Clieyne had also had relationship with this other woman. Witness added that by that he meant himself. He had not threatened to shoot or poison Mrs Clieyne or attempted to induce her to leave her husband.

The inquest has been adjourned till Friday afternoon. i(lt was reported on November 7 that a tragedy, with some very mysterious features occurred on the previous Sunday afternoon at Karamu, a farming district eighteen miles south-west of Hamilton. Two farmers, Allan Cornall, aged 31, and James C'heyne, aged 41, consumed some liquor, with the result that Cornall was fatally poisoned, and C’heyne was unconscious and in a critical condition. Messrs Cornall and Clieyne, who. with their families, lived in ‘Clieyne‘s house at Karamu, had been to a dance, which they usually attended, at Tc Paliu on the Friday night. On returning home in their car they found what appeared to be a scaled bottle of beer in the vehicle. The night was wet, and they assumed that during the danee some of the men attending the entertainment had taken shelter in the car and unintentionally left the bottle there. They decided on Sunday afternoon to drink the liquor, and at 2 o’clock they opened the bottle, and each consumed a glass. Both immediately suffered great pain, and developed symptoms of poisoning. Cornall died at 5 o'clock, after suffering groat agony. Clieyne was removed to the Waikato Hospital and ultimately recovered. Cornall leaves three children. and Clieyne is married and has five children),