The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-09-11 00:00:00

SUICIDE OF A DOCTOR:

Dr. W. Wynn Westcott, deputy-coroner for Cen-
trai Middlesex, held an inquiry on Saturday at the
Crowndale Hall, Crowndale-road, Camden Town, into
the circumstances attending the death of Dr. Timothy
Howard, whose family reside at Limerick, and who
was found dead at 73, Drummond-street, Easton-
square. Mr. Jeremiah Howard, of no occupation, who
arrived in London on Friday evening, giving his ad-
dress the Easton Hotel, identified the body as that
of his brother, aged 28, who had come to England
about two years since, believing that London was the
best place to get a practice. He had received dip-
lomas from the Dublin University. The witness litd
continually assisted him with money, and last saw him
alive about a fortnight ago when on a visit to London.
He was then very despondent at not getting a practice,
and stated that he was in the habit of taking opium.
Ellen Gray stated that she lived ac 73, Drumnaond-
street. On Friday fortnight, when the landlady was
out, lir. Howard came and asked for apartments.
As the landlady was out she asked him to sit down
in her room, which he did, as he said he was tired.
He afterwards took a room on the parlour floor
next to hers. The Coroner: Did you often see him
after this? Yes, neariy every day; he used to ask
me to knock at the door and tell him the time. I
have frequently seen him taking pills out of a small
tin box. On Thursday he asked me to get some beer,
and I fetched him some stout and bitter. About two
hours afterwards I took him some sandwiches
on a plate, but I could not rouse him, and as he
looked so strange I called another lodger, Mrs.
Lewis, and directly she came in the room she said,
"My God, he's dead !" Inspector Moon, of the S
Division, stated that at three on Thursday afternoon
he was called to the house by Police-constable 152,
and found Dr. Howard lying in bed quite dead. He
found in the room a jug with a small quantity of
malt liquor in it. Linder the pillow was a 2oz. bottle
marked prussic acid, containing about two drops, and
in a bac, under some clothes he found two bottles of
chloroform and a 2oz. bottle of strychnine two-thirds
full. There was also an empty box marked "pearl
coated pills." Dr. Maughan, 25, Devonshire-street,
Portland-place, assistant divisional surgeon to the
police, stated that when he saw the deceased the jaw
was fixed and the face blanched. Putting his nose
to the mouth, he distinctly smelt prussic acid. He
had since made a post-mortem examination, and the
contents of the stomach and surroundings showed that
death had resulted from poisoning by prussic acid. In
answer to a question by the coroner, the witness said
that 45 drops were sufficient to kill a person, but the
bottle that deceased had drunk from contained about
480 drops, and death must have been almost instan-
taneous. The brother, recalled, said he had received
a letter from his brother, written in a desponding
manner, in which he stated the difficulties he had met
in getting an assistancy, and the money it had cost
him at several agencies, and concluded that what
would become of him "God only knows."
The jury returned a verd jet that "Deceased died from
the effects of poisoning from prussic acid, and that
he had killed himself when suffering from unsound
mind."