Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-08-05
WHEELINa REGTsTl

NJ anu W.
to drive the deceased tor
A. Yea: and he said the deceased hvea
! either in GREY Street or Aekiand Street 81
Kilda. but that the deceased would anect
me at the Junction.
Q Did You not think the deceased WIS
too drunk TO direct you? -.
A. Yes, I did: but his friend aid mat
the sleep and the shaking Of the cab wouid
sober him a bit by the time 1 got to the
Junction. ,
o The gentleman in the light coat APP
parsntly did not know where the deceased
lived?
A. No; he said il was either in Ackland
Street OF Grey Street.
Q. Did you not think that curious?
A. No; / thought he might be q club
friend Of the deceased.
Q. How long did the man in the light
coat talk 10 You?
A. About five minutes.
@. And daring that time you heard no
noise in the cab?
A. No; l thought the deceased had gone
10 sleep. - j.
Q. And after the man in the light coat
said good. night to the deceased what hap
pened?
A. He lit q cigarette, gave me a half
sovereign, and walked off towards Mel
bourne.
o. Did you observe if the gentleman in
the light coat had his handkerchief with
him?
A. Oh, yes; because he busted his boots
with il. The road was very dusty.
Q. Did you notice any striking peculi-
arity about himP
A. Well, me-; except that he wore a dia-
mond ring,
Q. What was here peculiar about that?
A. He wore it on the forefipger OF the
right hand, and / never saw it that way
before,
Q. When did you notice this?
A. When he was lighting his cigarette.
Q. How often did you call 70 the de-
ceased when you got to the function?
A. Three or four times. i then got
down, and found he was quite dead.
Q. How.w was he lying?
A. He was doubled up in the far corner
of the cab, very much in the same position
as / left him when / put him in. His
head was hanging on one side, and there
was a handkerchief across his mouth.
when i touched him he fell into the other
corner of the cab, and then / found out he
was dead. / Immediately drove to the st.
Kilda police station and told the police.
At the conclusion OF Royston's evidence,
during which Gorby had. been continually
taking notes, Robert Chinstou was called.
He deposed-
/ am a duly qualified medical prac-
~titioner, residing in Collins Street East. l
made q post norton examination of the
body of the deceased on Friday.
Q. That was within a few hours after
his death?
A. Yes; seeing from the position of the
handkerchief and the presence of chloro-
form that he had died through ehlorot 'rm,
and knowing how quickly that poison
evsporstes, l made the examination at
oncs.
Coroner: Go on, sir.
DIR. ChinstoD: Externally, the body was
healthy looking and well nourished. There
were no marks Of violence. The staining
apparent at the back Of the legs and trunk
was due to post norton congestion. Inter
nally, the brain was h~yseremic, and there
was q considerable amount of congestion,
especially apparent in the superficial
vessels. There was no brain disease. The
lungsiwere healthy, but slightly congested.
On opening the thorax there was a faint
spirituous odor observable. The stomach
contained about a pint of digested food.
The heart was fiaccid. The right-heart
contained q considerable quantity of dark,
fluid blood. There was a tendency to fatty
L Recommendation Of that nrran am nf the
opinion that deceased died from the inhal-
alton of some such vapor as chloriform or
methylene.
Q. You say there was a tendency to fatty
degeneration of the heart? Would that
have anything to do with the death of de-
ceased?
A. Not Of itself. But chloroform ad-
ministered while the heart was in such a
state would have q decided tendency to
accelerate the fatal result. At the same
time, / may mention that the post morton
signs of poisoning by chloroform are most
ly negative.
DR.. Chinston was then permitted to re-
tire, and Clement Rankin, another hanson
cabman, was called. H~edeposed: lam a
cabmsn, livingin C~Ollingwood and usually
1 UrlV6 u QdQ5Om CdD. Il EGiutuDcI 1uuI5-
day last. / had driven a party down to
st. Kilda, aud was returning about half
past one o'clock. A short distance past
the Grammar School / was hailed by a
gentleman in q light coat; he was smoking
a cigarette, and told me to drive him to
Powlett street, East Melbourne. / did 80
and he got out at the corner of Wellington
Parade and Powlett g; teet. He paid me
half a sovereign for my fare, and then
walked up Powlett street, while l drove
back to town.
Q. What time was it You stopped at
Powlett street,
A. Two o'clock exactly.
Q. How do You know?
A. Because it was still night, and l heard
the p~ostofice clock strike two o'clock.
Q. Did you notice anything peculiar
about the man in the light coatP
A. No! He looked just the same as
anyone else. 1 thought he was some swell
of the town ont for a lark. His hat was
pulled down over his eyes, and l could
not see his face.
Q. Did you notice if he wore q ring?
A. Yes! Idid. When he was handing
me the hslf-sovereign, ! saw he had q dia-
mond ring on the forefihger of his right
hand.
Q. He did not say why he was on the st.
Kilda Road at such an hour?
A. Mo- He did not.
Clement Rankin was then ordered to
stand down, and the coroner then summed
mp in IN address of half-sn-hour's durs-
ton. There was, he pointed ont, no
doubt that the death of the deceased had
resulted not from natural causes, but from
poisoning. Only slight evidence had been
obtained up to the present time regarding
the circumstances of the case, but the only
person who csuld be accused OF commit
ting the crime was the unknown man who
entered the cab with the deceased on Fri
day morning at the corner of Scotch
ohurcb, near the Burke and Wills monu-
ment. 1t had been proved that the de-
ceased, when he entered the cab, was, to
all appearances, in good health, though in
q state of intoxication, and the fact that
he was found by the cabman Royston,
after the man in the light coat had left
the cab, with q handkerchief saturated