Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-07-19

him take him home, and that be would walk
back TO Melbourne 'f f'-- it1 - CAB
Q, And you asked him where you were to
drive the deceased tot
| A Yes; and be said that the deceased lived
either in Grey street ur iAckland street, St
Kilda, but that the de leased would direct ne
at the Junction.
Q. Did you not think that the deceased was
too drunk to direct you'll -.f..
| A Yes, did; but his friend said that the
sleep and the shaking Of the cab would sober
him bit by the time got to the Junction.
Q. The gentleman in the light coat appar-
emily did not know where the deceased livedi
|, A No; he said It was either in Ackland
street or Grey street
! O. Did you not think that curiousi ~
A. No; thought he might be club friend
OF the deceased. s.it -. .a.i. -.t.i. IT, ....
q. How long did the man in the light coat
talk to youi
| A About five minutes t'' -a.s
Q. And during that time you heard no
noise in the cabl ..s.Hf y-.s.Er
A. No; thought the deceased had gone to
sleep @1t.h .#T|
! @. And after the man in the light coat
said good night to the deceased what hap
penedl
A He lit cigarette, gave me a half
sovereign, and walked Off towards Mel
bourne ,.....,..
y. Did you observe If the gentleman in
the light coat had his handkerchief with
hint .sF2A 70 '"f .f.. .l
| A. Oh, yes; because he busted his boots
| with it. The road was very dusty. ,
+ q. Did you notice any striking popularity
about himl
A. Well, no, except that be wore dia-
nlond ring asg.s.a-tJai
Q. What was there peculiar about thatl
| A He wore it on the forefinger of the
before ag ..'-r rr. r.. ..y.....
@ When did you notice thisi ..4......
A When he was lighting his cigarette
| q. How often did you call to the deceased
when you got to the Junction9
A. Three or four times then got down,
and found he was quite dead. rar.
q How was he lyingl .E t-rF
| A. He was doubled up in the far corner of
the cab, very much in the same position as
left him when lput him in His head was
hanging on one side, and there was a hand
kerchief across his mouth. When touched
him he fell into the other corner of the cab,
and then found out he W as dead imme-
diately drove to the St. Kilda police station
and told the police '' '.'..' '."t
| At the conclusion of Royston's evidence,
during which Gorby had been continually
taking notes, Robert Chinston was called
| He deposed: ]" 72j' 81. '4H '.' '" .->
AIN duly qualified me,iical practitioner,
residing in Collins street East made post
mortem examination of the body of the de
ceased on Friday. 0t" s'.-'-'f 'f--i
Q. That was within few hours after his
deathi .sft' p. .r;-t ssri.l 4
A. Yes; seeing from the position of the
handkerchief and the presence of chloroform
that he had died through chloroform, and
knowing how quickly that poison evaporates,
| made the examination at once log
Coroner: Go on, sir
| DR.. Chinston: Externally, the body was
healthy looking and well nourished. There
were no marks Of violence The staining ap-
parent at the back of the legs and trunk was
due to post mortem congestion Internally,
the brain was hypernmic and there was q
considerable amount of congestion, especially
apparent in the superficial vessels. There
was no brain disease. The lungs were healthy,
but slightly congested On opening the
thorax there was faint spirituous odor dis
cernible. The stomach contained about a
pint of completely digested food The heart
was aaccid The right heart contained a
considerable quantity of dark, fluid blood.
There was a tendency to fatty degeneration
Of that organ. am of the opinion that de
ceased died from the inhalation of some such
vnpor us chloroform or methylene ~
O. You say there was tendency to fatty
degeneration of the heart Would that have
anything to do with the death Of deceaseda
A. Not of itself But chloroform admin
istered while the heart was in such a state
would have a decidedatendency to accelerate
the fatal result. At the SAME time, / may
mention that the post mortem signs of poison
ing by chforoform are mostly negative.
DR.. Chinston was then permitted to retire,
and Clement Rankin, another hanson cab
man, was called He deposed: | am a cab
man, living in Collingwood, and usually
drive hanson cab remember Thursday
last. had driven a party down to ST
Kilda, and was returning about half-past
| o'clock. A short distance past the grammar
schooli was hailed by gentleman in light
coat he was smoking cigarette, and told
inc to drive him to Powlett street. East Mel
bourne | did so, and he.got out at the cor
ner Of Wellington parade and Powlett street.
| He paid me half a sovereign for my fare,
and then walked up Powlett street. while j
drove back to town. q
9. What time was it you stopped at Pow
lett street, "'' I9 5@'@ ~ q,
A. Two o'clock exactly. ''."
Q. How do you knowi M q4.,avs7 81
I A. Because it was a still night, and |
heard the postoffice clock strike O'Clock. =,
Q. Did you notice anything peculiar about
the man in the light coatf s'Tt
A No; he looked just the same as any one
| else. thought he was some swell of the town
out for lark His hat was pulled down over
his eyes and could not see his face. "a, .s
h. O. Did you notice II he wore ringa 4,
A. Yes, did When he was handing me
the half sovereign saw he had diamond
ring on the .ferefnger of his right hand.
q. He did not say why he was on the St
| Kilda road at such an houri
A. No; he did not, "' t'''"1 ." a.
Clement Rankin was then ordered to stand
down, and the coroner then summed up an
| address Of half an hours duration. There
was, he.pointed out, ne doubt that the death
| Of the deceased had resulted not from natural
causes, but from the effects Of poisoning.
Only slight evidence had been obtained up
to the present time regarding tho circunn-
stances Of the case, but the only person who