The Atherstone, Nuneaton, and Warwickshire Times. — 1881-05-07 (Atherstone, Warwickshire, England)

SOICIDE.—Ati inquest WILS held On Saturday afternoon, at the Royal Oak, Goefordstreet, before Mr. Coroner Dewen, AR to the death of John Street, engineer.—Elizabeth Street said the deceased was her husband, and was 38 years of age. He was in the employ of the Rivera Purification Association, at Whitley. His manner had been. very strange for the lad two or three weeks, and he became 60 Much worse on Monday night that witness did not think he was responsible for his action. At about eleven o'clock on Friday night witness and the deceased went to bed. The deceased was very restless, and could net aleep_ and witness watched him until 3 o'clock on Saturday morning, when she got out of bed and gave him a dose of medicine. She then fell asleep, and on awakening about a hour and a half afterwards she missed the deceased from the bed. She got up and searched for him, and after some time she found him lying in the coal-hole. She spoke to. him, but received no answer, and on attempting to pick him up she found that his throat was cut, and that he was dead. She procured assistance at once, and Dr. Wimberley was sent for.—Mr. E. F. H. Codrington, manager at the Rivers Purification Association Works, said the deceased was his foreman. The deceased had been in the service of the Association ever since the works were started in Coventry, and was before then employed at Nuneaton, having been with the Company altogether between eight and nine years. Ordinarily the deceased was a first-rate workman, and witness noticed nothing peculiar in his manner until Friday morning, when he was very incoherent in his talk, and said that people were making remarks about him, and he felt sure they meant to do him an injury. This witness ascertained to be a delusion. The deceased was queer in other ways. He was usually exceedingly quick at apprehending from plans the nature of the work required of him, but on Friday he failed to understand a rough plan which was explained to him several times, and immediately forgot what he had been told. He complained of feeling queer.—Dr. Wiroberley said the deceased came to see him at about ten o'clock on Friday night, accompanied by his wife and a friend. He was very queer mentally, and had been 40, witness understood, since Monday night, when he went to a club supper. He was rambling and incoherent in his talk. Witness prescribed some soothing medicine, to induce him to sleep, and told his wife she had better have someone to stop with her. On the following morning witness was sent for to the deceased, who was dead, death having been caused by a wound in the throat. Witness's opinion was that the deceased was not responsible for his actions. —Edwin Wall, keeper of the "Cohn Campbell" public-house, said he went to the assistance of Mrs. Street on Saturday morning. He found the deceased as described by her, with a razor lying near his right hand. On Thursday night witness had a long conversation with the deceased, who talked about the strangest things ; and it VIM at witness's suggestion that the deceased went to see Dr. Wimberley on Friday night.—The jury at once returned a verdict that the decased committed suicide whilst temporarily insaae Ma. W. H. Witt.s, M.P., AT