The Central Glamorgan Gazette, and General, Commercial, and Agricultural Advertiser. — 1876-11-24 (Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales)

TUE INQUEST.  Ott Thursday forenoon an inquest was held by Mr. Bowel Cut,.l ertson, corwie-, at thu Mason's Aims, Brewery-toad, when a respectable awl intelligent jury (Mr. W. J. Lewis, draper, foreman), was empanelled. Aft.:r viewing the body the jury returned to the itio to hear the evidence. John Gibbs, deposed : I li%e at Quarel'a lane, and am an eng ne•driver. I found the body of the dermas ii yesterday hang'ng to a tree. It was about three parts of the wa from tho ho tom if the wood. It was about a quarter-past eleven wlnn I found him. He had a narrow strap wound his tuck with a) tic le attached to it. The str •p was buckled round his neck, and fastened to a knot in the tree. The buckle end of the strap was min his neck, the I Hier part of it was round the branch of a tree. The toe part of his boots appeared to touch the wound Could not sev bow bug body had bean there ; from the appearw vie it might have been front four to six months. I saw no tlesh On his face; there was bone whateser. saw a little hair on the top of his head, but it was coming off; it was of a crey colour. There was a sleeve waistcoat on the body; corduroy trouseis, a shirt, and very good boots. A coat lay on the gnmud about a couple of yards away. Thee was a " bowler ' hat on the head. The body appeared to be that of an elder:y man ; judging f his hair I shouhl thick he was between 50 or 60 years of age. It was about 300 or 400 yards from the twm-bridge, where I found the deceased. I was in a held gettin.: a con pc of briars ; bo ly of the deceased was not Bow: yards fr m the hedge. It was fr in the field that I saw the man Itangin,t. I did not mount, the pocket-, but I saw a pipe in the coat p.-eket. I did not cut the bo ty down, but went an i gave information to the I returned with a constable afterwards, and point:A out the place. By the Jury : I did not notice any marks of vio euce on the head ; his legs were stretched down, not crampcd up; I thought at first he hart glares On, his hands weie so black. By the Coroner: There was no flesh on his hands. _ . _ • .  ...... Police-s-m-geant Fiederick Jennings deposed : Having received information I went. to Uw,,i wood and found the laxly of a man suspended to the branch of an oak tree near to the top of Cwin wood. He was suspended by the strap produced, and a knot was tied to the end of a tree to prevent its slipping through. I cut the body down and examined the pockets of the decease]. ID the left hand trousers pocket E found a purse containing 88 and two pawn tickets. The name of Stephen Lewis, II irwain, near Aberdare, was on the tickets. Huth tickets were dated 27th June, 1876. From one of the tickets it appealed that a trousers, vest, and shirt had been pledged with Eli Joseph, pawnbroker, 17, Lewis.street, Aberaman, who had advanced us 04.1 on them. The other ticket showed that he had pledged a coat for ss. with Edward Barckle, pawnbroker, Aberdare. All the flesh was off the hands and face of deceased. I did not eszniine other parts of the body, it was so much decomposed. There was a small quantity of ha'r on the head. The ct.nstables who had gone to the spot berme witness had found a pair of spectacles in the pocket: also a box of matches and a razor. The clothes were rotten. • From the position in which I founil the body it al'pea retl to me to be a case t.f suicide. The branch on wllich the body was suspended was about 8 feet from the ground. There was a fork on the tree by which he could easily get up and fasten the stiap to the branch. I have sent to Aberdare information as to the ckehing and pawn tickets. The Coroner said there was no evidence to show that the man did commit suicide, and the jury could if they choose, return a verdict that the man was Found hanging to a tree, and that he probably did commit suicide. _  The jary adopted the suggestion of the coroner in returning their verdict.