The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1909-04-14 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

THE PARK SUICIDE. SAD FATE OF AN EPILNPTIO.  The Deputy Borough' Coroner (Mr. A. F. Cotton) held an inquest (adjourned from Monday) at the Town Ball, yesterday morning, with reference- to the shocking case of suicide that occurred in Birkenhead Park on Good Friday afternoon, as reported in our issue of Saturday. The deceased was Frederick Roberts, aged 37, of 129, Patersonstreet. _ .  Lillie Roberts; the widow, said the deceased was a baker's. shop ,assistant. Fce; the past"fotir oi-five years he had suffered from efalejisv. and had been treated for that complaint by Dr. Wilson. As a rule,. prior to an attacic of the malady, be suffered greatly from nerrousneSs and loss of sleep, and last week she was eicpeting an attack to Come on almost at any time, is he seemed restless all the time. He took very little food. " '  The Coroner aslced if the deceased had at any time showed a suicidal tendency. • •Witness answered that he never had— never in any way; and it was not considered necessary to specially . watch him. Proceeding, the witness said that on Good Friday morning the deceased got up about six o'clock and lit the fire, and then, during most of the forenoon, he laid down on the bed. He waS quite cheerful that morning, and, in fact, a little excited because he was going for a drive with a 'Mr. Johnson to West Kirby. Witness did not know who Mr. Johnson ,was ; she was only told of the drive by her husband. After dinner the deceased went out, about 1-45. saying he was going for the drive, and witness never saw him alive again. . The Foreman of the Jury: There was no unpleasantness between sou? Witness: Not it all. •.  , .Cr*g James, chemist. Argyle-street, ,said that betweda one and two o'clock on Friday the deceased came into his shop. Witness knew him by sight. He seemed as if he had been hurrying, but be appeared to be quite rational. He asked for a sixpenny bottle of carbolic acid. Witness asked him what it was wanted for, as it was a poison, and he said "they made amixture of it for horses." Witness said: "For external use only ? " And deceased replied, "Certainty." Witness then supplied an eight-entice bottle and cautioned the deceased in the usual way not to leave it about, as it vras poison, and also labelled the bottle in the way' required by the Act. The deceased assured him he would be I careful with it.  The bottle of carbolic acid, which was found in the deceased's pocket was produced, and Mr. Cragg James said that two and an eighth ounces had gone from it The witness explained that carbolic acid was a scheduled poison, but it was in Part 2 which simply specified that it should be labelled "poison," and the name and address of the seller affixed to the 'bottle and ' the seller must be a qualified chemist. Robert Caley, a park keeper, of 7. Patersonstreet, said that about 4-20 on Friday afternoon he was going his rounds of the park and went into the lavatory at the back of the refreshment rooms. He found one of the closets was closed and he called out, but got no answer, and then knocked at the door, and also kicked it, but still got no answer. He therefore opened the door with his key and found there was a man on the floor, leaning against the claim.. He pushed the body away and saw it was the deceased. He (deceased). was alive, but could not speak, and witness, seeing he was very ill, carried him out into the air. He then saw there was a little white froth ! on the mouth, as though the man had had a fit. He at once sent and telephoned for the ambulance, and the deceased was removed to the Borough Hospital. Witness had been-in the lavatory thirty-five minutes j before and the deceased was not there then.  Dr. R. -C. Muir, senior house surgeon at the Borough Hospital, said he was present when the deceased was brought in. Deceased was quite unconscious. He breathed only about three times after being brought in. Everything was done for him that could be done, but they could not bring him round. • His mouth smelt of, carbolic aritt• and the tongue and Tbdtfif ale- month were burnt. and subsequently Atte bottle of carbolic acid now produced was found in hie coat -pocket. • Death wee, duo to carbolic acid poisoning. Deceased appeared to have taken much more than an ordinarily fatal I dose.  The Deputy Coroner, addressing the jury, said the deceased had, as the esridence showed, been suffering from epileptic fits and one did not know into what state of mind they might liave driven him. • The jury found that the 'deceased committed—suicide, but that there was not suffieient evidence to show the, state of his mind at the time of the act.