Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1891-03-28 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

THE TRAGEDY AT NEWBURY.  In the Queen's Bench Division on Monday, Mr. Justice Cave and Me. Justice Grantham had before them the case,the Queen v. Coatson.—The AttorneyGeneral said this was a summons made returnable in Court by Mr. Justice Denman at Chambers, calling upon the coroner of Newbury, Berkshire, to attend the Court on the hearing of an application by the director of Public Prosecutions that another inquest should be held as to the deaths of Sidney George flath, and Annie Maria Chamberlain, on the grond trett there fiaT not been suffered sufficient Inquiry. The coroner, the learned counsel said, was complainant, and in his affidavit submitted himself to the direction of the Court. A new inquiry was required, more especially in regard to the death of the woman, but Mr. Justice Denman thought as the circumstances. were connected that an inquiry ought to be instituted as to both deaths. The woman Chamberlain was the wife of John Chamberlain, a farmer, and they lived upon friendly terms. Sidney George Heath was Mn. Chamberlain's brother, and lie was married, and there appeared to have been some evidence that Mrs. Chamberlain was not on good terms with her sister-in-law. On the evening when the deaths occurred, Heath appeared to have been sitting at the piano, and was either singing or playing when he was apparently shot by Mrs. Chamberlain with a double-barrelled gun, with which her husband was accustomed to shoot rabbits. He was killed instantly, and fell forward on the piano. So far as appeared at the inquest, the husband of the deceased came into the room on hearing the shot, and saw his wife with the muzale. of the gun held in her hand and pointing towards her chest. He seemed to have spoken to her. and, according to the statement made by himself and otlicys, to have struggled with her to prevent her doing herself harm. Then a second shot was heard, and upon the evidence, apparently three or four minutes afterwards the woman was found outside the room sitting en the floor and loaning against the wall. She was shot in the back, between the shoulder-blades or a little lower, the wound pointing downwards. The doctor expressed the opinion that it was impossible for the wound to have been self-inflicted. There was no post-mortem, although the coroner ordercd one, but the jury did not think an adjournment necessary to have one made. The jury found that Heath was shot by his sister while suffering from temporary derangement, and that Mrs. Chamberlain was accidentally shot while her husband was attempting to prevent her committing suicide. The Rome Secretary directed the body to be exhumed, and it was examined by Dr. Bond in the presence of Dr. Clarke, who knew the woman. Dr. Bond said there were no bruises or marks of violence on the hands or arms, and the wound on the back passed obliquely downwards, and could not have possibly been self-inflicted. He thought the muzzle must have been a foot from the woman, and that at the time the gun went off she could not have been touching it. He was not prepared to say that it was impossible that the woman could have been shot by accident, but he was quite unable to see how a woman could place herself in such a position that a sudden jerk would place the gun in the position in which it exploded. There was, after the event, found on the table a letter in the handwriting of the woman, addressed to her mother, but probably intended for her sisterin-law, containing the expression: "You have made our lives a ,inisery to us all," and stating that she had taken the action she had in order to be released from it. The learned counsel said he wished to express no opinion as to what would be the result of a fresh inquiry, but only submitteekthat a fresh one should take place.—Mr. Danckw?tffs, in shewing cause against the summons on behalf of the coroner, said that the husband's explanation was that the gun went off accidentally, and that in the struggle the woman twisted round. He made one desperate effort to get the gun away, and by some means it exploded.-31r. Justice Cave did not think it had been satisfactorily made out that the inquiry was not sufficient, and lie saw nothing which would justify another jury in coming to a different conclusion to that arrived at by the first one.—Mr. Justice Grantham concuered.—The application for a fresh inquiry was therefore refused.