The Barrow Herald and Furness Advertiser. — 1871-08-26 (Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England)

SHOCKING SUICIDE AT PRESTON.  The coroner, Miles Myers, Esq., held an inquiry at the borough police-station, Preston, on Monday evening, into the death of a woman named Ann Tinkler, residing in Hope-street, off Friargate, who committed suidide the previous day by cutting her throat.—Wm. Tinkler, general dealer, said the deceased was his wife, and was 36 years of age. On Sunday evening, about six o'clock, he was in the house reading a newspaper, and a lodger named Fairclough was getting his tea, when the deceased ran downstairs with her throat cut. Witness immediately jumped up and put his hand to her throat to stop the blood. but it then flowed out of her month. He held her until a police-officer and a doctor came, but the deceased was dead before the latter arrived. There was no one upstairs with the deceased, and witness supposed she had been making the bed. She went up first and came down again before she did the act; and he believed she must have come down for a knife, as a dessert knife was afterwards found in the room. He had had no quarrel with the deceased, neither had she had any drink. She had had one glass at dinner, but was quite sober, as witness had just had tea with her ten minutes before she went upstairs. The deceased, however, had been in a very low way, and commenced being so last Friday morning. He had been in the country on business, and when he came home in the evening she burst out crying, and he understood that all the day previously she had had the doors made up. Her talk was very rambling, and she seemed to forget herself. She had not had anything to drink that day, but she appeared to be full of trouble. Between seven and eight o'clock that night she went out, and witness found her rambling about Newhall-lane. Witness asked her why she was out, and she said if he would forgive her she would not do it again. During the Saturday also she had all the doors secured, as she said she apprehended burglars. She continued in the same way during Saturday and Sunday, and had very little rests at nights. Her actions altogether were of a strange and rambling character. Witness had never heard her threaten to destroy herself, but she had been in the habit of taking" spells.' at drinking. She followed witness into his warehouse on Sunday morning, and he told her to go away, and that he had to go away in the morning, but she replied that he would miss. The cut in her throat was not wide, but very deep.—William Fairclough, nailer and jobbing smith, was in the house all day, and saw the deceased come downstairs with her throat cut. She was previously very rambling in her conversation. The deceased occasionally took the "spree," and she was afterwards very low-spiriten, lasting a few days alter she had given up the drink. The week before she had been on the "spree," and had continued so until the Monday.— P.D. Dawson also deposed to having seen the deceased in the low way described by the last witness, and on one occasion she told him she , had been charged with stealing a shawl, but, of j course, she had not.—The coroner, in summing up, said he thought the jury would be satisfied that the woman had destroyed herself and the , question for them to consider, theretoie. was her state of mind at the time. From the evidence of the three witness, he thought they would see that she was in an unsound state of mind at the time, and that she was affected with delirium tremens.—A juryman said that from his own knowledge she had not been seen sober a week together for years.—The coroner Said he thought they would be satisfied then that the woman was in en unsound state of wing.—lhe jury were of that opinion, and returned a verdict to that effect.