The Sun. — 1836-01-02 (London, England)

CORONERS INQUESTS.  On Thursday afternoon, an inquest was held before Mr. RICHARD CARTTAR, the Coroner for Surrey, at Peckhamhouse Lunatic Asylum, in the village of Peckham, to inquire into the circumstances attending the death of Mr. Henry Stanynought, the unfortunate individual who murdered his own child a short time back in the Edgcware road, and was subsequently to his trial at the Central Criminal Court placed under restraint in the above establishment during his Majes-ty-s—pleasure. The Jury, composed of respectable inhabitants residing in the vicinity of Peckham-house, having been sworn, proceeded to view the body of the deceased, which was placed for their inspection in one of the rooms in the Asylum, adjacent to that in which the inquest was held. There were no marks of violence perceptible on the body, except a small degree of discolouratipn round a portion of the neck, the deceased having, as it will appear, effected his own de struction by strangulation. John Ludlow, the head keeper in the Asylum, deposed that the deceased was removed into that establishment on tl.e 16th of November, subsequently to his trial at the Central Criminal Court for the murder of his own son, a little boy. He was sent there by an order from Government from the gaol of Newgate, and, since hia admission, had been treated with the care and attention which his case required. On Wednesday morning the bell of the establishment was rung. as is usual every morning, at halfpast six o'clock, to give those inmates who wish to rise at that hour an opportunity of doing so, when the deceased and three others got up, and, attended by the witness, descended from the bed-room into the breakfast-room, and had breakfast. After breakfast was over the deceased expressed a wish to withdraw awhile to a closet, which is situated within the Asylum, and within view of the apartment where the inmates are served with their breakfasts. This was about a quarter to seven o'clock, and the deceased proceeded there and immediately closed the door after him, the witness during the whole time keeping his eye on the place while he remained there. Five or six minutes having elapsed from the period the deceased first went into the closet, the witness went up to the door, and called out " Mr. Stanynought" twice. No answer having been returned on his name being called, he (witness) immediately went and pushed the door ; but, finding .some obstacle, he forced it open, with little difficulty, however, and found the obstruction to have been caused by the body of deceased, who had contrived in the short space of time he was there to suspend himself by the neck with a silk belcher handkerchief from a holdfast near the ceiling, and the body, hanging near the door, created the obstruction in pushing it open when he first tried it. The witness lost not a moment in cutting down the deceased, whose feet were touching the ground, and medical assistance having been procured on the instant, every effort to restore life was unavailing. The witness here described, at the request of the Coroner and Jury, the precise mode in which the deceased effected the purpose lie no doubt had had in contemplation ever since the horrible circumstances attending the death of his own child. The staple, or holdfast, from which the deceased suspended himself was fixed near the ceiling of the water-closet, for the purpose of supporting the outside casing of the water-pipe, which passed round the tnp of the closet. The staple or holdfast was driven close up to the rounding of the casing, leaving no space to pass anything between it and the wood work. The deceased, however, managed by some contrivance, which remains unknown, to force down a small portion of the staple, to which he fastened one end of his handkerchief, and, with the other end, he made a notmv, through which he passed his neck, and having accomplished this, it is supposed he then threw himself from the seat, on which he must have stood for the purpose. The Jury expressed themselves satisfied that every precaution that suggested itself to the minds of the proprietor of the asylum and his keepers had been taken to prevent the accomplishment of the act of suicide committed by the deceased. The Jury therefore unanimously pronounced a verdict that the deceased strangled himself, being at tha time in an insane state of mind.