The Atherstone, Nuneaton, and Warwickshire Times. — 1880-10-02 (Atherstone, Warwickshire, England)

SHOCKING SUICIDE IN COVENTRY.  On Monday night Mr. Coroner Dewes held an inquest at the Plough Inn, Spon-street, on the body of William Bowran, watchmaker, of the Plough Yard, who had committed suicide by hanging himself. Joshua Bowran, watchmaker, of Coventry, said that the deceased was his son. He was 32 years of age on the 24th of last month, and was married and had one child. Witness, continuing, saia I have seen the deceased two or three times a week lately. He has shown indications of a suicidal tendency. Some eighteen months ago his wife and he disagreed, and it resulted in a summons being issued, and he absconded. A warrant was then taken out against him. I believe he assaulted his wife. The next thing I heard of him was that he was with a nephew of miue, who keeps a public-house at Dudley. I next heard from Sergeant Colby, of the City : force, that he had made a most determined attempt to commit suicide by jumping into the canal about two miles the other side of Dudley, between there and Brierley-hill. He was a good swimmer, and this attempt to drown himself failed, and he then attempted to dash his brains crit with a piece of slag. .1 afterwards saw the stone, which was about ,ixteen pounds in weight. I visited him at Stourbridge Workhouse, where he was taken, and remained with him fcr four and a half days. I could lay three fingers in the wounds where he had knocked pieces of flesh out of his head in his attempt to dash out his brains. He was deranged at that time, and was in a dreadful state mentally and bodily. As soon as he was fit to be moved he was taken before the Brierley - hill Magistrates, and delivered up to me, and I brought him home. I saw Mr. Norris, and he withheld his hand until I could bring the deceased well before the Coventry Magistrates, and when he was brought before them they handed him over to lIV3 to take care of him. Dr. Lynes then told me that he would require to be very carefully watched, for he did not believe that he would ever be right again. Since then he has appeared to me to be deranged occasionally. Not many weeks ago lie called upon me and said that people were writing articles in the newspapers about him, and made other statements which were not facts. He behaved in a similar manner at home, and would may that somebody had been drawing- on the wall something to irritate him, and he would take a wet cloth to wipe it off. I saw him last Friday morning. He appear«l to me to be then a great deal better. He talked rationally complained bitterly cf having no work, and raid he did not know what lie must do. %lien I heard that he had committed suicide I was not surprised at all, as I do not believe that he was responsible for his actions.  Mary Ann Bow-ran, widow of the deceased, said she had been living with him, but at times they did not live handy, when the deceased drank. Lately he had behaved better towards her, and had not drank for more than two months. She .knew that he attempted to destroy himself last summer. On Saturday and Sunday he was at home all day. There had been something peculiar in•his manner during the last two months, but she did not notice that he was any worse on Slturday or Sunday. She did not think he went oat of the house all day on Sunday, nor until one o'clock on Monday morning, when he was taken with diarrhea. Aft r that he went out to the ater-closet two or three times, the last time being just before four o'clock. He said he would not return to bed, but would lie eu te sofa, as he did not want to get up again. Shortly afterwards &re heard a crash through a window. The house is three storeys high, and has attics back and front. The cat had gone through the window two or three times before, and witness thought this noise was made by the cat. Witness called to her husband, but received no answe• : she went downstairs to look for him, and not seeing him about she went to the top of the stairs. She saw a rope fastened round the bannisters, and she ran downstairs and called assistance imuiediately. She did not see the deceased hanging. She did not go to the window, which overlooked a large piece of garden ground, over which the deceased hung. The neighbours called for a knife, and she then went round, and found that the deceased had been cut down. He was dead. The rope was a new clothes line, and was very stout. It was usually kept in the pantry. Wm. Goddard, watch case engraver, Sponstreet, said he lived near to the deceased's house. Early that morning he heard Mrs. Bowran calling for assistance, and in consequence of what he heard he went to the back of the house. He looked for deceased on the ground, but could not find him, and hearing cries of " bring a knife," above him,he looked up, and saw the deceased hanging out of the back attic window. Witness ran to fetch a knife, and climbed upon some railings, but could not reads decease,. Another young man took hold of deceased's feet and pushed him towards witness, who succeeded in cutting the rope, and fell with the body to the ground, a distance a about eight feet. The deceased was dead. Inspector Coombs, who had charge of the body,  the produced a new clothes line, with which deceased hung himself. William C. Brown, MB., CM., assistant to Dr. Brown, said he was called to see the deceased at about a quarter to five o'clock in the morning. He found him lying on the ground, with his head resting upon a woman's lap. He was (lead. The cause of death was the dislocation of the vertebra, which would result .from a king drop. One of the bones was broken, and the spinal cord was crushed. Witness did not see him hanging, but he believed the drop would be between 12 feet and 15 feet. Death was instantaneous. The Coroner made a few remarks upon the painful nature of the case, and the jury immediately returned a verdict that the deceased committed suicide by banging himself while in. an unsound state of mind.