The Kenilworth Advertiser. — 1881-05-07 (Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England)

SHOCKING SUICIDE OF AN  ENGINEER.  An inquest was held on Saturday afternoon at the Royal Oak Inn, Coventry, before Mr. Coroner Dawes, as to the death of John Street, engineer.— Elizabeth Street said that the deceased was her husband, and was 38 years of age. He was in the employ of the Rivers' Purification Association at Whitley. His manner had been very strange for the last two or three weeks, and be became so much worse on Monday night that witness did not think he was responsible for his actions. About eleven o'clock on Friday night witness and the deceased went to bed. The deceased was very restless and could not sleep, and witness watched him until three o'clock on Saturday morning, when she got out of bed and gave him a dose of medicine. She then fell asleep, and on awaking about an hour and a half afterwards she missed the deceased from bed. She got up and searched for him, and after some time found him lying in the coalliole. She spoke to him, but received no answer, and on attempting to pick him up she found that his throat was cut, and that he was dead. She procured assistance at once, and Dr. Wimberley was sent for.—Mr. E. F. H. Coddington, manager at the Rivers' Purification Association Works, said the deceased was his foreman. The deceased had been in the service of the Association ever since the works were started in Coventry, and was before then employed at Nuneaton, having been with the Company altogether between eight or nine years. Ordinarily the deceased was a first-rate workman, and witness noticed nothing peculiar in his manner until Friday morning. when he was very incoherent in his talk, and said that people were making remarks about him, and he felt sure they meant to do him an injury. This witness ascertained to be a delusion. The deceased was queer in other ways. He was usually exceedingly quick at apprehending from plans the nature of work he was required to do, but on Friday morning he failed to understand a rough plan which was explained to him several times, and immediately forgot what he had been told. He complained of feeling queer.—Dr. Wimberley said the deceased came to. see him about ten o'clock on Friday night, accompanied by his wife and a friend. He was very queer mentally, and had been so witness understood, since Monday night, when he went to a club supper. Witness prescribed some soothing medicine to induce him to sleep, and told his wife she had better have someone to stop with her. On the following morning witness was sent for to the deceased, who was dead, death having been caused by a wound in the throat. Witness's opinion was that he was not responsible for his actions.—Edwin Wall. keeper of the Sir Colin Campbell public-house, said he went to the assistance of Mrs. Street on Saturday morning. He found the de. ceased as described by her, with a razor lying near his right hand. On Thursday night witness had a long conversation with the deceased, who talked about the strangest things, and it was at witness's suggestion that the deceased went to see Dr. Wimberley on Friday night.—The jury at once returned a verdict that deceased committed suicide whilst temporarily insane.