The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1920-04-03 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

SAD LN1173.  • - --In our issue of Saturday last the °imamstances were reported of the sad and tragic death of a girl of 17, Nellie Catherine Pleavin, at No. 169, Grange-road, a hardware shop, where she was engaged a; manageress. She had been found on the previous Thursday morning lying dead in the shop, with the end of a gas tube near her face, and the gas turned fully on, the shop being; indeed, full of gas. Her home was at 49, Holt-road, Tranmere,where she lived with her father (James Pilavin) and step-mother, the former being mate on one of the Corporation ferry boats. She did not go home after business on Wednesday evening. March 24th, and, it being a very wet night, her step-mother thought elle had gone to etay for the night with some relatives in Bentinck-street. A letter, written by the girl to "Dear mother and dad," was found, in which, as shown in our previous report, she wrote:— "My brain seems all on fire, just as though I am going mad, and my head is all of a whirl. So I cannot suffer any ' mons pain." The Borough Coroner, Mr. Cecil Holden, resumed the inquest on Wednesday last, when a jury was empanelled. Inspector Tingey witched the proceedings for the police. James Pleavin, recalled, said he had never heard his daughter threaten to commit suicide, and never heard her sai that "she heard her mother calling (the mother died in 1919). On the Saturday before her death she told him she had terrible pins in her head, such as she had never had before, but on the Sunday morning she said she was much better. Dr. H. B. Preece, police surgeon, who was summoned when the girl's body was found, said she had been dead many hours. Later he made a post-mortem examination, and found the surface of the skin a bright pink colour, as was usually the mies in gas poisoning, and Jill the organs of the body showed signs of death from that cause. Ile discovered nothing in the girl'e condition I to account for her act or that reflected on her character. A TEMBAT TO "OAS InaIIEMLF." Olive Peers, a bright girl of 14, of 17, Sidney-road, who is an assistant in the shop, said on Monday, March 22nd, deceased seemed very worried. About a week before she said "I think I'll ges myself." and witness laughed at her, taking it as a joke. On the Isuesday and Wednesday witness was not at the shop owing to a cold. About 8.90 on Thursday morning deoeased's sister came to witness's house and asked her if she had seen Nellie, as she had not been home the night before. On getting to the shop witness found the door closed, and on looking through the letter-box opening she could smell gas. Then she looked through the window and could see deceased's feet (she knew the shoes) bottle the partition. She went to 49, olt-road and told hire. Pleavin, A was produced marked "Camphorated chloroform," but Peers said deceased had used it for toothache, and the Coroner said it was harmless. _ _ .  fri's-pect7r—fing- ey---cceiOseti—to bursting Open the shop door owing to it being locked, and to ending a strong smell of gas in the shop. He found the deceased lying face downwards with her arms doubled up under her, and her head immediate:y under a gas bracket, attached to which was a gas tube which came close to her month. The gas was turned full on and was still escaping through the tube. The girl's body was quite stiff, and marks o nher face showed that she must have ' been lying there a considerable time. He found a letter (produced—the letter previously referred to), and also the remains of some letters signed "George," and written from an address in Old Chesterroad. . . .  The Coroner read the letter to the jury. It was the one to the father and stepmother.