The Kenilworth Advertiser. — 1883-05-05 (Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England)

SHOCKING SUICIDE ON THE  RAILWAY.  An inquest was held on Wednesdey by Dr. la., serener, at the "Bars and Squirrel," Cow-lane, ventry, on the body of a man killed on the railnear the Tinley foot-bridge, in the parish of die. Nothing was found on the body by which could be identified except an old envelope "Mr. Wm. Jordan, the College-pleae‘ •Uege-elreet, Birmingham." A letter was serl:g Coroner's officer to that address, with the at the body was identified on Wednesday after. •n by a nephew of the deceased.—The following *dence was called :—Thomiu; Peale, 70, Spring. H, Birmingham, baker, said he identified the body that of his uncle, John Thomas Jordan, of liege-place, Birmingham, and formerly et the eeruason's Tavern, Geoffrey Wool's Cross,. • ,ventry. Deceased was married, and his wife weir 't believed to be looking for him in Coventry at the ' time. lie was as near as witness could recollect, 60 years of age, and by vocation a farm bailiff, having been engaged in that capacity by Mr. James Hart, of Oopsewood ; but recently he had been out of employment. This seemed to put him in low spirits, but he never said anything that led witness to apprehend that he would destroy himself. He last saw deceased on Friday week, when he said he was coming to Coventry to look for work. Witness saw deceased's wife last week, and she said that deceased had lately seemed " very funny" because he could not get work. Since be left Birmingham deceased had been all over the country in *mob of work.—Peter Drinkwater, engine driver on the London and North. Western Railway, living et Wigan, said that on Monday morning, about An minutes to twelve, when about a mile south 06. Coventry Station, in charge of a train of Wawa empties, he saw deceased coming down the embankmeat on to the fine. When witness first saw him he thought he was a platelayer, and turned to speak to his mate. When he went back to his side of the engine again he saw deceased go down on his hands and knees and lay himself right across the rails on his face in front of the engine, being then &boat six yards distant. He was quite certain that deceased deliberately placed himself there, and that he had not fallen down the slope. Witness at ones shut off steam and brought the train to a standstill in about a hundred yards. On alighting he found that the We-guard of the engine had carried deceased along the line the whose distance. Deceased was then alive, but insensible, and ha expired in about five minutes. The life-guard had apparently struck hint on the hip.—lnspector Golby, the coroner's officer, took 'barge of the body, and found upon him the addresen given above, a handkerchief, and a pair of spectacle.. there was no money or purse.—Dr. Dewes said he was called to deceased just before one o'clock on Tuesday, and found him quite dead. There was a large pool of blood under the body, evidently emanating from the right hip and its neighbourhood. Although none of the limbs were broken, the pelvis must have been fractured. Ihere were symptoms also of rupture and laceration of some large vessels in the cavity of the abdomen, and death would be caused partly by the shock and partly by the loss of blood, although either cause was suffleient.—The Coroner briefly summed up the evidence, and the jury returned a verdict of suicide whilst in a temporary state of insanity.