The Blandford and Wimbourne Telegram. — 1883-06-08 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

SHOCKING DEATH OF A LUNATIC.  An old man, named Job Crocker, aged 61, of Warmwell, an inmate of the County Lunatic Asylum, at Charminster, met with a shocking death on Monday evening. It appears the deceased had been an iumate of the asylum for the last four years, and when admitted was suffering from severe mental depression. He had greatly improved in health under the medical treatment of the institution, and during the last three or four months had been employed with others out-ofdoors. On Monday, after dinner, which he had between twelve and one o'clock, he visited the reading-room of the asylum, and for an hour occupied his time in reading a new-paper. He went to work at two o'clock, and at half-past three was seen by Dr. Byrnes' servant, who asked him how he was, and he replied he was very well, and remarked the weather was very nice. At a quarter to six, when the other men returned from their work, deceased was missing, and, notwithstanding enquiries were made, no information as to his whereabouts could be obtained. On Tuesday morning, shortly before six o'clock, his body Was dir,covered close to the line of the Great Western Railway, about a hundred yards from the bridge at Stratton, in a frightfully mutilated condition, having ev,dently been run over by a train and literally cut to pieces. Beth his legs were broken, and a large piece of the flesh of one of them was torn away, one of his arms Was fractured, and th -re were severe bruises about his head. He was found by a man named Sartin, a packer employed on the , railway, as he was going to his work from Bradford Peverell. The body was lying free of the metals. It appears a man named Swaffield passed the spot earlier in the morning and saw the body, but merely supposed it was that of a man asleep. He rattled the railings with his stick as he passed in order to awake him, and thought no more of the matter until returning home at seven o', lock he heard the man had been found to be dead. The cause of death was very clear from the state and position of the body, and it was also proved the train that passed over him was the goods train arriving at Dorchester at 9.59 the previous evening, for, upon examination, blood, hair, and a portion of the scalp were found upon the sand pipe and leading tyre of one of the wheels of the engine. There was no evid-eice to show for what reason deoeased got on to the line, but it is conjectured he might have been making his way to Yetminster, whither his family had removed since he bec knee an inmate of the asylum. Dr. Byrnes, the medical superintendent of the institution, stated deceased was a most trustworthy man, and hr,cl never shown the slightest suicidal tendency, and he expressed the opinion death was the result of an ac ident and not of , an intentional act on the part of the deceased. The inquest was held on Tuesday at the Bull Inn, before , Giles Symonds. Esq. (coroner), and a verdict "That deceased was found dead on the railway, having been , killed by a passing train,and that there was no evidence as to how he got there," was unanimously returned. 

Article type: Incident