SAD TRAGEDY.
MAN AND WIFE FOUND DEAD.
RESULT OF GUN-SHOTS.
(By Telegraph: — Press Association.) Dunedin, August 4. A very sad tragedy occurred at Tuapeka West last evening, between 5 and half-past 5o'clock. It happened in a house belonging to Thomas Colehan, situated on what is known as the Balclutha Borough Endowment, towards the lower end of Tuapeka West Settlement, and a short distance from the Kononi Post Office. About half-past 5 one of Colehan's employees named Cowie came to the house for tea, and not noticing any signs of life had a look round, and discovered Colehan and his wife lying dead in the sitting-room. Mrs. Colehan was lying on her back on the floor with her head on the sofa, and a wound in her left temple, while Colehan was lying alongside with his head resting on his wife's breast, with a pea-rifle between his legs, his right hand on, tho trigger, and a wound on his right temple.
So far as can be ascertained the last to see the couple alive was a neighbour named Mrs. Johnston, who was in the house with them from 3 till 5 o'clock, She says she had no suspicion of anything being wrong, as both Colehan and his wife were, so far as she knew, on the best of terms.
Colehan was about 31 or 32 years of age, and his wife, who was formerly Miss Ritchie, was about 25 years. They were married about a year ago. Colehan came from Waitati before settling at Tuapeka West, his mother having been for some years proprietress of the wellknown Saratoga Hotel.
It is alleged that Colehan, when the worse of liquor, was given to fits of temper, and it is feared that when in one of these fits he committed the deed. -Dominion, 5/8/1911.
THE TUAPEKA WEST TRAGEDY.
THE INQUEST.
The inquest held at Tuapeka West on Saturday to inquire into the circumstances attending the death of Thomas Patrick Colehan and his wife Agnes Colehan was conducted by Mr T. Pilling, J.P., acting coroner, and a jury of six, of whom Mr H. Cameron, J.P., was foreman. Evidence was first taken in regard to the
— Death of Mrs Colehan, —
and evidence of identification was called by Sergeant Higgins, who had charge of the inquiry.
Dr Sutherland, on examining the body of Mrs Colehan, found a wound on the left side of the head in front of the upper part of the ear. The wound was such as would be caused by a .22 bore rifle, which must have been 2yds or 3yds away from deceased when fired, as there were no powder marks around the wound. The wound penetrated through the skull into the brain cavity, the bullet traversing in a horizontal direction along the base of the skull. Death must have ensued in a very short time — if not instantaneously. There were no other visible marks of injury to the body. There was no probability, from the peculiar nature of the wound and the absence of powder-marking in the locality of the wound, that the wound had been self-inflicted.
Margaret Johnston (housekeeper to Mr John Stanton, one of the nearest neighbors) paid Mrs Colehan a visit about 3.30 o'clock in the afternoon of the tragedy, leaving about 5 o'clock. She stayed in the kitchen while in the house with Mrs Colehan. Colehan was in the front roum, reading a newspaper, when witness entered the house, and he remained there all the time. She saw nothing unusual or peculiar about either Colehan or his wife. Mrs Colehan was cheerful and in good spirits, and she and her husband appeared to be on the very best terms. Witness saw no signs of drink about Colehan while she was in the house. She knew that Colehan had a rifle, but did not see him handling it during her stay in the house.
To a juror: There was no disagreement between Colehan and his wife while witness was in the house. Mrs Golehan made afternoon tea and asked her husband if he would have a cup, but he declined.
John Thomas Cowie, a farm hand in Colehan's employ, deposed that on the morning of the day on which the tragedy occurred he was at work on a fence not far from the house, and was assisted by Colehan. They went for dinner about noon. Witness had his dinner in the kitchen with Mrs Colehan. Colehan stayed in the front room, and came into the kitchen for his dinner just as witness was leaving the table. It was about quarter to one when witness left the house, and he did not return till about quarter to six for his tea. When he came to the kitchen to get a towel for a wash he found the door was partly open. Looking round he caught sight of Colehan's and Mrs Colehan's body on the floor. He called to his fellow farm servant (Michael Fahey) to strike a light. There was no life in either body. Mrs Colehan was lying on her back, with her head partly on the sofa, and there was a wound, from which blood was oozing, on the left temple. Colehan's body was lying on its back alongside that of his wife, with his head on her breast, and between his legs there was a pea rifle, with the muzzle upward towards the seat, and the right hand over the breech part of the rifle, with the thumb pressing on the trigger. Deceased's left hand was resting on his chest. There was a wound, from which blood flowed, on the right temple. When at work at the fence in the morning he noticed nothing unusual about Colehan, who was cheerful and in good health, and there was on sign of liquor about him. Colehan kept liquor in the house, and took a drop occasionally. He was a very quiet man, and appeared to get on well with his wife. Replying to the acting coroner, witness said that when Colehan came into the kitchen for his dinner he said nothing to his wife, nor did witness think anything arose between them to cause strained relationship.
Constable Coppell, who reached the scene of the tragedy on the Thursday night about 10 o'clock, deposed that there was a newspaper on the kitchen table, on which there were a number of blood spots, from which he judged that Mrs Colehan was leaning over the table reading the paper when she was shot from the doorway of the front room leading into the kitchen. Witness examined the breech of the rifle taken from between the. legs of the deceased Thomas Colehan, and found that it contained an empty cartridge shell, and another empty cartridge shell was picked up in the front room. In deceased's waistcoat pocket witness found two loaded cartridges, and on the mantle-piece in the front room was a box containing several .22 cartridges. Witness searched the house carefully, but could find no notes or writing of any kind in explanation of the committal of the tragedy. He found jug and glass on the table in the sitting room; the jug contained about a teaspoonful of whisky. There was also a quantity of whisky in a jar in the bedroom off the sitting room. There was nothing to indicate a struggle on the part of either of the deceased. From the position of the bodies and the surrounding circumstances it looked to witness as if Colehan had first shot his wife and then lain beside her and ended his own life. At the close of the evidence bearing upon Mrs Colehan's death, the jury agreed to defer their finding until the conclusion of the evidence bearing upon the
—Death of Thomas Colehan.—
It was further agreed, as there had been proof of the identification of the body, only to hear one witness— viz., Dr Sutherland — accepting as material, where applicable, the depositions which had been tendered in Mrs Colehan's inquiry. Dr Sutherland deposed that in his examination of Thomas Colohan's body he found a small wound in front of the upper part of the ear on the right side. The size of the wound corresponded with that which would be produced by a rifle bullet of .22 calibre. Death must have been instantaneous. If the rifle (as stated by the witness Cowie) was found enclosed in Colehan's right hand, with the thumb on the trigger, then he (Dr Sutherland) was quite satisfied, from the position and appearance of the wound, that the wound was self-inflicted with a rifle bullet. He had heard the opinion expressed by Constable Coppell that it was very probable Mrs Colehan was leaning over the table reading a paper at the time she was shot, and it was manifest to witness that the entrance mark of the bullet on the skull and the line it traversed would justify the assumption that the shot was fired from the doorway of the front room.
After the acting coroner had briefly reviewed the evidence the jury deliberated for a few minutes, and then returned a verdict in the case of Agnes Colehan (as indicated in our Saturday's issue) that she met her death from a rifle shot inflicted by her husband when apparently in a state of unsound mind; and in the case of Thomas Colehan that he met his death by a rifle shot self-inflicted when he was apparently in a state of unsound mind. -Evening Star, 7/8/1911.
No comments:
Post a Comment