William O'Connell, (1824-30/8/1900). "seemed to lose his senses"

Dunedin, This day. William O'Connell, a miner near Cromwell, in town for medical advice, and staying at Haydon's Hotel, Princes street South, fell out of the window on to the pavement below, a distance of thirty feet, during the night. His body was found in a pool of blood at five o'clock this morning. Life was extinct. Deceased was aged 66. He was married and had a family. An inquest will be held this afternoon.   -Daily Telegraph, 30/8/1900

INQUEST.

The following concludes our report of the inquest on the body of William O’Connell, before Coroner Graham:-

Dr Roberts gave evidence as to seeing the body of deceased in the bar of the Central Hotel early yesterday morning. He described the condition of the body and the nature of the wounds which he found on it. The man was quite dead when he arrived. In the yard he saw a wood and iron sink, which was broken, and there was a pool of blood beside it. Deceased’s bed had been occupied. The window was shut, and there was a table in front of it, but in an unoccupied room (two rooms away) he found the window open. This window led on to a small slate roof, and was directly over the sink. The inference he drew was that the man was wandering about in a dazed condition, and that, without knowing what he was doing, he went out of the window and walked right over. He saw no sign that the man had been under the influence of liquor. He considered that the cause of death was hemorrhage and the shock of the fall.   

By the jury: There were no signs of violence other than those that would have been caused by the fall. 

Mary O’Connell, daughter-in-law of the deceased, said that the latter came to Dunedin on Tuesday to see Dr Lindo Ferguson. Deceased had been subject to attacks of giddiness, and seemed to lose his senses. On Wednesday night he seemed in his usual health, though he complained of his head at tea time. Witness visited him in his bedroom at half-past twelve, and found him sleeping quietly, with no signs of disturbance. He had never shown any suicidal tendencies. Deceased was seventy-six years old. 

George Haydon, manager of the Central Hotel said that he had known deceased for the last five years. He came down on Tuesday by the South express. He last saw him alive about 11 p.m. on Wednesday. He seemed perfectly healthy, and conversed for about five or ten minutes. Witness corroborated the evidence of the first witness (Laurenson) and of Dr Roberts as to the body in the yard, and the subsequent inspection of deceased’s bed. Deceased was perfectly sober when he went to bed. He was a very temperate man and witness had ever seen him touch sprits.

The jury returned a verdict that deceased met his death through falling through a window while he was in a dazed condition caused by an affection of the head.  -Evening Star, 31/8/1900.

Cromwell Old Cemetery.