PETERSFIELD.
Agent—Mr. G. DUPLOCK.
SUICIDE OF A WOMAN.—An inquest held on Thursday last, at the Star Inn, before E. Hoskins, Esq., Coroner, touching the death of Mrs. Ann Bennett, who was found dead in her bed on Tuesday morning, with her throat cut. The following gentlemen formed the jury :—
Messrs. J. Lucas (foreman), G. Duplock, T. Summers, G. Etherington, R. Pocock, J. Powell, W. Carter, jun., J. White, H. Monk, G. Todman, T. Sturt, J. Harrison, and S. Minchin. The Coroner having briefly opened the case the jury proceeded to view the body, which was lying in the deceased’s late residence in Dragon-street, after which the following evidence was taken :—William Albert Huntly deposed—I am assistant to Messrs. Whicher and Cross, of this town. On Tuesday morning last, about ten o’clock, I was requested by Mr. Whicher to go to the house of deceased; I there found her niece and Mrs. Etherington, who told me they could not get into the deceased's bed-room. I found the door fastened on the inside; it was broken open by a blacksmith who lives next door, and who had been sent for. On entering I found the deceased lying on the bed dead and quite cold, with an incised wound on the throat, extending to the angle of the jaw and dividing both jugular veins and also the windpipe. There was a great quantity of blood on the bed, but none in any other part of the room. I saw a razor lying at her side, with blood on it; one of her legs was drawn up into a bent position, and the bed clothes were partly over her.— Fanny Floate deposed : I am niece of deceased, whose name was Ann Bennett, she was a widow and was 72 years old; she lived on the rent of' a farm occupied by her nephew, I don’t know what other property she had. She has seemed rather low spirited for the last few months, but I know of nothing to account for this; she has got about till within the last few days. About nine weeks ago she complained of a beating in her side, and sent for the doctor—Mr. Whicher has attended her from that time. He saw her the night before her death, about five or six o’clock; I last saw her about ten minutes before ten on Monday night, when I lighted a candle in her bed-room before I bade her good night, and she bade me good night in her usual manner. I then went directly to bed, my room adjoins hers; I did not hear anything in the course of the night, if she had called me I should have heard her. She was not in the habit of locking her door at night. I usually went to my aunt’s about half-past nine in the morning, I did so on Tuesday morning, and found the door fastened. I have never found it so before; I thought she might be asleep, and went and made my own bed, and then returned and found the door still fastened. I went up to Mrs. Etherington’s, and she returned with me, and we tried the door and called but received no answer. I then went for Mr. Gardener and also for Mr. Whicher. I did not know that my aunt had a razor in the house. I fastened the house up on Monday night, and found it in just the same state on Tuesday morning.—Mary Ann Etherington gave confirmatory evidence.—The foregoing evidence left no doubt as to deceased having died by her own hand, but there was nothing to show what was the state of her mind at the time, the Coroner, therefore, suggested that Mr. Whicher should be sent for, he having attended her professionally and up to the night before her death. That gentleman on being sworn deposed to having known the deceased for the last seven years, he believed she was in possession of a comfortable independence. He could not say she was subject to aberration of mind, as he had never found her labouring under any delusion. He knew a son of deceased who was decidedly subject to delusions. Had attended deceased for the last three months, during which time there has been a marked depression of spirits about her.—a sort of melancholia,—but without any of those delusions which characterise insanity. She seemed to have an indefinable dread of coming evil, but could give no reason for it. I was not surprised when I heard of the occurrence, as I knew that from early life she had severe attacks of hypochondriasis, and when she came to Petersfield, she was labouring under one of these attacks.— The jury unanimously returned a verdict to the effect that deceased died by her own hand being at the time in an unsound state of mind.