From the Paddington Times Friday January 26 1900
A Determined Suicide
Dr Danford Thomas yesterday, at noon, at
Paddington, held an inquest upon the body of
Catherine Floyd, aged 52, a widow, of 66 Cirencester
Street, which was found in the Grand Junction
Canal on Monday. Mrs Tomlin who lived in
the same house, said her mother had been queer in
her mind before she went away. Four months
ago she was medically attended for delusions.
She went away on Wednesday January 3. On
that day she tried to drown herself but had never
previously attempted to take her life. When she
returned after being taken out of the water she sat
for a little and then said “I am going down
stairs, I shan’t be a minute”. Deceased,
however ran out of the house and witness rushed
after her, but did not see her, and therefore gave
information to the Police. A young woman, Jane
Arnold, who lived near, went to see the last
witness, and met the deceased, who seemed very
strange in her manner. Afterwards she and
deceased went along the terrace, and witness held
on to her cloak as deceased seemed so queer.
When they reached the canal deceased slipped out
of her cloak and rushed into the water. Witness
pulled her out. She said she would go, and would
go before the night. The coroner reminded the witness
she should have at once communicated with
the police. Witness said deceased then seized a
lot of pins and tried to swallow them, and sub-
sequently attempted to strangle herself in the
passage. PC 84X Gatfield said a bargeman told
him he had seen a body. Witness dragged and
recovered it. He knew a woman had been missing.
The body had been in the water some time
and was a great deal decomposed. Dr Scott of
Westbourne Terrace, having said death was due to
drowning, the jury returned a verdict of “suicide
whilst of unsound mind.”
A shorter version of this appeared in the Marylebone Mercury Saturday January 27 1900 with the headline
Suicide of a Paddington Woman
A Plucky rescue by a Marylebone Girl
An inquest was held at the Edgware Road
Coroners Court on Thursday, on the body of
Catherine Floyd, widow of a Ticket Collector,
lately living at 56 Cirencester Street. Deceased
was found floating in the waters of the canal.
Evidence was given by a married daughter
showing the deceased had been the victim of
delusions, and imagined that she was being
followed about by strange people. On the 3rd
Inst. she threw herself into the canal but was
rescued by a young woman named Jane
Harwood of 2 Homer Row Marylebone. She
returned home, but soon afterwards ran out of
the house and was never seen alive again. PC
84X deposed to dragging the canal on Monday
last. He found the body and got it to the bank.
It had been in the water for a considerable time
and was much decomposed. Dr Scott of
Westbourne Terrace, who examined the body,
pronounced death was due to drowning, and a
verdict of “suicide while of unsound mind”
was returned by the Jury.
Author
Topic: London Inquest (Read 2278 times)