*as completed as we can at this stage* Morbid Curiosity

[Kiwi Girl]

See?  Now only the non sqeamish will pop in to see what's up.

I was going through the fabulous PapersPast, hunting for my Nepia whanau and came across this:

DEATH BY HANGING.

An inquest was held at Nuhaka touching the death of a man, name unknown, whose body was found hanging to a tree in a lonely spot near Waikokopu by Turo Nepia. Evidence was given by Turo Nepia to the effect that on the morning in question he was out heading a horse, when he came suddenly upon the corpse of a man fully dressed hanging to a branch of a tree a short distance above the ground, the feot toughing the soil. He at once left  the horse he was after and bolted for home. He then reported to the police. Constable Torr stated that: the body was that of a middlle-aged European about 5ft 10" in height, dark brown hair and moustache. The body was dressed in a grey woollen shirt, dark vest, and saddletweed trousers, with heavy water-tight boots. Evidently the deceased had put a strap  around his neck, passing it through the buckle, and raising himself on a bank at the foot of the tree tied the strap round ani overhanging branch, and. then jumping off the bank strangled himself. The body seemed to have hung there at least four months, being almost mummified. He searched the body for anything that would help to identify the deceased, but found nothing. About ten yards away he found a swag, neatly rolled up, containing some clothing, but no letters. Alongside the swag was a tailor-made coat and cap, and on the tag of the coat was the maker's name: "P. Hamill, Masterton." The jury returned a verdict of death by hanging, there being no evidence to show how it occurred.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 12002, 20 November 1909, Page 5


http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=PBH19091120.2.33&cl=CL2.1909.11.20&e=-------100--1-byDA---0Hanging+unidentified+man--

Any ideas as to seeing if this poor man was ever identified?  I think he was found by my Great Grand Uncle Toro Nepia.  But that's just speculation and hunch as he lived in that area around that time...

[muddy48]

not much to go on ..but

here are the newspapers and search fields

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=CL2.1909.11.20&sp=&e=-------10--1----0--

[muddy48]

accused then,, bmt saw him at Nuhaka >the following week, at Toro Nepia's place. On February b" accused returned .to Nuhaka and took Teite away, ...

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=PBH19130221.2.25


http://histfam.familysearch.org/getperson.php?personID=I58420&tree=Cole

http://www.familytreecircles.com/nepia-15221.html

[Kiwi Girl]

accused then,, bmt saw him at Nuhaka >the following week, at Toro Nepia's place. On February b" accused returned .to Nuhaka and took Teite away, ...

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=PBH19130221.2.25

http://histfam.familysearch.org/getperson.php?personID=I58420&tree=Cole

http://www.familytreecircles.com/nepia-15221.html

Thanks for that.   

The case in the top one was different from my 'Hanging Man' one.  That was a daughter who ran away from home, she was my Great GrandAunt. Sister to the Toro I think found the body. 

The second link show's the Toro who found the body's father, also called Toro and his Grandparents.

And the third link has a whole swathe of my rellies in it. 

So the unidentified man is not mentioned anywhere - kind of sad.

Cheers,

KG

[muddy48]

I thought the newspaper web site readings were very interesting, as I looked a a number of articles close to the 20th november, thinking that other newspapers would run the story.  What I did find was an article of a Jockey who committed suicide, which had something to do with the melbourne cup 1909. plus a few other grafic items ..

These days the suicides have a lower profil, rarely do you see them in the papaer unless it's a person of high profile.

Still, there was some very interesting reading and a great source of research in the old articles.. even the advertisments for clothing, match the articles that the man was wearing. Reading a few articles , it appears to have been a period of high unemployment, and men were leaving NZ for Australia in search of jobs. It may been the same for man who saw no way out, no job, no home, no money, no food.

[Kiwi Girl]

Yes, could have been despair over having no job and no prospects.  Sad that he wasn't identified 

Maybe someone overseas wondered what happend to their son/ brother, but with people being quite mobile then, maybe they didn't know where to look for him.

 

[Fresh Fields]

Thanks Kiwi Girl,

I'll have to check it out, next family reunion, as the Constable could be a distant rellie. One accidental shooting, I found on Papers Past, helps three generations later, to explain family respect for guns.
 
- Alan.

[Kiwi Girl]

Hmmmmm, maybe I'd have to go back further to see if it was reported when it happend as this article is the Inquest...  I went ahead a bit, but saw nothing further mentioned as to identifying the poor chap.

[Fresh Fields]

Hanging body reported to the police.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 116, 12 November 1909, Page 7

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19091112.2.61&srpos=24&e=--1905---1910--100--1-byDA---2Constable+Torr--

PSS
I see Constable TORR was a busy man with PP 25 hits. One tragically, was for his own 5 year old daughter, Warena, who drowned.

- Alan.