Extract from S.C.M.Post dated 23.1.36. Conta. 47
Seemed Perfectly Happy
Deceased seemed perfectly happy. During the trip from Tientsin deceas- ed did not have fits of depression. She told witness that she had suffered from sleeplessness at Tientsin but not on the trip. Deceased never spoke of veronal to witness.
Harold A. Bird, deposed that he was the district manager of the Army, in Navy and Air Force Institutes
had Witness
known Hongkong. deceased as Miss Mary MacGregor. having met her about December 1933 Witness in Tientsin for the first time. was married then.
or
Never Marry Anyone Else
Witness in reply stated that he was married in 1926 but the marriage was not consummated. In October 1935 he was remarried and returned to Hong- kong.
The Coroner read out a portion of a letter saying, "I guess I will never
and marry anyone else,"
asked witness if deceased had expected to marry him.
"At one time," replied witness, "I knew she was in love with me but I explained to her that I was not in the position to offer marriage to her and that I did not care to ask her. I never gave her any reason to believe that I was in love with her."
They (witness and deceased) were on very friendly terms and she
Harold addressed witness as Arthur. and sometimes by a nick- name "Dick" or "Dickie". Deceased
a wife. had
witness's met never
Witness never saw deceased at all on January 7 and could not offer any explanation for the torn letter in the waste paper basket. Deceased was in of mind very depressed state
Witness last saw deceased on Monday, partly because of ill-health, partly because she hoped that he might love her, and partly because of her father. Deceased told witness that she might get married because there was a man waiting for her in England.
January 6 at 3 p.m. at her room at the Peninsula Hotel.
Deceased told witness that she had been very ill and that she had resign- ed because of ill-health and that she was proceeding home. They had a general conversation. Witness left her about 8.30 p.m. and asked when she was leaving Hongkong so that he could see her off, and she replied that she would be leaving in two or three days.
On January 7 deceased telephoned to witness in the morning and asked him to see her. Witness told her that
owing to the pressure of work he could not see her and asked if there was anything important. She replied in the negative and said that she would call later in the day. That was the last witness heard from her
The Coroner: What state of mind was she in on the afternoon of January 6?
ed.
Witness: She looked very depress-
The Coroner: I have asked you about your marriage: would you like to tell me more about it?
Witness had not told her that he had been remarried.
Deceased had mentioned to witness that she had taken a sleeping draught while in Tientsin.
In summing up the Coroner stated that it was peculiar that the source of the drug she took, could not be traced. The drug, however, had been identified by the Government Analyst. It was known that one dose of veronal was 15 grains, but if that was repeat- ed it would have accumulative action and have fatal results.
There was the evidence of Mrs. Grey who made the lady's acquain- tance on the ship.
The letters to the police and the others were in the same tone, that was the very best evidence that could be obtained on deceased's state of mind.
Mr. Bird's evidence of what deceased was like on the afternoon of the 6th was that she was very depressed.
The jury after returning stated it was their opinion that the deceased of died from taking an over-dose sleeping draught containing veronal, which was self-administered at a time when she was in a very depressed state of mind brought about by a cause. unknown, that was suicide but not during insanity.
His Worship: I agree with you. On the evidence we have that is the only verdict.
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