The Keswick Guardian Sat 24th July 1897 Painful Suicide Of An Old Man

Painful Suicide Of An Old Man

The Keswick Guardian - Sat 24th July 1897

Mr Gordon Falcon, Coroner for the division held an inquest at the Crosthwaite National (Girls) School on Monday noon touching the death of Joseph Akitt aged 80 years, who had succumbed the previous Saturday to self inflicted  injury : Mr J F Hope was foreman of the jury. Joseph Akitt, son of the deceased said his father had lived retired with him at High Hill Keswick for about 71/2 years and had complained for sometime of pains in the head. He had been under the care of the doctor for the last six weeks for influenza and pains in the head. On Wednesday and Thursday nights he seemed more cheerful than he had been during the previous ten days. He went  to bed between 8-30 and 9 o'clock on Thursday night and there was nothing unusual till 5-45 on Friday morning when witness heard a sound as someone  having fallen.            On going to the bedroom he found his father on the floor bleeding from a wound on the left side of his throat. The knife produced (a gardeners) was near him. Witness asked why he had done the act and he replied " My head was so bad I could not bide it any longer," Dr Knight was sent for at once. Deceased lived til 10am on Saturday. The deceased met with a bad accident in the teens of years ago at Threlkeld. He fell from a ladder while whitewashing and injured his head. During hot weather especially he always complained of pain , but he had never threatened to do anything of this kind. The jury returned a verdict of "suicide while temporarily insane," They gave their fees to the Mary Hewetson Hospital .

 

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