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Newspaper-Articles

• 9 Oct 1872: INQUESTS. SUICIDE. Mr. Candler, the district coroner, held an inquest on the 3rd inst, at Dandenong, on the body of Wilhelm Tinzmann, a small farmer, aged 34 years. During the, last nine weeks he deceased suffered from great pain in the head, and he said he could not stand the pain. He had been going frequently to Melbourne for medical advice.
  On Wednesday morning deceased became sick after breakfast, and had a fit, from which he recovered. He then said he had taken strychnine with a little sugar. He said he had taken it himself, as his head was so bad. Mr. Dowd, legally qualified medical practitioner, was sent for, and on arrival endeavoured to administer emetics, but the deceased died within a quarter of an hour. During the last seven or eight years deceased had not been actually insane or in a condition to be taken charge of as dangerous to himself or others, but had been desponding of late, without any adequate cause, except perhaps his health. The day before his death he complained of great giddiness, and said he could not walk. His nose used to bleed very much. About the 23rd of last month he asked Weston Phillips, chemist at Dandenong, for 6d, worth of strychnine for native cats. Phillips gave it to him with the usual precautions, and on Monday, the 30th ult., he returned and asked for some more, saying he had spilt the strychnine. Phillips gave him the same quantity as before, viz., 10 grains. Phillips did not notice anything unusual about him. Mr. Dowd made a post mortem examination, and found the surface of the brain very much congested. The substance of the brain was healthy. There was nothing in the head, to account for long-continued headaches. The liver was enlarged. The cause of death was poisoning by strychnine. From the evidence, Mr. Dowd was of opinion that the deceased was of unsound mind. The jury found that the deceased died from the effects of strychnine taken by himself while he was labouring, under temporary insanity.⁷