Thomas Truman

Thomas Truman died from coal gas poisoning but it could not be determined how that had happened.

He had been a ship's cook and had lodged at 47 Beaumont Street, Liverpool.

It was heard that earlier in the week he had complained of a chill and had seen a doctor.

He was last seen alive by his landlady on the Wednesday 20 February 1924. She said that when she entered his room on the Friday she found him sitting on the bedside dead. She said that his feet were touching the floor and that he was wearing trousers and waistcoat.

A police constable that was called out said that Thomas Truman appeared to have died whilst undressing. He added that there was no smell of gas in the room and that the taps there had not been turned on.

His landlady said that a fortnight earlier that Thomas Truman had left a gas tap on and that there was subsequently an escape, but that apart from that there had been no complaints of gas escapes and that the fittings were apparently in order.

Two other occupants of rooms in the house gave evidence. One said that that as far as he knew, there had been no escape of gasses, except the one a fortnight earlier. The other declared however that there had always been a smell of gas in the house, but that the escape had not been located.

The post mortem examination found that Thomas Truman died from coal gas poisoning.

A superintendent of meter inspectors to the Liverpool Gas Company said that he had inspected the gas fittings in the house and with the exception of two taps, they were in order. He said that the two taps in Thomas Truman's room had been slightly loose, but that that would not have had anything to do with his death. He added that the pipes were practically tight.

He said that an inspection with a special sensitive apparatus showed a leakage of a quarter of a tenth of a cubic foot of gas per hour, which was practically nothing.

He added that there was no smell of gas anywhere in the house.

The Coroner at the inquest noted that it was rather mysterious.

The verdict was: