"He began firing at me...I felt several stinging pains....at down fon a chair, and then slid to the floor," said Mr.' R. H. Goodwin, school master, as he testified from a stretcher in H. Int. Police Court on Thursday afternoon at the inquest of Mr. El Van der Lind found' dying in a bathroom in his fat in the Cosmopolitan Apartments fon October 30. Mr. C. H. Haines. H. M. Coroner, at the conclusion of yesterday's proceedings—brought a verdict of attempted murder and After Dr. E. G. Gauntlett, who performed the post mortem examination the following day, had given evidence to the effect that he dis. covered a wound in Mr. Lind temple which was cause? bya bullet which entered the head above the right ear and left it above the left ear, Mr. Goodwin was sworn, met the deceased, he said, about the beginning of September, as result of his interest in Mr. Linde's Gaughter, Miss, Mabel Van der Tinde. Mr. Linde objected strenuously to the friendship existing between the two young people, and asked Mr. Goodwin not to see his daughter. They continued to meet. As a result of an appointment made by Miss Linde, the two went to see Mr. Linde at his apartment on October 20 at sbout 530 pin.
"There was nobody else in the flat except Mr. Linde," ued Mr. 8 Goodwin. "He opened the door" to tus, took us into his sitting room, ard we all three sat down. Mr. Linde slarted by asking Miss Linde whether} she was satisfied with things. We talked calmly for about ten minutes He then said: 'I can promise you, you will never get married if T can' possibly help it?" asked him to make this clearer! bhut hho refused. After a moment or two more of conversation, I said: 'Well, there seems to be nothing more to be said,' and I rose to £0. We were not heated. By this time, Mr, Linde had walked around little, and was now behind his instead of silting in it. As I raised my head after standing up, I sow gun in his right hand.
"He began firing at me immediately and repeatedly. 1 felt several stinging pains, and became very {rightened. T sat down on a chair and then' slid to the floor, and I remember. screaming. 1 did not lose conselousness....a little later 1 heard a bang, which I thought was a door losing."
Witness then staggered out to the lending and called for help. He was taken away in an ambulance, It was later found that he had wounds from four shots, while another bullet had penetrated the heol of his shoe. At the time, Mr. Goodwin thought the deceased' was firing too low to do anything but injure him.
'After' Mr. Goodwin had been taken back to the hospital, Miss Linde entered the witness box and said that she had had several quar-Fels with her father about her engagement to Mr. Goodwin. She was rot living with her father at the time, but he met her on October 28 outside her office, and, saying "Don't you want to make friends again? Don't you want to talk things over?" asked her to bring Mr, Goodwin te hhis flat on October 30. a that up till that moment her behaviour had seemed normal. About three weeks prior to this, her father had written her note, saying that he was going to commit suicide, but she had not paid any attention to this, as she thought was merely a threat to try and make her return home.
Detective-Inspector A. J. Toon, slying evidence, said he had gone Into the flat as a result of a tele. phone call, and had found the bathroom door locked. Peering through small hole In the door caused by a bullet. which was subsequently found in the hall, he saw Mr, Linde lying on the floor by the bath. The door was broken open, and the deceased, still breathing heavily, was taken to the hospital, On going through the deceased's jacket, he found a diary with a note im it,'which stated that a full explanation of the affair would be found in a Mle in his desk, The Ale contained his passport, his will, tve letters to various people, a financial statement, and other papers, Eight loose rounds of ammunition were found in another pocket.
Commenting on the first letter found, which was addressed "To whom it may concern," the Coroner that the deceased rehearsed in the had had with his wrighter "by her "heartlessness and disregard of her mother's and my. feelings." On October 7, continued the letter, deceased wrote to Miss Linde, saying that as a result of what going to commit lola Linde's letter continued that he tried to throw himself on the rail Jine—but ford that the trains th passed all had cow-catchers on. He then went down to the Point to try and drown himself, but a Chinese constable shone a torch on him whenever he went near the water. Ho fiext visited various wharves. with the same intent but "there was ways someone about."
His death, he continued, would cause no sorrow to Mat to his wite, so he ha In order to be first Kill her flaneé and then himself.
The other letters were to a friend, asking him to look after Mrs. Lind to his daughter, when he again proached her for her conduct," to his business partner, and to his wile, The will appointed his wife the sole beneficiary.
"The medical evidence," said, the Coroner, delivering his verdict, "was that he was in a quite healthy condition, and it is inexplicable that a man should have such intentions, The fact that his daughter disregarded his wishes—she is of age, and entitled to live her life as she wishes—cannot be sufcient reason for such an act, the carrying-out of which was de.
His conduct on all occasions seemed to be that of a sane and sensible person. "He decides that in order to fet his own way, he will kill Good win and immediately he comes to this decision he goes out and buys a gun (on October 23), puts his affairs in order, writes' letters to various people, meets his daughter, and makes arrangements for the "Tam forced to bring in a verdict that "he committed suicide after having attempted to murder Goodwin,—I find that EU van der Linde committed suicide on October 30, 1935, at Shanghai, by shooting himself with a pistol after an attempted murder
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.