Extract from the Morning Express of Tuesday, October 21st, 1929
Mushroom Death Mystery Inquest
Poisoned Man’s Lone Agony
Well-Known Artist Gives Evidence
The little schoolroom in the remote village of Manaton in Devon was crowded today, when Dr. Pringle, the coroner for the district, opened the inquest on the body of George Harrison, aged 56, Head of the Accounts Department of Messrs. Frobisher, Wiley & Teddington, Electrical Engineers, who was found dead under extraordinary circumstances in his little cottage, The Shack, on Saturday night.
Evidence of the deceased’s curious hobbies was given by his friend, Mr. Harwood Lathom, the brilliant young artist, who had been staying with him in The Shack, and who discovered the body.
The deceased, who is the author of Neglected Edible Treasures , an interesting and highly original volume, dealing with the foodstuffs to be obtained from our native woods and hedgerows, was stated to have been fond of experiments in unconventional cookery, and it was suggested that he had fallen a victim to accidental poisoning, by consuming a dish of venomous toadstools, a portion of which, it is alleged, was discovered on the table in The Shack at the time of his death.
The inquest was adjourned for a fortnight, to enable a chemical analysis to be made of certain organs.
After formal evidence of identification, the first witness called was Mr. Harwood Lathom. Dressed in a suit of heathermixture plus-four tweeds