An inquest into the bizarre death of Joseph Kearon – whose stomach contained a large quantity of metal – was held at Parkhurst Prison on 27th May 1925.
Dr Stanley Craig, the medical officer at the prison, informed the inquest that the 43-year-old convict had the habit of consuming objects made of metal – including knives, forks and spoons, parts of scissors, machinery and buttons – for at least 3 years. He had previously thrice been operated upon for the removal of foreign objects from his stomach.
Kearon – who had been sentenced to 7 years penal servitude for wounding with intent to murder – had been X-rayed the previous November after swallowing a pair of spoons. The X-ray results revealed the presence of the objects in his stomach, but they had passed through his system in the usual manner before he was operated on.
Dr Craig stated that the former labourer had been watched night and day in a vain attempt to prevent him from partaking in his iron diet.
Kearon’s habit of subsisting on metal had led to his gastrointestinal inflammation, which eventually so weakened him that he could not take food. The prison authorities had attempted a special diet for Kearon, including brandy, whisky and port, with meat such as chicken, but he had died a lingering death.
Dr Craig had noted other prisoners swallowing foreign objects in an attempt to gain sympathy or avoid work but that there was ‘method in their madness’ in that they would not swallow the dangerous parts of knives and scissors, and that they had seen the error of their ways in time to prevent a fatal result.
Coroner F A Joyce told the jury that the deceased seemed to have indulged an abnormal appetite, which one could scarcely recommend from a health point of view, by swallowing foreign substances that naturally caused gastric trouble. He thought that the verdict of the jury would be that he died from chronic gastrointestinal inflammation, and if they wished to add that it was caused by swallowing foreign substances, they could do so.
Joyce further asked Craig whether he wished to conduct a post-mortem examination on Kearon since quite an interesting museum still possibly remained in his body.
The jury followed the coroner’s recommendations with regard to the verdict.
Pica is the name given to an eating disorder involving the craving for or consumption of non-food objects. Metallophagia (the consumption of metal) is a subset of such a craving.
The unfortunate Joseph Kearon was buried at Carisbrooke Cemetery on 29th May 1925.
Great article. I love the old stories, keep them
coming.
Another great story the irony of the story
Men were made of steel thosedays, thesedays they are
full of tatts and vaping like elderly babies still sucking
on their dummies! goo goo ga ga
Lol
How times have changed.
It’s called pica, or specifically in this case, metallophagia. It’s a mental health disorder or compulsion which was first described by Socrates but was only officially diagnosed in the DSM in the 20th century. Can also be a factor in some versions of schizophrenia and their behaviours, which is probably what landed him in jail in the first place.
Thanks for that information. I shall add it to the article.