Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-09-03
COMMERCE STREET MYSTERY.
Death Of rank Fitzgerald, the Victim
Ths Inquest and a
Doubtful Verdict.
The Mystcry Deepens-He Way Have
Committed Suicide, and ne Might
have been Murdered.

About half-past one o'clock yesterday
morning, the man, Frank Fitzgerald, OF
whose mysterious shooting at his resi-
denee, "a Commerce street, mention was
made in Mondays APPEAL, breathed
his last without having impaired any
information to his friends which is cal
culated to clear up the impenetrable
mystery which seems to surround his
death. Throughout the entire day Sum-
day, although surrounded by
FRIENDS AND AcoUAINTANCEs,
who used every endeavor in their power
TO alleviate his terrible sufieriBgs, and
in the kindest manner administered to
his every want, he remained silent and
sullen, merely answering such questions
as were put to him in mon0-
syllables, and persisting until the
very last that he knew nothing of
the terrible affair which was, in a few
short hours, to bring his earthly career
to a close, and cOnsign him to the silent
tomb.
Upon notification Of his death, Squire
.Spellman impanneled a jury and pro-
ceeded to the premises for the purpose
of holding a
CORONER'S INQUEST.
Upon arriving at the house Of the de-
ceased, the body, through the kind fore
sight of neighbors and friends, was
found neatly laid out and prepared for
the grave.
Some six or seven witnesses were ex-
amined, whose testimony merely went
TO throw more mystery around the fa-
tai occurrence, and thicken the veil
which hides the real facts which led
70 his death from the public. The
last that was seen of him was
on Saturday night, between the
hours Of twelve and one, in a farO-bank
Jefferson street, sitting and watching
the game. After leaving the bank, until
he was discovered on Sunday morning,
BLEEDING AND WOUNDED,
remains in utter darkness. One witness
testified that deceased had had a quarrel
on Saturday evening, on the corner Of
and Main, with some man,
who put his finger up to deceased, say
ing, II will kill you before morning.
remarking, Well, l IA
but that they afterward shook
hands and parted apparently good
This occurred about six in the
evening. Most of the witnesses said
when drinking he was wild and
crazy, acting in the strangest manner
and had often on such occasions
declared his intention of blowing his
brains out; that he was known to have
made sOmes uchrash attempts, for one Of
he had been arrested some four
weeks ago and fined, and it seemed to
be a matter of no establishment to the
leighbOrs that deceased had made away
himself.
The circumstances of his own pistol,
which is a~large-sized Colts navy, being
ound in his wardrobe, besmeared with
blood, would naturally lead one to the
belief that the unfortunate man
had actually
COMMITTED SUICIDE.
Yesterday morning one of the police
Orce fired the pistol OFF and obtained
he ball, which, when compared with
he one found in the bed Sunday
morning, and is undoubtedly the one
which did the fatal work, would lead
0 quite different conclusions. Both
iaIls were carefully weighed by a drug-li
list, and the weight of the fatal one was
lightly grains, that of the u fired from
weapon of deceased, one hundred
nd fOrty-five, which tends to strengthen
he horrible suspicion that the blood
HAND OF THE ASSASSIN
ad but too surely done its diabolical
York, and that Frank Fitzgerald was
ne victim of as foul a murder as ever
the annals of Memphis. {
After patiently hearing all the testi-
which, as before stated, threw {
ut little light on the affair, and spend
lg an hour or more in close ~consulta-
on, the jury returned a verdict " that '
eceased came to his death from a pistol {
lot wound, fired by himself or some I
her person to the jury unknown" s
So rests this melancholy affair. Ere this y
lie body of Frank Fitzgerald, with its {
i'm, CHASTITY and gaping wounds, from
hose bloody O%rifices the crimson life {
lie still slowly drops, is laid in the
lent grave, and the earth which rests
,ove his unfortunate remains is not /
ore impenetrable to the eye of man
the mystic veil which covers the /
acurrence of his sad, sad end. r