The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1883-07-21
SHOCKING SUICIDE.
John Jacob Weik Dies by His
Own Hand.
HE MOURNED FOR HIS WIFE.
Mrs. Strehl's Statement, and Full Par
~ticulars of the Deed.


The Coroner's Inquest --- The Funeral.
Yesterday morning, about : o'clock, the report
came to this office that a suicide had been COM
mitted by a Mr.. J. F.. Weik, on Alapai street. A
reporter was Immediately dispatched, and OBJ
tanned the following particulars about
THE DISCOVERY OF THE BODY:
Three natives, Manena, Kukala and MakaliiIii
by name, employed by Mr.. H. II. Parker, went
out to his place on AIapai street TO work in the
yard, arriving about half-past :. Manena, going
in first, opened the door, and saw a body lying
on the floor. He became frightened and ran ont,
calling to his companions: a white man is
dead" His companions then went to the door
together and looked for themselves, without
going in. Mokaliilii immediately hurried off
with the news to his employer, Mr.. Parker, the
other natives remaining outside. Mr.. Parker
came up and at once reported the occurrence at
the Police Station, and an officer was dispatched
to the scene of the suicide.
The body was lying on the floor, facing the
door, with his head leaning against the legs of a
table, with IA pistol wound in the forehead about
the size of a fve-cent nickel. The pistol must
have been placed against his forehead when
fired, for there were no marks indicating that
the powder had scattered. On searching the
body there were found in the coat pocket two
handkerchiefs, in the right-hand pants pocket
was eight dollars in loose silver, a purse contain
ing forty dollars and twenty cents, a bunch of
keys and a small phial of strychnine. Lying on
the floor at his right side, below the thigh, was.a
41-calibre fve-shooter, with one chamber empty,
the remaining four being loaded. On a table to
the right of him was a box of cartridges, out of
which five had been taken. BY calling at No. 7
King street our reporter was enabled to obtain
MRS. sTREHL's STATEMENT.
Mr.. Weik was about forty-four years old he
was a native ofWurtemberg, Germany;he came to
Honolulu from Germany abont Is years ago, and
was married to my sister two days after his ar
rival; he leaves a son fifteen years old. His wife
and son went over to San Francisco on the d.
c. Murray in January, 1888, and returned on the
same vessel about April Is my sister then be-
came very i'll and the doctors advised her to go
back to America again, which she did, in COM
pany with her son and husband, on the Sth of
May last, in the same vessel. On the second
night out my sister was missing, and nothing
certain as to her fate was ever learned but it
was supposed that she had committed suicide,
for she had been very down hearted for some
time my brother-in-law returned to Honolulu
on the steamer City OF New 1OrK on the lItn
ult., leaving his son to follow On the d. c.
Murray; when the steamer came / went down to
meet him, but when he saw ne he could hardly
speak. I then asked him why he did not take
better care of his wife, and he replied that he
did all he could he asked me if he might not
come to my house and live until he became set
tied and knew what he was going to do; 1 told
him that he could, and we got into an express
81 l,..,a lo-,o Tr,rvtI1n, u,,nE al xsl4 ~,
til lately; when he seemed completely broken
down; he spent sleepless nights and would walk
the floor all night long talking to himself and
calling his wife's name. When he came down
in the morning he would say that he saw her in
the night as plain as he saw me. He
told me then that he did not care what became Of
him, and that nothing would make him hap
pier than to die and lie on his wife's grave. For
two or three nights l suspected he might do
something to himself, so 1 took his pistol and
razor and hid them. On the night before last l
sat up and watched him, as he acted SO strangely
when he went to his room. He must have
bought the revolver that he shot himself with
morning when he arose. He said ''good morn
ing, Tina, > and 1 said 9 good morning, Jacob,
do you feel any better now ?" He said Eyes, l
hllOA OClLSl. l. bACh iOId hiih Nudl IL IC
would only have patience he would be all right
soon, and he replied that he hoped so, and then
went up stairs. 1 got some breakfast Tor him
then, and very soon had it ready. / sent the
children upstairs to tell their uncle that break
fast was ready, but they came down and said he
was not there. / did not think anything was
wrong, for I thought he had gone across the
street to see the shoemaker that lives there, as
he intended to buy his place if he could get it.
l sat down and waited quite a while but he did
not come. 1 then thought he had gone to my
SISTERS house for his breakfast did not know
that anything had happened until a policeman
brought me the news that he had shot himself.
l will take charge Of his son.
Mr.. Weik was a shoemaker by trade, and was
formerly located on King street. He has had
the reputation of being a very hard working
man.
THE INQUEST,
An inquest was held before David Dayton,
Coroner, at half-past 10, to inquire into the
cause that had led to the direful disaster.
Messrs. j. Hoting, A. Kraft, A. StruhI, 9. Busch,
A. \. Mossman and Kalanipoo were duly sworn
as jurors. and the facts above stated were
elected. The jury found that the deceased had
died & By q pistol shot in the forehead by his
own hands, while in a respondent state Of mind"
The funeral took place at 4 o'clock in the
afternoon, from the residence Of Mrs. r. Strehl.