Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-07-26
CHARLES JANSEN'S SUICIDE.
He Blows his Brains out with Bird
Shot.

He IBlOWS MS Brains out Win biru
Shot.
The Coroner was summoned early yes
terday morning to go out to Walnut
street, near San Pedro, and view hor'
rible sight. 1t was the body OF Charles
Jansen, who had committed suicide in
his bedroom by blowing out his brains
with double-barreled shotgun. He
was found lying on the floor by the bed
side, his hand firmly grasping the gun
which was beside him. A loop of cloth
was passed through the guard and over
the triggers. He had pulled at this with
his toe, holding the muzzle OF the gun
against his throat. His face was liter
ally blown off, and the room in which
the affair took place was strewn with
CHASTITY fragments. The body was taken
to the morgue, and in the afternoon a
jury was impaneled to consider the
cause of his DEATH
Mr.. G. G. Charlton, who lives on
Walnut street. in the house adjoining the
one where the tragedy took place, testi-
fed to having heard the shots and the
cries of Mrs. Jansen, the dead mans
wife. Mr.. Charlton had rented the house
which Jansen and his family occupied,
to him nearly year ago, and had fire.
quently employed him as gardener and
man-of-all- work. Jansen was smuch ad-
dicted to drink, and was accustomed
to beat his wife when they were both in
liquor. On hearing the shots Mr.. Charl-
ton had started to the house and arrived
there before the smoke had cleared from
the room.
DR.. Cohn, who made the autopsy
testified to the wound in the neck and
the fractured condition OF the head. The
brain was full of fine bird shot, There
were no other marks of external violence.
Mrs. Martha Jansen, the wife of the
suicide, declared that her husband was
partially demented and had been so for
several years. That after meeting with
reverses in business he had taken to
drink, but that he was not drunkard
and did not go on regular sprees. The
full of the moon affected him strangely.
When he was sober he was a good hus-
band, but since he had taken 10 drinking
great deal he had ceased to support
her and she had found herself compelled
to be the bread-winner for both. Last
Friday Jansen stopped drinking and de-
termined to reform. He stood it until
Monday morning, when the strain upon
his nerves was more than he could en-
dure. He was taken to the Sisters Hos
pital and placed under treatment for
delirium tremens. Yesterday morning
at about 4 o'clock he suddenly appeared
in the room where his wife slept and de-
clared that they had ill-treated him
at the hospital and that he would
stay there no longer. He laid down
on the bed, and she busted herself pre-
pairing some coffee for him. About 6
o'clock he woke up and demanded his re-
volver saying that he would kill himself.
Mrs. Jansen had feared some such catas-
trophe and had kept the revolver hidden.
A few minutes Latter, she stepped out in
to the yard, and while there, she heard
the gun discharged twice in quick success
sion. She new instantly what had hap
pened. She said that her husband had
of .en declared that he would kill himself,
but che had not thought OF the possibility
OF his using the gun, although it always
stood in the corner loaded.
Jansen was native of Germany and
had spent So years in this life before he
so rashly left it. The jury which was inn
paneled decided that his death was due
to suicide committed under mental alb
erration. All day long curious crowd
collected about the Coroner's office on
Spring street, and whenever an oppor-
tunity presented itself they pushed their
way back to the room where the body
lay. Several women were among the in
terested spectators of the ghastly show,
and one man took in two little children,
lifting them up to look at the mutilated
face.