Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1889-10-25
TIRED OF LIFE.
Mr.. John Fritzinger, Of COnemaugh
Borough, Commits Suicide Be-
tween l and 2 P. NJ.
AN AWFUL SIGHT TO WITNESS.

self "-Insanlty Thoughb 10 be the
cAuss-An Open Bazor Ready II Hszx-
ing Ead Failed to do tho work-A Clear
Case. of Suicidal Intsnt-No Jury Needed.
Wednesday afternoon, between the
hours OF 1 and o'clock, the upper part
of Conemaugh borough was thrown into
excitement by the news that John Frit-
Finger had hanged himself. OfHcer
Brindle, who happened to be near, was
soon on the scene Of the tragedy, aud i'm
mediately started for Coroner Evans,
stopping on his way to notify Burgess p.
8. Freidhoff who at once went to No. 1S1
Church avenue, where the dead mans
body was.
1t took long time to find
the Coroner, as he was not at
home, but about Q O'Clock in
the evening he arrived and took the
statements of Mrs. Fritzinger and the
children, which was substantially as fol-
lows:
John Fritzinger was q coal miner by
occupation, and had been at work at Gal
litzin, in Taylor and McCoy's mines for
about nine weeks previous to his return
ing to his family yesterday . week. AT
times he seemed despondent and had
several times threatened to take his own
life, but no attention was paid to his talk.
Yesterday morning he packed his
valise intending to return to Gallitzin.
His family told him that they
wanted him to get work down
here so that he could be OF home He
had been drinking some since he was
home, and after being persuaded to re-
main at home he went down street, re-
turning about 11.30. Dinner was soon
ready but he refused to eat any, saying,
II don't care to eat when l don't feel
like it." In the morning he had threat
ened to kill himself. No attention was
paid to what he said, however, and some
time after dinner he took hatchet and a
twelve-penny nail and went into the room
adjoining the dining room where there
was a bed. He had previously said that as
he did not feel very well he would
take sleep. He was heard TO
drive the nail into the wall,
his family thought to hang his
clothes on. No more noise was heard
although there is only partition between
the room he was and that in which his
family were staying. In the course OF an
hour his wife said to Minnie, her daugh-
ter, "l'll call John, he must be sleeping,
he keeps so quiet" "No," said Minnie,
"let him sleep" After a little Mrs
Fritzinger went into the room for some
thing she needed and was Mortified to see
her husband hanging to the wall and ap-
parently dead, she screamed and ex-
claimed, 90 Minnie, your father has
hung himself Give me knife quick,
l think he is still alive" Minnie
responded instantly and brought har
mother a case-knife, with which the
string around his neck was quickly cut,
and the body fell like leaden weight to
the floor. The neighbors were then
alarmed, and the news quickly reached
the public as above stated. Neither the
body nor any article in the room was
moved from the time the body was cut
down till the Coroner arrived.
The Coroner then inspected the room
and found that John Fritzinger had cvi-
dently taken a pair Of suspenders, fasten-
ed the front end Of each one to a strong
nail in the wall, one of the pals being the
one he drove into the wall when he went
into the room, and through these
he had put strong double muslin
band about two inches wide and half a
yard long, which he had tied around his
neck. To secure himself thus he must
have stood on the chair, which was
found near him, and then kicked 1t away.
Near where he hung stood wash
stand, on which, besides number of
other things, an open razor and the
hatchet with which he had driven the fatal
nail. 1t looks as if he had taken the
precaution to provide another way OF
taking his life should hanging fail.
Further inquiry elected the informa.
tioh that at times there was some discord
in the family circle, and that he
had not been helping TO keep the
family, his wife being obliged to keer
boarders, as her husband had been send
ing them no money all the time he wal
at Gallitzin. 1t Is believed by some tb'
he fancied he had cause to be jealou.
The coroner thought the case. c,o0
one Of suicidal intent, and d. not an.
mon jury, it being appsfent from ,vh,
could be seen and lee.ned that II ,voa
deliberate act Of self-destruction.
The Fritzinger family has lived in 10,
emaugh. borough about year and hal,