The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-04-30
The Body Pulled Out by Passers
BY, After the Vital Spark
Had Fled
No Cause, Except That of TEN
p0rary Insanity Can be As
signed for the Rash
Act.

ted suicide about 8 o'clock this morn
ing by jumping head-foremost into
an old well in the basement, or rather
cellar of the building. That it was a
case of suicide was evidenced by the
fact that before making the fatal
plunge in the dark, he had removed
his watch, coat, vest aud hat and laid
them on the seat Of the water closet.
The body was found and pulled out
of the we'll about half an hour after
his disappearance. and it was found
that life was extinct. Coroner w.
&. Overstreet and Undertaken J. E.
Hills were at once notified and took
possession of the body. An inquest
was at once ordered. Divested of
needless details the circumstances of
the tragedy are substantially as fol-
lows:
Mr.. Little who lives with Mr.
Westenberger and remains around
the store, missed Mr.. w. about half
past nine or quarter before
ten o'clock this morning
and knowing that he had
been acting strangely for two or
three days, became alarmed. Mr..
Chas. E. Messerly was passing by the
store door and Mr.. Little, stating his
fears, asked that gentleman to 60 to
the cellar with him to look for the
missing man. They descended to the
cellar where they found Westenberger's
watch and clothes: also that the trap
door which covered the top of the old
well had been removed. They called
in Dick Baker and the three nailed
some bed stats together and driving
some nails In the end for hooks pro-
ceeded to make search in the well.
The nails caught in the
pantaloons of the dead man
and after infinite difficulty, succeeded
in drawing the body from the well,
which is SO small that a mans body
almost completely fills it. The bot
tom of the well is about twelve feet
below the cellar floor, and was filled
with slime and mud. He was suf-
located to death.
George Westenberger was 40 years
old and has lived in Sedalia for many
years, and leaves a wife and one child,
. girl. He was in afiuent circum-
stances and had no financial or do.
mestic reasons for putting an end
to his life. Recently he sold the
building and stock of furniture at liz
Usage street to John l.. Hall, taking
other real estate here and in Lamonte
in exchange, but continued to conduct
the business for Mr.. Hall. He was
member of the Masonic order in good
standing and was a respected citizen.
He is brother-in-law of Russell Nc
Rorey of the Pacific Express office.
He has acted strangely tor several
days and it is the theory that he took
his life while temporarily insane.
CoRoNER's INQUEST.
AS soon as the body was taken from
the well Coroner Overstreet summon
ed jury composed of the following
gentlemen
e. E. johnson, John Newton. r.
+. Dean, G. c. Williams, r. F. Med
dlekault and w. III. Ritchey.
Messrs. Peter Little, G.. E. Messerly,
Dick Baker and others were examin-
ed and their testimony was simply a
corror boration Of what has been re-
lated above. The additional fact was
brought out that for several days Mr.. |
Westenberger has been unable to |
sleep. His family wanted to call in |
a physician but he objected. There
remains no doubt but that he was suf- |
fering from mental arrangement
caused by insomnia. The jury
returned verdict 20 the effect that |
the deceased came to his death by
drowning himself in a well.
The arrangements for the funeral
have not been made.
Mr.. Westenberger was the owner
of considerable property. He owned |
. handsome residence OH West Fifth /
street, to which he was preparing to |
remove in a few days. He also owned |
a cottage on West Sixth street and |
other property in town. He had a
fine farm of 148 acres near Dresden,
which is finely stocked.
He has daughter, the wife of Mat |
Young, living at Los Angeles, Cali
fornia and had received q letter from
them yesterday, stating that they
were coming back to Missouri.