Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1893-12-26
FOUND DEAD.
Shocking Termination Of the
Life Of Miss Lucy Barnes.
soNE MYSTERY As TO TIE GAUSS.

SUS W UssoO eOSy 00u UCSs
SOME MYSTERY AS TO TIE CAUSE.
Coroner Halves Holds m Iaq1est Over the
BODY with the Result That Death b At.
trEbsted to .. Overdose Of Some Drux-
Details Of the Discovery. Etc.
Miss Lucy Barnes, . domestic in
the employ Of J. H. Bcselin. s4s Sew
entecnth street, was found dead in a
bed room at the number mentioned,
~ about 6 O'Clock Sunday morning.
|,At the hour stated, Mrs. Beselin
went to the door of the room, and
found it locked. She Immediately
called her husband, and he, in COM
pany with a neighbor, went to the
door and forced it open. The body
was found lying on the floor
near the bed. Mr.. Bcsclin at
once called doctor, and
upon examination found that the
young women was dead, andhad been
for several hours.
Coroner Halves was summoned at
once, and he went up and cmpanneled
a jury, and held an inquest. Miss
Barnes had been in the employ of
Mrs. Beselin about seven weeks and
always appeared to be of a cheerful
nature. She was born in Rock ISL
and, and was 81 years Of age. The
remains were taken to the home of
her father. George Barnes, Cos Eighth
avenue, from whence the funeral oc-
Cured at 2 o'clock this afternoon,
the remains being inferred at Chip
piannock.
The Coroner's Inquest.
The jury, composed of Charles
Hodgson, foreman, j. H. Cleland,
W. J. Ransom, w. w. Eggleston,
George Lamont and F. c. Hemenway,
held an inquest over the body on
Sunday morning.
Mrs. Irene Meyer was the first
witness called, aud testified to being
an aunt of the deceased, and that
three years ago she had suffered an
attack of typhoid fever, and since
then had been troubled with rheu-
matism and shortness of breath, in
dicating heart failure, and that some
times she complained of pain in her
lungs. She also said that she had
not seen deceased for several weeks,
and therefore didn't know her con-
ditiOn.
George Barnes, father OF the de-
ceased. was called, and testified as
to being called to Mr.. Beselin's
house Sunday morning, and there
found his daughter lying on the
floor. face downward, with her chin
resting on a small tin bucket. He
also stated that his mother had died
from heart failure in 1882, and his
eldest sister in 1878 of the same
cause, and expressed, as his opinion.
that heart disease. vas in the family.
w. A. Swallow.sa moulder, tcsti-
fled as to having known Miss Barnes
for two years, and that during that
time her health was fairly good.
Mrs. Beselin was called, and her
testimony is corroborative of the
facts appearing in the beginning of
this article.
DIR. Ludewig was put upon the stand
and testified as to being called at
1850 Sunday evening to the house Of
John Beselin by Mr.. Gleckhau, ask
ing him to come and attend a young
lady, found on the bedroom floor af-
ter the door had been forced. He then
told how the body was found lying
face downward, with her head eleva-
ted by a small tin bucket. and the
right arm outstretched. while the left
was rather bent under the PROSTATE
form. The fingers were in a normal
and easy position. as were the lower
limbs, and he could discover no
marks of violence upon the body nor
any signs of blood, and the clothes
we're not damaged. but were wet, and
evidences of vomiting were appa-
rent upon them. On looking around
the room nothing OF q poisonous ma
ture could be found except an empty
one-ounce bottle marked .'Oil of Tan
sy." at is my opinion" said he,
'.that the cause Of death was an over
dose of some drug"
After hearing the evidence. the jury
returned a verdict, THAT the de-
ceased came to her death by an over
dose of some drug ut about midnight
on December %, 1898"
Theories as to the Cause.
Squire HAYES, in speaking of the
case this morning, stated that while
the evidence looking to heart failure
as the cause of death was rather
strsng, yet it seemed to him that the
drug must have been used. Shortly
after Miss Barnes went up to bed she
descended to the Kitchen. and taking
some hot water with her, she re-
turned to her room again, and from
the fact that cup and spoon were
found near the body. it is to be sup
posed that she took some drug,
though maybe without suicidal i'm
tent. A post norton examina-
ton was refused by the father of the
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