The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-17
r1rs. Blanche Kelsey Seeks Relief
in Death.
WAS TEMPORARILY INSANE
HER HEALTH WAS IMPAIRED AND
SHE BECAME RESPONDENT.
The Deceased Lady Was But Twenty
Eight Years Old and Was the
Wife of Assistant City Engineer
Louis C. Kelsey-COroner Often
bach Holds an Inquest.

About o'clocy yesterday morning
Mrs. Blanche Kelsey, wife of Assistant
City Engineer L. C. Kelsey, committed
suicide by shooting at her home, No.
Bellevue terrace on Sixth South
street.
The sad and terrible act was in all
probability done while she was in fit
of temporary insanity, as there seems
to be no other plausible theory to ex-
plain the sad affair.
Mr.. and Mrs. Kelsey retired as usual
Friday evening. The wife complained
of pains in the head, but no serious at
tention was paid to this, as 1t was sup
posed to be nothing worse than what
| it would pass away during a good
| nights sleep. About o'clock yester-
day morning they awoke and the wife
complained of dizziness. Mr.. Kelsey
| gave no special attention to this, as the
! woman seemed otherwise in her usual
mood. The husband arose first, and
as is his usual custom, went out into
the wood shed for kindling wood.
! Scarcely had he reached the thed when
the report of a pistol shot was heard
| from within. 1t dawned upon him at
once that something of a serious ma
| ture was taking place, and he turned
| and hastened back to the house. Just
as he reached the door a second shot
| was heard coming from the bed cham
| Der. The frightened husband rushed
! into the room and was confronted with
/ the sight of his wife in the act of fir
ing third shot He made bound for
ward to disarm her, but 1t was too late;
the trigger had been pulled. and the
third bullet had done its terrible work.
Painting and groaning the woman fell
( in her husbands arms.
| The shots had awakened the near
neighbors, who rushed to the scene.
! The sight that met their gaze was
tragical in the extreme. On the floor
was the woman struggling in the ago
I MES of death, while STOPPING over her
/ was the husband vainly attempting to
call her back to life. In the cradle
| near by lay their only two-months' odd
babe, oblivious to the scene that was
being enacted. All attempts on the
! part of the stricken husband to make
his wife utter some word that might
indicate the cause of her rash deed,
were unavailing. The leaden messen-
/ gers of death had done their work,
! and only groans escaped the lips of
i her who, but a moment before, had
! arisen from her bed and spoken words
! of endearment to her husband and
I child.
! When the first effects of the shock
wore off DR.. A. C. Ewing, who resides
near by, was sent for. He responded
in all haste, but found when he ar
rived there it was too late. All that
! could be done was to relieve the pain.
The dying woman uttered not word,
..
physician arrived, and one hour
after the shooting took place,
she breathed her last. DIR. Bower, the
family physician, had also been sent
for in the meantime, but when he ar
rived Mrs Kelsey was beyond mortal
aid
The verdict of the physician was that
the woman's mind had become unbal-
anced. This seems also to be the only
fexplanation to the deed. 1t is learned
that her mind was affected about two
years ago, the peculiar affection being
dependency Some two months ago she
gave birth to a child and since that
time has not been in the best of health.
There were no outward signs to give
the husband cause to suspect that any
thing of SO terrible nature might
take place, although he admits that
she has complained about pains in the
head of late.
Mrs. Dressler, who resides next door
to the Kelsey's says that Mrs. Kelsey
had not acted as usual during the
past few days. She had appeared des-
pondent and was at times unable to do
her work Not that it was in any way
trying. but her mind seemed unsettled
and she was not able to accomplish
anything. In such instances Mrs.
DRESSER often assisted her but even
she did not dream that anything like
suicide would ever enter the unfortu-
nate wonran's mind.
The pistol with which the deed was
done was kept in drawer of the wash
stand. When the attack seized her she
must have gotten out of bed and at
once caught the gun and fired, as but
a few moments 'transpired from the
time the husband left her until the first
Shot was fired. A singular feature was
that all three shots were fired into the
abdomen and each one passed entirely
through, the bullets being found on the
floor. Either of the wounds would have
been fatal
Coroner Offenbach was notified and
held an inquest over the remains dur
ing the early forenoon The verdict
of the jury was that she took her own
life during a sudden attack of insan-
ity.
} Mr.. and Mrs Kelsey had been mar
ried about year and half. They
had always lived happily together,
, making the blow to the husband doubly
hard. His grief seemed unconsolable
t during the early part of the day, but
later he Gained down somewhat and
took the occurrence more philosophic-
: ally
t The deceased lady was only rs years
of age and had many friends.
: The funeral arrangements have not
: been made yet but it is thought the
/ burial will take place sometime tomor-
row.
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