Arizona republican., 1896-05-03
WAS ACCIDENTALLY SHOT L. J. Wood, City Asses sor, Is Dead. A Revolver Explodes in His
 Hands. UntimeIy Ending of a Most Popular and Prosperous Young
 Man,

! Yesterday evening at 5-25 o'clock,
 Luther J. Wood. city assessor and tax
 collector, entered his happy home on
 South Second street in his usually ap-
 parent joyful frame of mind. Two
 minutes later he was stretched on the
 floor of h.s bed chamber dead, with a
 bullet in his brain.
 The family heard bhe shot and
 rushed into the room from where the
 report came and were struck dumb with horror to find him on his back with small stream of blood ,trickiing slowly from wound in the right side of the head Dr. Helm and another physician were sent for immediately but upon their arrival there was noth- ing for them to do, for death must
 have been instantaneous. With incredible swtftness the news
 was flashed through the city that L. J. Wood had shot himself. No one would believe the fact at first, as many testified to meeting him at different hours during the day and nearly all said that he had stopped and talked
 with them as he usually did unless he
 was in a hurry. A few minutes past
 5 o'clock he was walking up Washing ton street in company with WilI Buck
 talking on various matters, but his conversation VS>sss gay as usual and
 no indication that he was troubled in
 mind was shown. He entered Tribo- let's market and purchasing some mea. for supper left Buck and cut across the
 city hall plaza ito his office where he
 took revolver that he kept there and
 wrapping it up in a piece of paper, carried it with the meat to his home.
 The family, consisting of his wife, MT. McElwain, his father -iu-law, and Mrs. Roy A. Root, nurse, were about to sit down to supper when he entered. He spoke pleasantly to each and to a query of some kind from McElwain said, That's all right. He then passed to the kitchen and left the meat and then crossed over to his bedroom for the express purpose of depositiug his revolver, but had only been there a second or more when "a shot rang out and as already stated they found him lying on the floor.
 Justice Johnstone impanelled the fol- lowing coroner's jury as soon as the death was made known: Wm. Web scer, Al Galpin, Frank Phillips, Frank Nicholson, Henry Evans and George Broughton. The jury proceeded at once to the house to examine the re- mains. The body was lying on its back in front of ,the bureau, one leg was partly bent, the arms were out and just above the right tem- pie and forward over the eye was a bullet hole. The hair on that side was burned, but there was no indication that the bullet came out of the head on the other side. It evidently found lodgment against the skull. On the floor between the legs lay the revolver. It was a 3S-caliber revolver of the American Bull Dog make. Near the body was the paper in which the pis- tol was wrapped.
 The pockets of his clothes were but nothing was found but a copy of an evening paper and a few blank tax receipts. After the jury tn- spected the body it was turned over to the K. P. lodge to be prepared for burial.
 Mrs. Wood stated that about two months ago her husband bought the pistol and brought it home, but it al ways laid on the bureau in their bed room. Thursday night, however, he took the revolver and to her query as to what he was going to do wi5h it, re- piled that he had sum of money